Monthly Archives: December 2011

LAS VEGAS – There is tremendous pressure when contestants arrive in the Nevada desert for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It’s intensified greatly when it’s an athlete’s first trip to ProRodeo’s championship event. None of that seems to matter for Jacob O’Mara, a 20-year-old bull rider from Prairieville, La. During the second go-round on Friday night inside the Thomas & Mack Center, O’Mara matched moves with the Classic Pro Rodeo bull Junior Bonner for 86 points, good enough for third place on the night and a check worth $10,673. That’s a nice step for the young cowboy making his first trip to the City of Lights and riding for his share of the $6 million purse that’s available. O’Mara – who credits his relationship with Tony Lama Boots, Cinch and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino for helping him down the rodeo trail all season long – failed to mark a qualifying eight-second ride in the opening round on Thursday. But he posted a nice score Friday after the judges rewarded him with a re-ride when things didn’t work out well with his original draw, Growney Brothers Rodeo’s Cash Money. Instead, O’Mara took advantage of the situation and put himself back in the money. Of course, he’s got a long road ahead of him if he hopes to claim that elusive world championship; he trails world standings leader Shane Proctor of Grand Coulee, Wash., by about $85,000. But this is the NFR, where all contestants hope to get their hands on a big share of the $6 million purse. Go-round winners will earn a check worth $17,885 each of the 10 nights, so O’Mara has the opportunity to make up significant ground. Luck will play a role in it, especially in bull riding, where cowboys are matched with some of the most amazing athletes, which, by chance, weigh upwards of 1,600 pounds. But these are the cards O’Mara has been dealt. He’s proven over the course of the season that he belongs in this arena with the elite bull riders in the sport. His goal is to make a hefty income in just 10 days and prove why he’s ready to fight for a world title at such a young age.

My wife worked the camera from her perch in the stands on Friday night, so thank you to Lynette Harbin for a magnificent job. You can go HERE to see them.

LAS VEGAS – Through two go-rounds of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, only three cowboys were having a better run than team ropers Jhett Johnson and Turtle Powell. Bareback rider Kaycee Field and tie-down roper Cody Ohl won each of the first two nights and have earned $35,769. Steer wrestler Trevor Knowles split the first-round victory, then won the second round outright, pocketing nearly $34,000 in the process. Powell, a header from Stephenville, Texas, and Johnson, a heeler from Casper, Wyo., have scored two straight ties for second place in the opening two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale. That means they’ve earned $24,808 for just 8.5 seconds of work. This is what the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is all about. Cowboys and cowgirls work all year in order to qualify for this 10-round spectacle in the Nevada desert. There is $6 million up for grabs in the eight disciplines. What’s more important is that dollars not only pay bills, but also are championship points. The contestant with the most money won in each event is crowned world champion. How big is the tandem’s start? Powell entered the NFR No. 13 in the world standings, while Johnson was 12th. They have moved to fourth in their respective money lists. Not only that, but they’re tied for fourth place in the shot for a new pickup through the Ram Truck Top Gun Award, given to the contestant who earns the most money at this year’s finals. Johnson, who displays his home-state pride in outstanding fashion by promoting Wyoming Tourism all across the country while on the rodeo trail and at ProRodeo’s championship event, is a father of three boys with his wife, Jenny. Jhett Johnson attended both Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell on rodeo scholarships – he earned a degree in psychology. He minored in rodeo, and that’s worked out pretty well so far for the five-time NFR qualifier.

