It looks like the roughstock cowboys had a bit of tough luck Wednesday night at the Fort Worth (Texas) Stock Show Rodeo.

Heath Ford posted the highest marked score of the night, an 81-point ride bareback riding on J Bar J Rodeo’s Pass The Hat. That moved Ford into a tie for second place in the first go-round with Frenchman Evan Jayne. Kyle Brennecke posted a 78, while Ryan Little scored 75.

None of those scores are overwhelming in any regard. In fact, there are a lot of rodeos where an 81 will not win a roughstock cowboy any money. But those were the best scores in Fort Worth on Wednesday. Next on the list was bull rider Mike Lee, who posted a 74 on Diamond S Rodeo’s Brule. The top score in saddle bronc riding was Ben Londo’s 68 on J Bar J’s 251.

I’m not sure what this says about things in Fort Worth, but I would hope one of the biggest and best rodeos in the sport would boast of better scores through its preliminary go-rounds. I can’t tell you why the scores are as such, because I’m not there.

But I would like to see rodeos like Fort Worth, Denver and San Antonio to have great match-ups and an opportunity for outstanding scores. The cowboys deserve it.

So do the fans.