GET SOCIAL 
SHOP NOW AT:
WRANGLER.COM

Schuster, Bangert Punch Ticket to Semifinal at RodeoHouston Winning Super Series II and III

By Jolee Jordan

Tiany Schuster
Photo Courtesy RODEOHOUSTON

Houston, Texas — Success at major winter rodeos is not a requirement for qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) but it sure can make the path a lot easier for cowboys and cowgirls able to capitalize on the huge purses offered from January 1 to the end of March.

No single payoff in the winter is bigger than RodeoHouston. A tournament style event with 40 invited competitors divided into brackets or Super Series of eight contestants each, Houston is all sudden death with advancement out of each Super Series dependent on being in the top four money winners following three go rounds.

The 20 Semi-Finalists make another run in one of two rounds with the fastest four advancing to the Championship Round on March 16; the remaining six aren’t done, they move into the Wild Card Round, held March 15, where the two fastest also advance to the Championship Round.

The final night consists of a ten contestant Championship Round, followed immediately by the Championship Shoot-out, comprised of the top four from the championship round. Every round pays well but it’s the final payoff that is life changing and can make the difference between competing in December in Las Vegas or watching from the couch.

The final round winner gets $50,000, all of which counts towards WPRA World standings. Whether seasoned veterans inside this building like Tiany Schuster or RodeoHouston rookies like Teri Bangart or Jessi Fish, competitors know exactly what’s at stake during their time in south Texas.

Super Series II

Two years ago, Krum, Texas cowgirl Schuster set a new WPRA regular season earnings record with $250,378; during that magical season, she made it into six digits by the end of the Ram National Circuit Finals (RNCFR) and RodeoHouston, still in the spring.

Schuster returned to Houston to compete in the second Super Series held Thursday through Saturday, February 28 through March 2 and she brought a new stick.

A Dash of Killian has actually been in Schuster’s barn since last summer but the horse got his shoe caught on the lugnuts of the horse trailer tire after pawing while tied. A huge part of the hoof was ripped off and Killian went onto the injured list for the rest of the year. He missed more than six months as the hoof regrew.

Finally able to make her first runs on him at a jackpot a few weeks prior to RodeoHouston, Schuster decided the unique setup inside NRG Stadium might just work for the 13 year old son of Killian Pacific Plus and out of the Victory Dash mare, A Dash of Dimples.

“Today was his first pro rodeo,” joked Schuster of the first round of Super Series II, “so hey . . . . why not throw him into it at Houston, right? Do what?”

It’s not only the size of the purse that puts pressure on a team here—it’s the conditions. The pattern is set inside a football stadium, often a challenge for horses at all levels of seasoning.

Competitors race down a partially blind alleyway and the first barrel is very close to the gate so too much speed will shoot a runner way past the corner. Heading to the second two, there is nothing but two barrels in the middle of a bunch of real estate with no fences anywhere close.

After their first run at RodeoHouston, a blistering 14.46 that won the go round, Killian’s name has been changed to “Killian-em” courtesy of fellow barrel racer Kelly Tovar. The time was four tenths better than second place on the night.

Schuster and Killian would continue to pick up checks on the next two runs, racking up $5,750 in total earnings to win the set and easily advance to the Semi-Finals.

On night two on Friday, Carmel Wright took the round win aboard her mare Luna. Her time of 14.47 seconds held off Schuster’s 14.56 for the win.

The same four ladies pulled into the four money holes in round two—Schuster, Wright, Tracy Nowlin and Ericka Nelson, leaving them in the driver’s seat for one of the four spots into the Semi-Finals as the final round kicked off on Saturday afternoon, March 2.

Nowlin and Dolly Jo were top of the field on the last day, posting the fastest time of the set at 14.39 seconds for the round win. Just over two tenths separated the top four on the final night and again, the same four names popped into the leaderboard.

Nowlin finished second in the set with $5,000 won while Wright and Nelson each earned $4,750 to also advance to the next round.

Super Series III

Tennessee cowgirl Jessi Fish earned $79,619 at ProRodeos in 2018. In any other year in history, that number would have given Fish a spot into the Wrangler NFR as a member of the top 15 money earners of the year.

But 2018 was a record breaking year and the mark she needed to make was $86,947, leaving her short at 18th in the final WPRA World standings.

Teri Bangart
Photo by Kenneth Springer

Judging by Fish’s performance in the first round of Super Series III here in Houston, she’s planning on getting over that hump in 2019. Riding her aptly named buckskin Showoff, Fish sprinted to the first round lead with an outstanding first run of 14.34 seconds, the fastest run of the rodeo to this point. Bangart was a close second at 14.37 seconds.

