Monthly Archives: August 2013

DODGE CITY, Kan. – This time of year is busy for every ProRodeo contestant going down the road. Bareback rider Luke Creasy took it up a notch with an overnight drive to Oklahoma City to catch a 6:15 a.m. flight out of Will Rogers World Airport. He’ll do it with a smile on his face after posting an 83-point ride on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Breezy Weather on Thursday night to take the bareback riding lead at Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. His flight will carry the Brownfield, Alberta, cowboy to Calgary, Alberta, where he’ll meet up with his brother, Clay, and drive the 36 miles to Strathmore, Alberta, to compete in a Friday afternoon performance there. Afterward, the Creasys will travel the 600 miles to Abbotsford, B.C., for a rodeo near the province’s coastline. “From there, I’ll be flying back here for Sunday,” he said, referring to Roundup’s championship round. That’s possible because Creasy put on a solid performance in southwest Kansas. “I didn’t know very much about that horse,” he said. “I looked at the stats on that horse; there was just one stat, and it didn’t look very good. Somebody made an off-hand comment on how nice it was, I looked to the positive side of that. I went to the basics and knew if I made a good ride, the horse would cooperate with me, and it might be good enough for a short-go appearance.” Roughstock cowboys – bareback riders, saddle bronc riders and bull riders – will compete one full round, while timed-event contestants will go twice. The top 12 scores and cumulative times in each event will earn a trip back for Sunday. Creasy has been there before. In fact, the first time he competed at Roundup in 2010, he posted an 82 in the first round, then shared the final-round victory with an 87 with eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Wes Stevenson. Because Stevenson had posted a better score in the opening round, he earned the title, but Creasy was the runner-up – a pretty good start for a cowboy in just his third year as a pro. “This has been, honest to God, a pretty lousy year,” Creasy said, noting a string of injuries that has kept him sidelined far too long over the last two seasons. “Just having to sit on my butt for a month straight didn’t help me get more advanced. It took getting on a lot of horses, a lot of practice and going to little rodeos to get back into the swing of things. “When things started going well, I couldn’t draw worth a dang.” Cowboys are matched with their animal by a blind draw. Just like humans, some animal athletes are better than others, and Creasy has experienced a pretty significant drawing drought. Still, he realizes things can turn around in a hurry. “I’ve been waiting and being positive, knowing if I kept my basics and my positive attitude that eventually the draws will come around, and that’s what happened tonight,” he said. Dodge City Roundup Rodeo Dodge City, Kan. July 31-Aug. 4 Bareback riding: 1. Luke Creasy, 83 points on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Breezy Weather; 2. R.C. Landingham, 82; 3. Tim O’Connell, 81; 4. Seth Hardwick, 80; 5. Tom McFarland, 79; 6. (tie) Caleb Bennett and Brian Bain, 77; 8. (tie) J.R. Vezain, Casey Colletti and Joe Gunderson, 75. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Casey Martin, 4.2 seconds; 2. Matt Reeves, 4.3; 3. Chad Van Campen, 4.4; 4. Ty Willick, 4.5; 5. Bray Armes, 4.6; 6. Riley Duvall, 4.9; 7. (tie) Jacob Shofner, Jule Hazen and Shayde Etherton, 5.0. Second round leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 3.2 seconds; 2. Casey Martin, 4.0; 3. (tie) Ben Shofner and John Kloeckler, 4.1; 5. Dru Melvin, 4.2; 6. Riley Duvall, 4.8; 7. Blake Knowles, 4.9; 8. (tie) Jared Thompson and Shayde Etherton, 5.0. Average leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 7.8 seconds on two runs; 2. Casey Martin, 8.2; 3. Riley Duvall, 9.7; 4. Shayde Etherton, 10.0; 5. Ben Shofner, 10.1; 6. Cody Pratt, 11.1; 7. Jule Hazen, 11.5; 8. Cody Kroul, 11.7. