GUYMON, Okla. – Cade Swor knows it takes a little something special to be successful in rodeo.
Swor, a tie-down roper from Winnie, Texas, has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times in his career. He’s seen success on ProRodeo’s biggest stages, but he’s never done well at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo.
That could change in 2013.
“I feel like I made a good run tonight, and I should get some good money out of the round and be able to finish in the top two or three in the average,” said Swor, who tied his calf down in 7.9 seconds on Friday night in the opening performance of the 81st year of Guymon’s rodeo. He has a cumulative time of 25.7 seconds through three rounds and leads the aggregate heading into the final three performances, set for 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
“I caught a ride … from Clovis, Calif., and (fellow roper) Justin Maass was good enough to let me ride his horse. “I’ve been coming here for a long time, and I never have placed in the average.”
Swor knew he needed a speedy run to finish his run in Guymon on a strong note. But that’s the game plan he has for his 2013 season – he hasn’t qualified for the NFR since 2006, so he’s itching for a return trip to Las Vegas.
“My mindset is the same all the time, but this year I have a new attitude,” he said. “I’m going to try to blow the barrier out and tie them as fast as I can.”
That worked. When he tied the calf’s legs, he used just one wrap and a half-hitch, a gamble of sorts – traditional ties call for two full wraps and a half-hitch to secure the tie.
“I took a chance,” Swor said. “Roping these days, you’ve got to go as fast as you can every time. I just try to give myself a chance to win something.”
That’s a similar approach taken by bull rider Cody Whitney of Asher, Okla. Whitney rode the Carr Pro Rodeo bull Pearl Snap for 88 points to take the early lead. He’ll await the remaining three performances to see where he places, but that high of a score on the 100-point scale should be good enough for one of the higher paychecks in Guymon.
“That’s a good bull, but I don’t think that bulls been that good the last few times they’ve bucked him,” said Whitney, a four-time NFR qualifier. “He fired back tonight and it worked out good.
“This is probably the first time I’ve done any good at the ProRodeo in Guymon. As bad as my year’s been, it’s nice to do good just about anywhere.”
Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo
April 29-May 5
Results through the first performance
Bareback riding: 1. Caine Riddle, 85 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Fancy Free; 2. (tie) Kaycee Field and Tyler Scales, 80; 4. Cody DeMers, 78; 5. Blaine Kaufman, 77; 6. Tyler Pasour, 75; 7. Orin John Larsen, 74; no other qualified rides.
Steer wrestling: Third round leaders: 1. Wade Sumpter, 3.9 seconds; 2. Tyler Pearson, 4.3; 3. Drew Slade, 4.8; 4. Brad Jonhson, 5.1; 5. Jacob Sterkel, 5.2; 6. Kyle Broce, 5.9; 7. Beau Clark, 14.4; no other qualified rides. Aggregate: 1. Wade Sumpter, 13.5 seconds on 3 runs; 2. Tyler Pearson, 14.3; 3. Drew Slade, 14.7; 4. Brad Johnson, 15.3; 5. Kyle Broce, 16.1; 6. Jacob Sterkel, 16.9; 7. Beau Clark, 23.6; 8. Bray Armes, 8.0 seconds on 2 runs.
Steer roping: Fifth round leaders: 1. Jake DeGeer, 10.5 seconds; 2. Chuck Thomson, 15.2; 3. Brian Garr 15.5; no other qualified runs. Aggregate: 1. Chuck Thomson, 92.4 seconds on 5 runs; 2. Rocky Patterson, 50.1; 3. Trevor Brazile, 52.6; 4. Scott Snedecor, 52.8; 5. Jason Evans, 58.9; 6. Jake DeGeer, 60.7; 7. JoJo LeMond, 61.6; 8. J.D. Yates, 62.7.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Wade Sundell, 85 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Miss Congeniality; 2. Tyrell Smith, 84; 3. Ty Thompson, 83; 4. Jesse Bail, 78; 5. Taos Muncy, 76; 6. (tie) Bradley Harter and Cody Martin, 75; 8. Isaac Diaz, 72.
Team roping: Third round leaders: 1. (tie) Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz and Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill, 6.8; 3. Quisto Lopez/Christian Morris, 8.4; 4. Lane Ivy/Lane Siggins, 13.4; 5. Ryan Jarrett/Marty Yates, 13.6; no other qualified runs. Aggregate: 1. Quisto Lopez/Christain Morris, 23.8 seconds on 3 runs; 2. Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill, 25.1; 3. Ryan Jarrett/Marty Yates, 28.5; 4. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 29.2; 5. Lany Ivy/Lane Siggins, 29.6; 6. Chris Francis/Cade Passig, 14.1 seconds on 2 runs; 7. Charly Crawford/Ryan Motes, 14.4; 8. Jess Tierney/Justin Hendrick, 14.5.
Tie-down roping: Third round leaders: 1. Cade Swor, 7.8 seconds; 2. Tyson Durfey, 8.3; 3. Jeremiah Peek, 9.0; 4. Kiel Rowan, 10.3; 5. Marty Yates, 11.5; 6. J.D.McCuistion, 16.2; 7. Trent Creager, 18.4; 8. Cody McCartney, 19.7. Aggregate: 1. Cade Swor, 25.7 seconds on 3 runs; 2. Tyson Durfey, 26.4; 3. Jeremiah Peek, 29.7; 4. Marty Yates, 30.8; 5. Kiel Rowan, 33.7; 6. Trent Creager, 37.1; 7. Cody McCartney, 41.3; 8. J.D. McCuistion, 49.2.
Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Kassidy Dennison, 17.30 seconds; 2. Victoria Williams, 17.4; 3. Jessica Frost, 17.42; 4. Sammi Bessert, 17.43; 5. Kimmie Wall, 17.44; 6. Kelly Yates, 17.54; 7. Emily Efurd, 17.55; 8. Cindy Smith, 17.56; 9. Jean Winters, 17.61; 10. Kenna Squires, 17.62. Aggregate: Kimmie Wall, 35.39 seconds on 2 runs; 2. Kassidy Dennison, 35.44; 3. Shelby Fraisier, 35.53; 4. Morgan Figueroa, 35.56; 5. (tie) Shali Lord and Becky Larson, 35.59; 7. Katie Jolly, 35.68; 8. Emily Miller, 35.72; 9. Kara Fox, 35.78; 10. Carolyn Uhler, 35.80.
Bull riding: 1. Cody Whitney, 88 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Pearl Snap; 2. Chandler Bownds, 83; 3. Reese Cates, 78; no other qualified rides.