Like Fish, Bangart just missed out on the Wrangler NFR a year ago, though she was even closer. The Washington cowgirl missed the cut by just under $5,000. Also like Fish, she looks determined to make 2019 the year she gets to Vegas for the first time.

Riding her good horse Peak, Bangart won the next two rounds, keeping every run in the 14.3 second range, the best three-run series of the rodeo. She won the second round with 14.34 seconds, matching Fish’s fast time from round one.

She duplicated the win 24 hours later, despite a slight stumble around the first corner. Her winning time on Tuesday night was 14.39 seconds and allowed the cowgirl to win her Super Series in her first appearance in Houston.

Bangart has won more than any other barrel racer here so far after collecting $8,000 in three Super Series runs.

Tillar Murray rode Dirty Dan for her spins through NRG Stadium, earning second in both the second and third rounds to collect $4,000. She finished second in the Super Series.

Fish made the move to the next round after winning fourth on the final night of Super Series III. Her three-run total was $3,750.

Another RodeoHouston rookie, Jimmie Smith, claimed the final spot into the Semi-Finals. She and her mare Lena won a fourth and a third to finish with $1,750 in earnings, squeezing past Nikki Hansen and Christine Laughlin.

Up Next

Just sixteen competitors remain in the final two Super Series. Super Series IV kicks off on Wednesday and concludes Friday while the final set runs Sunday through Monday. The RodeoHouston Super Shootout, an unsanctioned, invitational only competition, will be held on Saturday, March 9.

Super Series IV features the reigning WPRA World Champ Hailey Kinsel, fresh off wins in both Fort Worth and San Antonio as well as RFD-TV’s The American, though the latter did not count for WPRA World standings. Former Houston champs Sherry Cervi and Tammy Fischer will compete in Super Series IV along with Taci Bettis, Carley Cervi, Lisa Lockhart, Amber Moore and Jill Tanner, who earned her spot just ten days ago with a huge win in San Angelo.

Reigning Houston champion Nellie Miller will headline Super Series V. She’ll be joined by two-time World Champ Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, reigning Wrangler NFR champion Carman Pozzobon, Stevi Hillman, Kelly Bruner, Kellie Collier, Jackie Ganter and Ivy Conrado.

For more information on RodeoHouston, visit them on-line at www.rodeohouston.com. Stay tuned to www.wpra.com for continuing updates from the 2019 edition.


Super Series II

1st Go

1. Tiany Schuster, A Dash of Killian, 14.46, $3,000
2. Ericka Nelson, Goodfrenchmanfriday, 14.81, $2,000
3. Tracy Nowlin, DJG Madison, 14.89, $1,000
4. Carmel Wright, Fortunes Last Xtreme, 14.90, $750

2nd Go

1. Wright, 14.47, $3,000
2. Schuster, 14.56, $2,000
3. Nowlin, 14.65, $1,000
4. Nelson, 14.85, $750

3rd Go

1. Nowlin, 14.39, $3,000
2. Nelson, 14.52, $2,000
3. Wright, 14.58, $1,000
4. Schuster, 14.62, $750

Total Money Won

*Tiany Schuster, $5,750

*Tracy Nowlin, $5,000

*Carmel Wright, $4,750

*Ericka Nelson, $4,750

*Advance to Semi-Finals

Super Series III

1st Go

1. Jessi Fish, Guys Night in Vegas, 14.34, $3,000
2. Teri Bangart, RCA Three Bugs Honor, 14.37, $2,000
3. Christine Laughlin, Guys Six Pack to Go, 14.50, $1,000
4. Jimmie Smith, Lena on the Rocks, 14.94, $750

2nd Go

1. Bangart, 14.34, $3,000
2. Tillar Murray, Dirty Dan Stinson, 14.50, $2,000
3. Smith, 14.54, $1,000
4. Jana Bean, Dashing Klee, 14.58, $750

3rd Go

1. Bangart, 14.39, $3,000
2. Murray, 14.78, $2,000
3. Nikki Hansen, Sky High Guy, 14.81, $1,000
4. Fish, 14.89, $750

Total Money Won

*Teri Bangart, $8,000

*Tillar Murray, $4,000

*Jessi Fish, $3,750

*Jimmie Smith, $1,750

Christine Laughlin, $1,000

Nikki Hansen, $1,000

Jana Bean, $750

*Advance to Semi-Finals

Courtesy of WPRA

Related Content