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7 seconds; 2. Caleb Scmidt/B.J. Duggger, 6.2; 3. Mike Bacon/Joseph Harrison, 6.5; 4. John O’Connor/Ernie Bacon, 20.8; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds; 2. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 3. Caleb Smidt/B.J. Dugger, 5.8; 4. Mike Bacon/Joseph Harrison, 7.2; 5. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1; no other qualified times. Average: 1. Caleb Smidt, 12.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Mike Bacon/Joseph Harrison, 13.7; 3. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds on one run; 4. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 5. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7; 6. John O’Connor/Ernie Bacon, 20.8; 7. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1; no other qualified times. Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Tyler Corrington, on Frontier Rodeo’s Bear Paw, and Bradley Harter, on Frontier Rodeo’s Strike Fire, 83 points; 3. Jesse Bail, 80; 4. (tie) Cort Scheer and Ty Atchison, 79; 6. Isaac Diaz, 77; 7. Ryan Bestol, 76; 8. Curtis Garton, 75. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Jerome Schneeberger, 8.5 seconds; 2. Bryson Sechrist, 9.3; 3. Ben Madsen, 9.4; 4. Tyler Garten, 10.0; 5. Justin Maass, 10.1; 6. Blake Deckard, 11.0; 7. Billy Hamilton, 11.1; Caleb Smidt, 11.3. Second round leaders: 1. (tie) Caleb Smidt and Hunter Herrin, 7.8 seconds; 3. (tie) Fred Whitfield and Ryan Watkins, 8.1; 5. (tie) Paul David Tierney and Clint Carpenter, 8.4; 7. Jerome Schneeberger, 9.2; 8. Bill Sharber, 9.5. Average leaders: 1. Jerome Schneeberger, 17.7 seconds on two runs; 2. Caleb Smidt, 19.1; 3. Clint Carpenter, 19.9; 4. Blake Deckard, 20.6; 5. Ben Madsen, 21.1; 6. Tyler Garten, 22.2; 7. Fred Whitfield, 26.9; 8. Tylen Laton, 29.0. Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Laura Lambert, 17.22 seconds; 2. Shali Lord, 17.23; 3. June Holeman, 17.30; 4. Jessica Frost, 17.33; 5. Kelly Waide, 17.34; 6. (tie) Morgan Figueroa and Carol Chesher, 17.35; 8. Shannon Witcher, 17.45; 9. Lizzy Ehr, 17.48; 10. Kyra Stierwalt, 17.51. Second  Continue Reading »

We’re not far from the second performance of the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. Check out more photos through this morning’s competition HERE. Dodge City Roundup Rodeo Dodge City, Kan. July 31-Aug. 4 Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Casey Martin, 4.2 seconds; 2. Matt Reeves, 4.3; 3. Chad Van Campen, 4.4; 4. Ty Willick, 4.5; 5. Bray Armes, 4.6; 6. Riley Duvall, 4.9; 7. (tie) Jacob Shofner, Jule Hazen and Shayde Etherton, 5.0. Second round leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 3.2 seconds; 2. Casey Martin, 4.0; 3. (tie) Ben Shofner and John Kloeckler, 4.1; 5. Dru Melvin, 4.2; 6. Blake Knowles, 4.9; 7. Jared Thompson, 5.0; 8. Cody Pratt, 5.1. Average leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 7.8 seconds on two runs; 2. Casey Martin, 8.2; 3. Ben Shofner, 10.1; 4. Cody Pratt, 11.1; 5. Cody Kroul, 11.7; 6. Joe Buffington, 12.0; 7. Sean Mulligan, 13.0; 8. Ty Willick, 18.0. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7 seconds; 2. Caleb Scmidt/B.J. Duggger, 6.2; 3. Mike Bacon/Joseph Harrison, 6.5; 4. John O’Connor/Ernie Bacon, 20.8; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds; 2. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 3. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1. Average: 1. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds on one run; 2. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 3. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7; 4. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1; no other qualified times. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Jerome Schneeberger, 8.5 seconds; 2. Bryson Sechrist, 9.3; 3. Ben Madsen, 9.4; 4. Tyler Garten, 10.0; 5. Justin Maass, 10.1; 6. Blake Deckard, 11.0; 7. Billy Hamilton, 11.1; Caleb Smidt, 11.3. Second round leaders: 1. Hunter Herrin, 7.8 seconds; 2. (tie) Fred Whitfield and Ryan Watkins, 8.1; 4. Paul David Tierney, 8.4; 5. Bill Sharber, 9.5; 6. Blake Deckard, 9.6; 7. Ben Madsen, 11.7; 8. Tylen Layten, 13.1. Average leaders: 1. Blake Deckard, 20.6 on two runs; 2. Ben Madsen, 21.1; 3. Fred Whitfield, 26.9; 4. Tylen Laton, 29.0; 5. Hunter Herrin, 7.8 on one run; 6. Ryan Watkins, 8.1; 7. Paul David Tierney, 8.4; 8. Jerome Schneeberger, 8.5. Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Laura Lambert, 17.22 seconds; 2. Shali Lord, 17.23; 3. June Holeman, 17.30; 4. Jessica Frost, 17.33; 5. Kelly Waide, 17.34; 6. (tie) Morgan Figueroa and Carol Chesher, 17.35; 8. Shannon Witcher, 17.45; 9. Lizzy Ehr, 17.48; 10. Kyra Stierwalt, 17.51. Second round leaders: 1. Lizzy Ehr, 17.06 seconds; 2. Kendra Dickson, 17.08; 3. (tie) Carol Chesher and Emily Miller, 17.24; 5. Gretchen Benbenek, 17.34; 6. Kelly Waide, 17.35; 7. Sandy McElreath, 17.38; 8. P.J. Burger, 17.46; 9. Benette Little, 17.47; 10. Stacey Bailey, 17.63. Average leaders: 1. Lizzy Ehr, 34.54 on two runs; 2. Carol Chesher, 34.59; 3. Kelly Waide, 34.69; 4. Gretchen Benbenek, 34.94; 5. (tie) Ryann Pedone and Sandy McElreath, 35.34; 7. Shannon Witcher, 35.49; 8. P.J. Burger, 35.50; 9. Kirby Harter, 35.82; 10. Andrea Wolf, 36.18.

DODGE CITY, Kan. – Drake Armes celebrated his fourth birthday last December in Las Vegas. He’d like to do the same for No. 5. You see, his daddy is Bray Armes of Ponder, Texas, who wrestled steers at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time. In order to return, he needs to finish the regular season among the top 15 bulldoggers on the money list when the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association season concludes in September. He’s No. 14 right now with $33,824, but he stands a good chance of moving up. On Wednesday night during the opening performance of the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo, Armes grappled his steer to the ground in 3.2 seconds to take an overwhelming lead in the second round; combined with his 4.6 in the first round Wednesday morning, he has a four-tenths of a second lead in the average with a cumulative time of 7.8 seconds. “I just lucked out and drew two really good steers and was fortunate enough to use them,” said Armes, who was raised on a farm near Gruver, Texas, just 155 miles southwest of Dodge City. “I’m very blessed, and I just thank the Lord for getting me here and letting me be safe and being able to do what I love to do. “This morning, the guy that had that steer broke the barrier (not allowing the steer a long enough head start) and missed the steer right there in front of the chute. I knew if I started good, he’d be waiting on me right there. I didn’t know it was going to happen that fast, but it worked out good.” Drake Armes is one of his dad’s traveling partners this week, so he got to see first-hand the fastest run of the rodeo so far. Rodeo cowboys spend their seasons on the road and, oftentimes, away from home for weeks, even months at a time. There are 32 PRCA rodeos taking place this week alone, including three others in Kansas – Hill City, Phillipsburg and Abilene. “It means everything to have him with me,” Armes said, noting his wife, Neelley, and daughter, Breely, returned home to north Texas after spending a little time on the rodeo