Monthly Archives: February 2017

Bareback riding leaders: 1. Jamie Howlett, 80 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Ragin Angel; 2. (tie) Justin McDaniel and Joel Schlegel, 79; 4. Tilden Hooper, 75; 5. Grant Denny, 74; no other qualified rides. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. (tie) Tyler Waguespack and Dakota Eldridge, 3.3 seconds each; 3. (tie) Ty Erickson and Blake Knowles, 3.5; 5. Baylor Roche, 3.7; 6. (tie) Kyle Whitaker, Jacob Talley and Jacob Shofner, 3.8. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. (tie) Cory Clark/Clint Summers and Jake Cooper/Brady Norman, 5.5 seconds; 3. Aaron Macy/Evan Arnold, 6.1; 4. Billy Bob Brown/Logan Medlin, 9.2; 5. Caleb Smidt/B.J. Dugger, 9.3; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. (tie) Caleb Smidt/B.J. Dugger and Matt Sherwood/Jeol Bach, 4.1 seconds each; 3. Zac Small/Will Woodfin, 4.5; no other qualified times. Average leaders: 1. Caleb Smidt/B.J. Dugger, 13.4 seconds on two runs; 2. Matt Sherwood/Joel Bach, 4.1 seconds on one run; 3. Zac Small/Will Woodfin, 4.5; 4. (tie) Cory Clark/Clint Summers and Jake Cooper/Brady Norman, 5.5; 6. Aaron Macy/Evan Arnold, 6.1; 7. Billy Bob Brown/Logan Medlin, 9.2. No other qualified times. Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Magin Lane Montoya, 80 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Cover Girl; 2. Audy Reed, 74; 3. (tie) Clay Elliott and Cameron Messier, 73 each; 5. Hardy Braden, 72; 6. (tie) Will Smith and Clay Stremler, 70 each; 8. Dylan Henson, 69. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Michael Otero, 7.0 seconds; 2. Cody Quaney, 7.8; 3. Ryle Smith, 7.9; 4. Shank Edwards, 8.2; 5. Cory Solomon, 8.6; 6. Josh Peek, 8.7; 7. Timber Moore, 8.9; 8. Sterling Smith, 9.5; 4. (tie) Randall Carlisle and Matt Shiozawa, 10.9 each; 6. Blane Cox, 11.1; 7. Caleb Smidt, 14.2; no other qualified times. Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Laura Kennedy, 14.24 seconds; 2. Lindsay Sears, 14.24; 3. Brooke Jeter, 14.42; 4. Morgan Breaux, 14.43; 5. Margo Crowther, 14.60; 6. J.J. Baldwin, 14.70; 7. Kirstin Carlson, 14.73; 8. Molly Childers, 14.86; 9. Kimmi Byler, 14.90; 10. (tie) Kortney Cleveland and Kelly Kennedy Joseph, 14.97. Average leaders: 1. Morgan Breaux, 30.44 seconds on two runs; 2. Laura Kennedy, 30.80; 3. Lindsay Sears, 30.83; 4. Brooke Jeter, 31.00; 5. Kimmi Byler, 31.09; 6. Margo Crowther, 31.15; 7. J.J. Baldwin, 31.29; 8. Kirstin Carlson, 31.33; 9. Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, 31.33; 10. Molly Childers, 31.40. Bull riding leaders: 1. Brennon Eldred, 87.5 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Shellac; 2. Tanner Learmont, 83; 3. Luke Gee, 82; 4. Reid Barker, 78; 5. Clayton Sellars, 77; no other qualified rides.