LAS VEGAS – Ultimately, Tyson Durfey’s goal at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is to finish the season No. 1 in the world standings, earning the coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the year’s world champion. Durfey, 28, of Colbert, Wash, knows it takes money – the world standings equate to the money list, so dollars are championship points in the world of rodeo. The Missouri-born tie-down roper is well on his way, placing in the first two go-rounds and pocketing $17,885 in just two days. On Friday night, Durfey roped and tied his calf in 7.6 seconds to finish second in Round 2 of ProRodeo’s championship event. Only two other cowboys – five-time world champion Cody Ohl and Matt Shiozawa, a five-time NFR qualifier – have earned money in the first two nights in the 10-round slugfest for their share of the $6 million purse. Riding the great horse T.C., owned by friend Frederico Werneck, Durfey is making a solid statement in this year’s finale. To compare, he finished last year’s NFR with just $25,844 in a frustrating two weeks in Las Vegas. He’s hoping the tide continues to turn in his direction. This marks the fifth straight year Durfey has earned a trip to play on the biggest stage in ProRodeo. That’s significant, because it’s proof he is one of the elite tie-down ropers in the game. Of course, his three Canadian Professional Rodeo Association championships point to that, too – Durfey won his titles north of the border in 2006, 2008 and 2011.

LAS VEGAS – Every cowboy knows how important a good horse is to his business. Stockton Graves appreciates his mount, Gunner, owned by Jesse Peterson, because, well, Gunner can do things most steer wrestling horses can’t. It’s worked out very well for Graves, a seven-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The Newkirk, Okla., cowboy has placed in the first two go-rounds of this year’s finale and earned $9,808. “I should’ve won the round tonight or at least finished second, but I’ll take it,” said Graves, who grew up in Ponca City, Okla. “It’s my fault. I missed the barrier. Actually, if I hadn’t been riding Gunner, I wouldn’t have been 3.9 at all. It was all horse.” Nonetheless, he knows what it means to perform at his best on the biggest stage in the sport. “It’s important to do well here, because you work all year to get here,” said Graves, who recently was named rodeo coach at his alma mater, Oklahoma Panhandle State University. “Everybody thinks you get here that you’re going to rich, but you still have to bulldog and bulldog well. “You’ve got to do the best that you can do and not worry about anything else.” Graves’ 3.9 finished in a tie for fourth place with 2007 world champion Jason Miller, but the round was extremely fast. Oregonian Trevor Knowles won the round with a 3.3, followed by Luke Branquinho’s 3.4 and Sean Mulligan’s 3.6. “The main thing is coming in here making money,” Graves said. “Everybody comes to win a gold buckle, and it takes money to win the gold buckles. First thing is to win. If it comes down to the 10th round and you’re in the running for the gold buckle, then you’ve just had a great finals. “There’s nothing for me to lose. I need to run at it every night.”

1. Chandler Bownds, Lubbock, Texas, 91 points on Robinson Pro Rodeo’s RMEF Bugle, $17,885; 2. Wesley Silcox, Payson, Utah, 89.5, $14,125; 3. Jacob O’Mara, Prairieville, La., 86, $10,673; 4. Bobby Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 83.5, $7,500; 5. Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 83, $4,615; 6. L.J. Jenkins, Porum, Okla., 82, $2,885.

1. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 13.95 seconds, $17,885; 2. Angie Meadors, Blanchard, Okla., 14.00, $14,135; 3. Jody Sheffield, Ogden, Utah, 14.02, $10,673; 4. Christina Richman, Glendora, Calif., 14.09, $7,500; 5. Jeanne Anderson, White City, Kan., 14.13, $4,615; 6. Sherry Cervi, 14.17, $2,885.

LAS VEGAS – It’s starting to look like Casey Colletti’s appearance at the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is not a fluke. Colletti, a bareback rider from Pueblo, Colo., posted an 85.5-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo’s Fancy Free to finish in a tie for third place in Friday’s second round, earning $9,087 in the process. He has placed in both opening go-rounds of the 10-night slugfest in the Nevada desert – he finished second on Thursday – and has pocketed $23,221 in two nights. That works out to be $1,451 per second of work for his two eight-second qualifying rides. “I feel like I’m riding really good,” said Colletti, whose father, Chuck, was a bareback rider. “We watched the ride again today at Cowboy Christmas, and he told me it looked even better on TV.” Fancy Free is one of numerous great bareback horses from the Texas-based Classic Pro Rodeo, but Colletti knew only what he’d seen and what he heard. “I’ve only seen her one time, and my traveling partner, Micky Downare, had her in Texarkana (Ark.) a few years ago and was 90 on her,” he said. “I knew I had a chance, but I was nervous.” Why? “She’s been here at the finals so many times the last several years, and they always win money on her,” Colletti said. “They’ve won the 10th round on her, and I knew all I had to do was take care of my end and I’d be OK. It’s a good feeling to draw great bucking horses like that.” This is Colletti’s first qualification to ProRodeo’s grand finale, but he’s having the time of his life. Of course, it helps to have won so much money in just two nights of action, but that’s just gravy for the Colorado cowboy who attended Garden City (Kan.) Community College on a rodeo scholarship. “I’m just going to take it one day at a time,” Colletti said. “We’re here, so we’re just keep having fun one day after another.”

