ESTES PARK, Colo. – Each night at Rooftop Rodeo, a community member hands the winners of every event a fresh $100 bill.

The fastest times and highest scores in each event for each of the six performances are rewarded with a little token to show the appreciation the town has for the cowboys and cowgirls that make their way to Estes Park every July.

For Lightning Aguilera and Brady Norman, that money marked the end of a long drought on the rodeo trail. They had the fastest team roping run on Saturday night, so they each had a sly smile as they walked their horses out of the arena holding matching $100 bills.

“This money is great,” said Norman of Springer, Okla. “It’s been a long two weeks. We haven’t had much luck, so this $100 will go a long ways.”

So will the tandem’s 4.6-second run, which puts them in a tie for first place with world champions Jake Barnes and Rich Skelton, who posted the same time during Thursday’s competition.

“I was trying to be as fast as I could without messing up,” said Aguilera of Athens, Texas. “That steer came to the left, and it worked out really good.”

Yes, it did. If they are able to hold their position through the final three performances of Rooftop Rodeo, each man could walk away from this spectacular mountain community with nearly $4,000. That would go a long ways toward healing their road weariness.

“They ran that steer in Cody (Wyo.) earlier in the week,” Norman said. “He was supposed to be a little stronger, but there were a few that were supposed to run that were really good today. Maybe that rain we got before the rodeo cooled them off just right for us.”

This marks the first year that the duo has teamed together, and it’s working out fairly well.

“It’s been great,” Aguilera said. “Brady is really easy to get along with and ropes extremely good.”

Now they have a chance to own at a share of the Rooftop Rodeo title.

“Estes Park is one of the coolest places we get to come to rodeo,” Norman said. “You really can’t beat it.”

His partner agreed.

“This is my third year coming to Estes Park, and it’s always awesome,” Aguilera said. “We don’t make another run until Wednesday in Casper (Wyo.), so we have a little time that we can hang out and enjoy Estes Park. The hospitality around here is great, so you can see why it’s been Rodeo of the Year.”

Rooftop Rodeo
Estes Park, Colo.
July 5-10, 2018
Leaders through second performance
Bareback riding:1. (tie) Jake Brown, on Cervi Rodeo’s Fire’s Easy, and Kaycee Feild, on Cervie Championship’s Commander, 85 points each; 2. Lane McGehee, 83; 3. (tie) Tilden Hooper and Mason Clements, 82; 5. Paden Hurst, 871; 6. Kelly Timberman, 78.5; 7. Jamie Howlett, 78; 8. (tie) Tilmon Moore and Levi Nicholson, 75.

Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Sam Williams, 3.6 seconds, $1,363; 2. Will Lummus, 3.8, $1,128; 3. Laine Herl, 4.2, $893; 4. (tie) Tom Littell and Cody Devers, 4.3, $541 each; 6. (tie) Trever Nelson and Gary Gilbert, 4.4, $118 each. Second round: 1. Will Lummus, 3.2 seconds; 2. Hunter Cure, 3.7; 3. Cole McNamee, 4.0 seconds; Blake Mindemann, 4.5; 5. Laine Herl, 4.6; 6. Heath Thompson, 4.9. Average: 1. Will Lummus, 7.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Laine Herl, 8.8; 3. Hunter Cure, 9.1; 4. Sam Williams, 10.0; 5. Tom Littell, 10.6; 6. Blake Mindemann, 11.6.

Team roping: 1. (tie) Jake Barnes/Rich Skelton and Lightning Aguilera/Brady Norman, 4.6 seconds; 2. Paul Beckett/Chad Wahlert, 4.7; 3. Kelsey Parchman/Dustin Davis, 5.2; 4. Jake Cooper/Logan Medlin, 5.3; 5. (tie) Rhett Anderson/Coleby Payne and Robert Reed/T.W. Wilson, 5.7.

Saddle bronc riding 1. Wyatt Hageman, 86 points on Cervi Brothers’ Hell’s Fire Hostage; 2. (tie) Hardy Braden and Sterling Crawley, 83; 4. Troy Crowser, 82.5; 5. Jacobs Crawley, 82; 6. Colt Gordon, 81.5; 7. Tanner Lockhart, 77.5; 8. Spencer Wright, 77.

Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Reno Gonzales, 8.4 seconds, $1,176; 2. Jesse Clark, 9.4, $973; 3. Scott Kormos, 10.2, $771; 4. Anthony Jordan, 10.6, $568; 5. Joey Dickens, 10.78, $365; 6. Caleb Smidt, 10.9, $203. Second round: 1. Sterling Smith, 9.6 seconds; 2. Tyson Aldredge, 17.7; 3. Blane Cox, 18.2; 4. Trevor Thiel, 19.3; 5. Blair Burk, 19.7; 6. Joe James, 20.1. Average: 1. Sterling Smith, 21.4 seconds on two runs; 2. Trevor Thiel, 37.7; 3. Blair Burk, 41.8; 4. Reno Gonzales, 8.4; 5. Jesse Clark, 9.4; 6. Scott Kormos, 10.2.

Barrel racing: 1. Leia Bluemer, 17.43 seconds; 2. (tie) Heidi Tillard and Kelley Carrington, 17.47; 4. Sammi Bessert, 17.49; 5. Jaime Merrill, 17.53; 6. Kaylee Burnett, 17,63; 7. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 17.65; 8. Andrea Busby, 17.77; 9. Rachel Pozzi, 17.82; 10. Joy McDaniel, 17.93.

Bull riding: 1. Callum Miller, 89 points on 4L and Diamond S Ranch’s Living After Midnight; 2. Kyle Gardner, 85; 3. Reid Barker, 84.5; 4. Jimy Marten, 82.5; 5. Moody McCoy, 77; 6. Colten Fritzian, 75.5; 7. Toby Collins, 72; no other qualified rides.