Brockman Breaks through at St. Paul Rodeo
by Jim Bainbridge | Jul 03, 2016
By Ruth Nicolaus/for the St. Paul Rodeo committee
ST. PAUL, Ore. – Seth Brockman’s rodeo year shifted in the dirt of the St. Paul Rodeo Arena.
The Wyoming steer wrestler took the lead in the average July 2 with a total of 8.5 seconds on two head; he is among the top three in each of the rodeo’s two rounds.
“I drew a really good steer this morning, and came back with an even better one,” he said. “Things have kind of been slow for me, so when you get those good ones, and the chances, you need to capitalize on them, and hopefully get some momentum change.”
Brockman, 33, needs a momentum change. He’s qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times (2011, 2014-2015), but isn’t ranked within the top 50 of the WEATHER GUARD PRCA World standings.
“This deal is huge for me,” he said.
Brockman rode the 2012 American Quarter Horse Association Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, a gray 15-year-old gelding named Two Guns. The horse, owned by steer wrestler Wade Sumpter and Dr. Chris Morrow, a veterinarian in Amarillo, Texas, has been Brockman’s primary mount since 2010.
“I owe all my success to that horse,” Brockman said. “He just fits me. I get along good with him. I think he keeps working better with age, and my confidence keeps getting higher with him. He stays sound, he hauls really good, and he runs hard.”
Brockman has traveled with Sumpter, from Fowler, Colo., since 2001, his rookie year, and also with Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., and Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D.
“I’ve never traveled with anybody else,” he said. “If I didn’t travel with those guys, I’d go home. We get along. There’s never any negativity. Everybody knows the drill, and there’s no bad attitude. If you have a bad attitude, it better not last. The bad attitude is switched by the time you get back to the trailer or you’ll hear about it.”
If he wins a check in St. Paul, it’ll be the first one he’ll have won over Cowboy Christmas, the weeks surrounding July Fourth, with the richest rodeos in the nation. And it’ll be good.
“We got Molalla and Eugene (Oregon) left, and I could still have a good Fourth, starting here. I would have liked to start it a little sooner, but there’s still a lot of rodeo left.”
Other high scores and fast times from the July 2 competition at the St. Paul Rodeo are bareback riders Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., and Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo. (83 points each), steer wrestler Nick Guy, Sparta, Wisc. (4.3 seconds), bull rider Jordan Wacey Spears, Redding, Calif. (77 points), tie-down roper Justin Brinkerhoff, Corinne Utah, (9.1 seconds), saddle bronc rider Max Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. (79.5), team ropers Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah and Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas (4.5 seconds), and barrel racer Amber Leigh More, Salem, Ore. (17.56 seconds).
The July 3 performance is at 7:30 p.m., with the final performances on July 4 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available from $18 to $30 and are available online at StPaulRodeo.com and from the ticket office at the rodeo grounds. For more information, visit the rodeo’s website or call the rodeo office at 800.237.5920.
Courtesy of PRCA