1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 7.1 seconds, $17,885; 2. Tyson Durfey, Colbert, Wash., 7.6, $14,125; 3. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 7.8, $10,673; 4. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 7.9, $7,500; 5. Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 8.2, $4,615; 6. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 8.4, $2,885.

1. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Patrick Smith, Midland, Texas, 4.1 seconds, $17,885; 2. Turtle Powell, Stephenville, Texas/ Jhett Johnson, Casper, Wyo., and Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas/York Gioll, Memphis, Tenn., 4.2, $12,404; 4. Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz./Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 6.0, $7,500; 5. Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, Ariz./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 9.0, $4,615; 6. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 11.6, $2,885.

1. Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 3.3 seconds, $17,885; 2. Luke Branquinho, 3.4, $14,135; 3. Sean Mulligan, Coleman, Okla., 3.6, $10,673; 4. Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., and Jason Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 3.9, $6,058; 6. Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., $2,885.

1. Kaycee Field, Payson, Utah, 87.5 points on JK Rodeo Co.’s Molly, $17,885; 2. Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 86, $14,135; 3. Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., and Wes Stevenson, Lubbock, Texas, 85.5, $9,087; 5. Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 84.5, $4,615; 6. Cody DeMers, Kimberly, Idaho, 83.5, $2,885.

Once a contestant has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, he/she belongs to a prestigious fraternity. If they’ve qualified at least three times, they’re in an elite group. On Friday night outside the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, saddle bronc riders Steve Dollarhide (eight times) and Bret Franks (three) were getting ready to enjoy the festivities. They definitely looked like they were having a blast.

I was pretty busy Thursday night, so I wasn’t able to get as many photos as I would’ve liked. I think I’ll solicit some assistance tonight. Fortunately I know good photographers who’d be willing to help us. Until then, check out our photos HERE. Here’s a sample.

LAS VEGAS – When Stockton Graves failed to qualify for the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, it marked the first time since 2004 the Oklahoma cowboy missed ProRodeo’s championship event. He’s making up for lost time this year. Graves, who turns 33 Monday, scored 4.3-second run to finish in a tie for fifth place in the first go-round of the 2011 finale. Going second in order, Graves set the standard for fast runs early. But the field of contestants chasing the $17,885 check that goes to each night’s winner is loaded with bulldogging talent. Graves and two-time qualifier Blake Knowles shared the fifth-fastest time, but that was a common theme on Thursday night. Shawn Greenfield and two-time champion Luke Branqhino shared the third-fastest time at 4.2 seconds, and Trevor Knowles and 2007 world champion Jason Miller won the round in 3.9 seconds. But steer wrestling often is the tightest race to the world title in rodeo. Graves earned $3,750 for his first-round run and moved up one spot to 13th in the world standings with nearly $59,000 in annual earnings. The NFR features a $6 million, so the Ponca City-born cowboy now living in Newkirk has a chance to increase his salary immensely over the 10-day championship. Graves was the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association’s steer wrestling champion in 1997, then carried his ability to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, where he was a standout, winning the Central Plains Region’s bulldogging title in 1999-2000. Just two weeks ago, he was announced as the rodeo coach at his alma mater. Since turning pro in 1997, Graves has been one of the best in the business. Seven times he’s played on the biggest stage in ProRodeo, but also he’s added to it championships in the Prairie Circuit and the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo. Now he’d like to add his trophy case the hardware given to world champions, a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle.