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Clint Summers is coming off the best season of his young career, yet 2016 still left a bad taste in his mouth. The team roper earned more than $48,000 last year while roping with fellow Floridian Dustin Egusquiza and finished 20th in final heeling world standings. That’s five spots shy of qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale that features only the top 15 contestants in each event. “When you get that close, it makes your mouth water,” said Summers, a fifth-year professional from Lake City, Fla. “Last year was the first time I had rodeoed full time in a while. We started in May, and it worked out pretty good. Both of us were close to making the finals.” A new season means a fresh start, and it all began Friday night during the opening performance of the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo. Summers and his heading partner, Cory Clark, stopped the clock in 5.5 seconds and share the first-round lead with Jake Cooper and Brady Norman. “This is actually our first rodeo together,” Summers said of Clark. “We’ve known each other forever. He’s a little younger than me, but I think it started out alright.” It did, and the tandem will make their second-round run during Saturday’s matinee, which begins at 1 p.m. at San Angelo Coliseum. “We were the first team out, and it’s always a little nerve-racking to be the first ones out in the whole rodeo because you don’t know what the steers are going to do or how the start is going to be for your header,” she said. “We didn’t try to do anything big; we just tried to catch him. “Now we have to rope our second one tomorrow. We probably need to be a little faster.” The ultimate goal is to win the championship, but it takes little steps to get there. The first is complete, and the next is to be solid on Saturday. If it all works OK, they will return on Friday, Feb. 17, for the championship round, which will feature the top 12 contestants in each discipline. That’s when champions will be crowned. “San Angelo has always been pretty decent to me,” said Summers, who has qualified for the short go-round two of the three previous times he’s competed in this Texas community. “The first time I headed for Brad Culpepper and missed in the short round. In my rookie year, I heeled for Arky Rogers, and we finished third. “You have different rodeos that you find you like because you have some success, and this is one of those for me. I’ve got a lot of confidence here. Every year I’ve been here, the crowd is always packed, and that makes it great. I also like the setup. Back where I’m from on the East Coast, most of the setups are short like this one. I grew up roping on something like this.” That confidence is important in any competition, but it’s vital for cowboys who make their living in rodeo. There are no guarantees, so catching steers is like catching paychecks for ropers like Summers. He has a whole season to keep catching, and that money not only pays bills and expenses that come with the game; it leads the way to world championships. In rodeo, dollars equal points, and the contestant in each event who finishes the season with the most money will win the crown. “When you just miss the NFR, it sure makes you practice harder to get there,” he said. San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Feb. 3-5, Feb. 10-12, Feb. 15-17 Bareback riding leaders: No qualified rides. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.3 seconds; 2. Ty Erickson, 3.5; 3. (tie) Kyle Whitaker and Jacob Talley, 3.8; 5. Wade Sumpter, 4.2; 6. Nick Guy, 4.4; 7. Timmy Sparing, 4.7; 8. Clayton Hass, 5.5. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. (tie) Cory Clark/Clint Summers and Jake Cooper/Brady Norman, 5.5 seconds; 3. Aaron Macy/Evan Arnold, 6.1; 4. Billy Bob Brown/Logan Medlin, 9.2; 5. Caleb Smidt/B.J. Dugger, 9.3; no other qualified times. Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Audy Reed, 74 points on Lancaster & Jones’ Badlands; 2. Clay Elliott, 73; 3. Hardy Braden, 72; 4. (tie) Will Smith and Clay Stremler, 70 each; 6. Justin Lawrence, 68; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Ryle Smith, 7.9 seconds; 2. Cory Solomon, 8.6; 3. Sterling Smith, 9.5; 4. (tie) Randall Carlisle and Matt Shiozawa, 10.9 each; 6. Blane Cox, 11.1; 7. Caleb Smidt, 14.2; no other qualified times. Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Laura Kennedy, 14.24 seconds; 2. Brooke Jeter, 14.42; 3. Margo Crowther, 14.60; 4. J.J. Baldwin, 14.70; 5. Kirstin Carlson, 14.73; 6. Molly Childers, 14.86; 7. Sarah Rose McDonald, 16.26; 8. Julie Burnett, 19.95; 9. Cambra Smith, 20.10; 10. Michelle Lummus, 25.19; no other qualified times. Average leaders: 1. Laura Kennedy, 30.80 seconds on two runs; 2. Brooke Jeter, 31.00; 3. Margo Crowther, 31.15; 4. J.J. Baldwin, 31.29; 5. Kirstin Carlson, 31.33; 6. Molly Childers, 31.40; 7. Sarah Rose McDonald, 32.82; 8. Julie Burnett, 36.52; 9. Cambra Smith, 36.68; 10. Michelle Lummus, 41.76; 11. Tiany Schuster, 15.79 seconds on one run; 12. Carmel Wright, 15.84. Bull riding leaders: 1. Brennon Eldred, 87.5 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Shellac; 2. Luke Gee, 82; no other qualified rides.