trail last week. “Last year when I got into a rut and couldn’t win anything, I picked him up, and it just took off. “Hopefully it just keeps rolling this year.” The main thing about Wednesday’s performances is that he’s a virtual lock to return to Dodge City for the championship round Sunday evening – the top 12 contestants by virtue of the best cumulative time (in steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping and barrel racing) or best scores (in bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding) qualify for the short go-round. For now, though, Armes will take a moment to enjoy runs before hitting the trail again. “The toughest thing about rodeo is being gone from my family, so any time we get to spend together is great,” he said. Now he needs to parlay a solid performance in Dodge City into a return trip to the NFR so he and his family can get a little more quality time in the City of Lights. Dodge City Roundup Rodeo Dodge City, Kan. July 31-Aug. 4 Bareback riding: 1. R.C. Landingham, 82 points on Frontier Rodeo’s War Cry; 2. Tim O’Connell, 81; 3. Seth Hardwick, 80; 4. (tie) Caleb Bennett and Brian Bain, 77; 6. (tie) J.R. Vezain and Casey Colletti, 75. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Casey Martin, 4.2 seconds; 2. Ty Willick, 4.5; 3. Bray Armes, 4.6; 4. Jacob Shofner, 5.0; 5. Cooper Shofner, 5.3; 6. Kyle Broce, 5.8; 7. Dakota Eldridge, 5.9; 8. Ben Shofner, 6.0. Second round leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 3.2 seconds; 2. Casey Martin, 4.0; 3. Ben Shofner, 4.1; 4. Dru Melvin, 4.2; 5. Blake Knowles, 4.9; 6. Cody Pratt, 5.1;7. Cody Kroul, 5.5; 8. Joe Buffington, 5.6. Average leaders: 1. Bray Armes, 7.8 seconds on two runs; 2. Casey Martin, 8.2; 3. Ben Shofner, 10.1; 4. Cody Pratt, 11.1; 5. Cody Kroul, 11.7; 6. Joe Buffington, 12.0; 7. Sean Mulligan, 13.0; 8. Ty Willick, 18.0. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7 seconds; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds; 2. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 3. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1. Average: 1. Matt Sherwood/Tommy Zuniga, 4.6 seconds on one run; 2. Paul David Tierney/Jared Bilby, 4.9; 3. Clay Smith/Jake Smith, 5.7; 4. Trent Barrett/Jake Pelton, 21.1; no other qualified times. Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Tyler Corrington, on Frontier Rodeo’s Bear Paw, and Bradley Harter, on Frontier Rodeo’s Strike Fire, 83 points; 3. Cort Scheer, 79; 4. Ryan Bestol, 76; 5. Nick Laduke, 74; 6. Jordan Furnish, 66; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Ben Madsen, 9.4 seconds; 2. Blake Deckard, 11.0; 3. Colby Dorsey, 14.1; 4. Tylen Layton, 15.9; 5. Fred Whitfield, 18.8; 6. Luke Madsen, 21.6; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. Fred Whitfield, 8.1 seconds; 2. Paul David Tierney, 8.4; 3. Blake Deckard, 9.6; 4. Ben Madsen, 11.7; 5. Tylen Layten, 13.1; 6. Brandon Barber, 13.9; Houston Hutto, 20.6. Average leaders: 1. Blake Deckard, 20.6 on two runs; 2. Ben Madsen, 21.1; 3. Fred Whitfield, 26.9; 4. Tylen Laton, 29.0; 5. Paul David Tierney, 8.4 on one run; 6. Brandon Barber, 13.9; 7. Colby Dorsey, 14.1; 8. Houston Hutto, 20.6. Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Kelly Waide, 17.34 seconds; 2. (tie) Morgan Figueroa and Carol Chesher, 17.35; 4. Shannon Witcher, 17.45; 5. Lizzy Ehr, 17.48; 6. Ryann Pedone, 17.57; 7. Gretchen Benbenek, 17.60; 8. Katharine Wall, 17.79; 9. Cynthia Wolf, 17.87; 10. (tie) Andrea Wolf and Sandy McElreath, 17.96. Second round leaders: 1. Lizzy Her, 17.06 seconds; 2. (tie) Carol Chesher and Emily Miller, 17.24; 4. Gretchen Benbenek, 17.34; 5. Kelly Waide, 17.35; 6. Sandy McElreath, 17.38; 7. Benette Little, 17.47; 8. Stacey Bailey, 17.63; 9. Kirby Harter, 17.69;  Continue Reading »