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes the best way to tackle any challenge is to take advantage of situations. Team ropers Jhett Johnson and Turtle Powell did that Thursday night, roping their steer in 4.3 seconds to finish in a tie for second place in the opening go-round of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – they matched the same score posted by Clay Tryan and Travis Graves and were just two-tenths of a second behind round winners Matt Sherwood and Cory Petska. “These steers are tough,” said Johnson, a five-time NFR-qualifying heeler from Casper, Wyo., who competed in college rodeo at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva and Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell. “They haven’t been roped like normal rodeo steers. They’re going to be hard to catch all week. Half the guys missed, so that shows you just how tough it is. “But it’s just super to come out and start this rodeo well. It means everything.” The key to success at the NFR, he said, is to continue to be aggressive. He knows he’ll get that with Powell, a header with whom Johnson has roped most of this ProRodeo season but not much before. “If you back off in an arena this small, they get very hard to catch,” he said. “You saw a few teams tonight thinking about that average, and instead of roping aggressive, it got to them. It’ll come back to kill you. The eighth or ninth round is when you have to start worrying about that.” The fastest cumulative time through the rugged 10-round championship will be crowned NFR average champion, the second most prestigious title in ProRodeo – the most sought after prize is the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the world champion, but the average buckle is pretty special, too. Oh, and the average champion in each discipline will win an additional $45,865 at the conclusion of the NFR. But Johnson is quite content with the $12,404 he earned Thursday. It’s a great way to start the championship with Powell. “We have never roped at the finals before,” Johnson said. “This year the steers are a little bit slower. It takes a smarter guy, and nobody has a cleaner head loop, can raise up and be ready more than Turtle. If you have to reach very far, it’s because you didn’t have a very good start, and Turtle gets a good start almost every time.” The challenge has been set. With eight no-times in the first round, a number of those teams will start taking short-cuts in order to make up time. “These guys are roping so fast, but in this arena, you need to rope smart,” Johnson said.

LAS VEGAS – Tyson Durfey is feeling fresh, ready and relaxed in his fifth straight qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It showed Thursday night in the first go-round of ProRodeo’s championship event. Durfey, of Colbert, Wash., roped and tied his calf in 7.9 seconds, which was good enough for a tie for fifth place in a lightning quick opening night of tie-down roping. Still, it earned him $3,750. That money is key for Durfey, who was raised near Savannah, Mo., and is now a three-time champion in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. Durfey moved his annual earnings to $73,794. He remains seventh in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association calf roping world standings, but he’s off to a strong start. Last year, he placed in just two go-rounds, but he finished sixth in all-important average race by having a strong cumulative time through the rugged 10 rounds. In rodeo, contestants’ money not only helps the cowboys pay bills, also it serves as championship points. The cowboys who earn the most when the annual income is tabulated at the conclusion of the NFR are crowned world champions in each event. Durfey is in position to do that again, even though he trails world standings leader Tuf Cooper by more than $65,000. Go-round winners at the NFR earn nearly $18,000 each night for 10 rounds.