PLATTE CITY, Mo. – Cowboys are the epitome of ruggedly tough, able to handle the aches and pains that come with their lifestyle. That’s especially true in bull riding, where men weighing 140 to 175 pounds try to test their athletic talents while atop an 1,800-pound bucking beast. When they don’t make the eight-second buzzer, their bodies are slammed around, and cowboy hats don’t offer much protection. That’s why a growing number of cowboys are tossing the hats aside in favor of helmets, and a Platte City company is on the forefront of attacking potential head trauma that occurs. “It’s our job to produce helmets that reduce the risk of serious head injuries that can happen in bull riding,” said Cody McGee, co-founder of 100X Helmets. “We have seen the effects that these injuries can play on athletes, and we want to do something about it. “There are still a lot of bull riders that choose to wear the traditional cowboy hats while competing, but I think it’s imperative that we get as many of these guys in helmets as possible. It doesn’t have to be a 100X Helmet; I just want more guys wearing them and giving themselves a better chance at staying healthy in the long run.” With the Professional Bull Riders’ Kansas City Invitational set for Feb. 11-12 at the Sprint Center, there will be more cowboys competing in helmets than hats. McGee said 20 of the 35 cowboys competing on the PBR’s premier tour – the Built Ford Tough Series – are now wearing helmets, and 14 of those will don 100X Helmets. At the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo two months ago, 12 of the 15 cowboys in the field wore 100X Helmets, including three-time reigning world champion Sage Kimzey of Strong City, Okla. The main reason is because of the technology McGee and his partner, Cris Welch, have developed with an understanding of impact distribution. The company also utilizes lightweight materials that are formed in a certain way to withstand hard-hitting impacts. Because it’s a lighter helmet, it allows for bull riders to maintain better balance while also giving them solid visibility through the facemask. “It’s just a great helmet,” said Stetson Lawrence, 28, of Lewiston, N.D., one of the bull riders who will be in Kansas City next week. “It’s the first helmet specifically made for bull riding and for the safety of bull riders. They’ve done a good job of taking in all the angle of hits and where to put the pads. The angle of the facemask is so you can see no matter where your head is. “I’ve take a couple of hits with them, and I haven’t been concussed with it on yet. I think it’s been a great thing for me, and I feel a lot safer.” Head injuries are nothing new in sports, especially those with tremendous impacts to the head. Over the last few years, head injuries have led to the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among many top athletes. One of the most prevalent was Junior Seau, an NFL linebacker who committed suicide in 2012. Other renowned NFL players who have killed themselves and have been found to have suffered with CTE were Dave Duerson and a couple of men who last played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Mike Webster in 2002 and Jovan Belcher in 2012. But the bull riding world took a hit last month when Canadian Ty Pozzobon killed himself at his family’s home in British Columbia. That hit home to a number of cowboys that make their living in one of the most dangerous sports. “Ty’s death has been an eye-opener for everybody in the sport of bull riding,” Lawrence said. “It’s been going on in the NFL for so long, and this is the first case of it in bull riding. You see a lot of guys now second-guessing themselves and leaning toward wearing a helmet.” Pozzobon wore a helmet, but his was more like those worn in lacrosse and hockey. Those helmets were not designed to take the impact of a bull’s head as it rears back in its bucking motion or to understand the force that comes when a bull lands on top of a cowboy that had already been thrown from its back. Still there will be some cowboys that remain committed to the cowboy way of life and the comfort of a felt or straw hat over the protection that can be provided. “It’s really a guy’s personal preference,” Lawrence said. “In my personal experience, I’ve been knocked out and had my jaw broken. I had to sit out a long time because of the injury.” Unlike other professional sports, cowboys aren’t afforded with guaranteed incomes. They only earn money when they finish better than most in the field. There is no pay if they can’t play. “I don’t want to sit out because of an injury, and if it could have been prevented, then I feel pretty silly about it,” he said. “The great thing about the 100X Helmet is that it’s comfortable, and I feel confident and protected. I’ve landed on one bull’s head and it bent the facemask, but I got out of it clean. “The other times I’ve hit the ground hard. Sometimes when you hit the ground hard, you can feel a little rattled. I’ve never felt any affects with that helmet.”