LAS VEGAS – Four contestants from Team MGM Grand made a big statement Thursday night by winning the opening go-round of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Steer wrestler Jason Miller, tie-down roper Cody Ohl and barrel racers Brittany Pozzi and Lindsay Sears left the Thomas & Mack Center with the fastest times in their respective events and carried their huge one-night paychecks back to their comfortable rooms at one of the MGM Grand properties just a few blocks from the arena. Combined, the four competitors own 10 world championships, which is why it’s fitting they’re residing in the Home of the Champions during their stay in Las Vegas. Miller, the 2008 world champion from Lance Creek, Wyo., split the go-round win with Oregonian Trevor Knowles with 3.9-second runs, while Ohl, a six-time world champion (five in tie-down roping and the 2001 all-around winner), posted a 7.5-second run; it was the 41st time the Hico, Texas, cowboy has won an NFR go-round. Sears and Pozzi rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 14.03 each. “It’s great,” said Sears, the 2008 world champion from Nanton, Alberta. “It makes for our sport to be great watching. “It’s a tough competition. She’s such a great competitor, but so are the other 13 girls. It’s so tight, anybody can win this. I don’t think any one of us could relax.” The cowgirls are ranked Nos. 1-2 in the barrel racing standings, with Pozzi carrying just a $10,000 lead heading into the next nine rounds. “I just wanted to take my first run tonight clean,” said Pozzi, the 2007 and 2009 world champion from Victoria, Texas. “And just get the first one by me. I didn’t expect what happened to happen.” Miller and Knowles rode the same animal, two-time Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year Jessie, owned by two-time world champion Lee Graves. That was the key to the cowboys’ success. “You’ve got to have a lot of confidence in your horse, and Trevor and I have a lot of confidence in Jessie,” Miller said. “He’s going to win us a lot of money this week.” Ohl has been down this path before. He won the first of his gold buckles in 1997; his last came just five seasons ago, but the focus of his rodeo career has changed for the 38-year-old champion. He competed in just 26 rodeos through the season and planned to just rope for the average title, meaning he wanted to have the best cumulative time over the course of the 10-day finale. “(As) soon as I rode in there, (announcer) Boyd (Polhamus) said, ‘$60,000 behind,’ (then it was) blow the barrier and wrap and a hooey,” Ohl said, explaining that he his plan to rope safe went out the window and he decided to chase the go-round money instead, taking a few more gambles along the way in order to try to cash in with a $17,885 check given to the round winners. “My whole philosophy changed.” But that’s what happens in the minds of champions. When they’ve got their minds right, they can focus on the tasks at hand. With a $6 million purse on the line in the eight disciplines of rodeo, it’s important to be prepared when it’s time to go to work. “The thing I love about the MGM is they take care of everything for us,” Pozzi said. “We don’t have to worry about anything but the rodeo.”

LAS VEGAS – Casey Colletti knows the enormity of the event in which he’s competing this week. He takes nothing for granted, and he’s having a lot of fun in the City of Lights. That paid off Thursday when Colletti, a bareback rider from Pueblo, Colo., matched moves with the Carr Pro Rodeo horse Black Coffee for 87.5 points, good enough for second place in the opening night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and as check worth $14,135. “It’s Vegas; 90 or nothing,” said Colletti, a first-time qualifier to rodeo’s season finale. “This is the best experience of my life so far. It’s been phenomenal, from walking into that locker room, where I look around at my heroes, every guy in there, to climbing in the bucking chutes.” How does a newcomer handle being on the biggest stage in ProRodeo? “It’s so awesome right there, especially at first,” said Colletti, who attended Garden City (Kan.) Community College on a rodeo scholarship. “As I tied my glove on, I was still nervous. But I just looked around at all those people, 17,000 packed into this building to watch this thing. I just took it all in right before the national anthem, and I realized that there aren’t very many guys who get to experience it. I think that helped calm me down a lot, because I could just go at it like I needed to. “This is the best experience of my life so far. It’s been phenomenal.” That mental approach worked fantastic until Black Coffee had a couple of shy moments just before the ride. The 11-year-old black mare stalled, and Colletti had to wait several seconds on her to make the decision to perform. Once the tandem left the big yellow bucking chutes, it was spectacular. “That horse leaves really hard anyway,” he said. “I knew with her stalling, she was going to come out like a lightning bolt. When the gate opened the second time, she turned and looked, and I was like, ‘Here we go.’ “She went like a rocket. My feet were going 100 miles an hour, and all I could think about was, ‘It’s the NFR; leave no doubt.’ ” Now the difficult thing is to keep up that level on the world’s best bucking horses. That can be a tough task, but there’s plenty of incentive in the pay window. “This rodeo pays so good that it can change things for you drastically in two weeks,” said Colletti, who said he had 28 Facebook friend requests half an hour after his ride was televised on GAC. “It’s just a great experience, and doing this well on my first horse is awesome. I guarantee my mom is losing her mind. She’s my biggest fan, and this is my dad’s dream, living through me. I’m excited. “I also donated two tickets to the Western Wishes kid, so, to me, it’s pretty exciting that he gets to see that.”

LAS VEGAS – It took three trips to Las Vegas and 21 bulls, but Seth Glause earned his first go-round victory at the Wrangler National Finals on Thursday night. Glause rode Five Star Rodeo’s Gangster for 86 points to win the opening round of the 2011 grand finale, collecting a $17,885 check in the process. It was a long time coming for the Rock Springs, Wyo., cowboy. “It’s real important to get a good start,” said Glause, 23, who attended college on rodeo scholarships at Central Wyoming College and Oklahoma Panhandle State University. “This is just the second bull I’ve ever rode here, so I’m excited.” He should be. Glause increased his annual earnings to $93,357 and jumped one spot in the world standings to sixth place. “I’ve been here a couple of times now, so I know the drill and the pressure, and I decided I was going to relax and have fun and try to stay as focus as I could and not worry about my surroundings,” he said. “It means a lot because of the struggles; you’ve got to go to the bottom to realize what it’s like to actually win, and so you really appreciate it from that standpoint.” Glause earned bull riding titles in the Oklahoma communities of Guymon and Lawton and added an all-around championship at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colo., by competing also in saddle bronc riding. All that earned the young cowboy the right to compete among the very best in the business this December. “With this group of guys, there are so many talented bull riders and the bulls are so great that you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. Glause is scheduled to compete in Friday’s second go-round on Frontier Rodeo’s Feeling So Fly. He’d love to make it two in row in Las Vegas. “I’m just trying to stay relaxed and not let the distractions get to me,” he said.

LAS VEGAS – Matt Sherwood knows the importance of getting off to a good start at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Sherwood and his partner, Cory Petska of Marana, Ariz., were the fastest team ropers Thursday during the opening night of ProRodeo’s championship event, stopping the clock in 4.1 seconds to win the first go-round and pocket $17,885. “You did not want to be late,” said Sherwood, a two-time world champion header from Pima, Ariz. “I thought that steer was going to run a little harder than he did. I was fortunate to get out on him.” Sherwood and Petska scouted the steer that was selected for them during a random draw an hour or so before the go-round, the same scenario that will take place each of the 10 nights of the NFR. Sherwood expected the steer to burst out of the chute more than it did, so he needed a good start. However, had he broken the barrier that gives the steer a head start, the resulting penalty would have been 10 seconds. That’s virtual disaster in this 10-round marathon where teams try to score times faster than 5 seconds. “We roped all these steers one time Tuesday morning, and we videoed them,” he said of the cowboys scouted their animal. “He was not what we expected him to be. This is supposed to be the strong pen of steers. He hit the barrier, and I kind of soft-looped him. But it worked.” This is Sherwood’s third trip to rodeo’s grand finale. In his two previous trips to Las Vegas, the father of seven left the City of Lights with the world champion’s hardware, a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. “I love it,” Sherwood said of Las Vegas. “It’s a long 10 days, so you really have to take it one day at a time. For now, we’ll just take it slow and see what happens.” But he and Petska had better be fast. That’s how the game is played here, especially in an arena roughly the size of a hockey rink. “It’s critical here because the building’s so short,” he said. “You put yourself in a situation where it seems like it’s hard to get a time if you’re not aggressive. “We’ll be aggressive no matter what, because that’s where your highest percentage shot is.”

1. Seth Glause, Rock Springs, Wyo., 86.5 points on Five Star Rodeo’s Gangster, $17,885; 2. Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 84.5, $14,135; 3. Steve Woolsey, Payson, Utah, 84, $10,673; 4. Tyler Willis, Wheatland, Wyo., 82.5, $7,500; 5. Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., 77.5, $4,615.

1. Lindsay Sears, Nanton, Alberta, and Brittany Pozzi, Victoria, Texas, 14.03 seconds, $16,010 each; 3. Tammy Fischer, Ledbetter, Texas, 14.05, $10,673; 4. Jane Melby, Backus, Minn., and Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 14.08, $6,058; 6. Jeanne Anderson, White City, Kan., 14.19, $2,885.

1. Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 7.5 seconds, $17,885; 2. Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, and Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 7.7, $12,404; 4. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 7.8, $7,500; 5. Tyson Durfey, Colbert, Wash., and Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 7.9, $3,750.