Bull Riding Dreams

World champion bull rider takes lead at St. Paul Rodeo

St. Paul, Ore. – The “golden boy” of bull riding, the youngest millionaire in the PRCA, swooped into the St. Paul Rodeo and landed on top of the leaderboard.

Sage Kimzey, three-time and current world champion bull rider, scored 88 points on the Corey and Lange Bull Knock It Off to edge out the number two man by a half point.

Adam Lucero turned in a score of 87.5 points on Sunday night, but Kimzey moved him out of the top spot on Monday night.

It wasn’t easy for the Strong City, Okla. cowboy. “It was work the whole time,” Kimzey said. “I never really had a good seat. I lost my bull rope on the first jump, and he got me on the end of my rope, and I just kind of had to hang on.”

It was the second time the 22 year old had ridden the bull. He had Knock it Off at the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) in the eighth round, when he got bucked off. The bull “has a bunch of tricks,” he said.

Kimzey won $20,000 in a challenge with a bounty bull in Mandan, N.D. on July 1, and also won the rodeo in Mandan. The $20,000 does not count towards the world standings, but he’s working to solidify his ranking in the standings. “Every one of these big rodeos, you just have to make them count. There’s a lot of money to be won, and I want my share of it.”

It’s not been an easy year for the fourth-ranked bull rider in the PRCA world standings, full of “trials and tribulations.” He’s had injuries, the flu, “one thing after another,” he said. “I couldn’t get healthy and get the ball rolling, but now I’m doing good. So it’s all on the way up.”

In the steer wrestling, the fast run of the night also was the fast run of the second round. Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, turned in a time of 3.9 seconds, two-tenths of a second faster than Gary Gilbert’s and Jason Thomas’ 4.1 from earlier in the rodeo.

The St. Paul rodeo is a bright spot for Reeves. His rodeos the past few weeks haven’t gone well. “It hasn’t been a very good Fourth (of July),” he said. “I’ve broken a lot of barriers, but I haven’t even broken barriers on chances (good steers). I broke barriers because I try too hard. (Tonight) I got out of the barrier and did my job.”

Reeves turns 39 in three days, and the maturity of experience helps him handle slumps. “I’d better be mature,” he laughed. “I’m about to enter the forty and over. My wife might argue that I might not be grown up yet, but I’m more mature.”

He’s aboard a nine-year-old gelding named Roy, who was purchased a year ago. Roy is out of a horse that Reeves used to own, a mare that produced good barrel horses. Past world champion barrel racer Kristie Peterson and her husband Chuck originally owned Roy, and their husband’s daughter trained him and told Reeves about him. Reeves hauled him most of last year, and the horse isn’t finished, but he’s won most of Reeves’ $37,000 earnings for the year. Reeves, who is a six-time WNFR qualifier, is ranked eleventh in the world standings.

Other fast times and high scores during slack and the fourth performance of the St. Paul Rodeo are bareback rider Evan Jayne, Marseille, France (78 points), tie-down roper Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas (19.8 seconds); saddle bronc rider Tucker Hill, Klamath Hills, Ore. (74 points); team ropers Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz. and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas (5.1 seconds) and barrel racer Megan McLeod-Sprague, Marsing, Ida. (17.75 seconds).

Independence Day festivities at the St. Paul Rodeo include two rodeo performances at 1:30 and 7:30 pm, the parade at 10 am, the Great Western Barbecue Cook-off at 11 am (with food available for purchase), the carnival at 11 am, and the Wild West Art Show from 11 am to 11 pm. Tickets are available and can be purchased online at StPaulRodeo.com and at the ticket office, located on the rodeo grounds.

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Results from the slack and evening performance, St. Paul Rodeo, July 3, 2017

Bareback Riding
1. Evan Jayne, 78 points on Corey and Lange’s Caraboo Trail; no other qualified rides.

Steer Wrestling
1st round
1. Olin Hannum, Malad, Ida. 4.6 seconds; 2. Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas 5.1; 3. Ryan Grenell, Kennewick, Wash. 14.4; 4. Nik Hamm, Brush Prairie, Wash. 15.3.

2nd round
1. Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas 3.9 seconds; 2. Olin Hannum, Malad, Ida. 5.2; 3. Miles Switzer, Morro Bay, Calif. 5.3; 4. Nik Hamm, Brush Prairie, Wisc. 14.6.

Average leaders (on two head)
1. Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala. 8.6 seconds on 2 head; 2. Matt Reeves, Cross Plaines, Texas 9.0; 3. Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alb. 9.2; 4. Olin Hannum, Malad, Ida. 9.8.

Bull riding
1. Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla. 88 points on Corey and Lange’s Knock It Off; 2. Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas 77; no other qualified rides.

Tie Down Roping
1st round
1. Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas 19.8 seconds; no other qualified runs.

2nd go round
1. Robert Mathis, Mart, Texas 10.3 seconds; 2. JC Malone, Plain City, Utah 13.7; 3. Tim Pharr, Resaca, Ga. 18.0; no other qualified runs.

Average leaders on two head
1. Clint Nyegaard, Cuero, Texas 19.7 on 2 head; 2. Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas 20.1; 3. Kirk Robinson, Innisfail, 21.7; 4. Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas 21.8.

Saddle bronc riding
1. Tucker Hill, Klamath Falls, Ore. 74 points on Corey and Lange’s Pine Ridge; 2. Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah 72; 3. Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah 69; 4. Max Filippini, Battle Mountain, Nev. 68.

Team Roping
1st round
1. Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore./Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz. 4.3 seconds; 2. (tie) Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas and Brandon Beers, Powell Butte, Ore./Jim Ross Cooper, Stephenville, Texas 5.3 each; 4. Dustin Egusquiza, Mariana, Fla./Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas 6.5.

2nd round
1. Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas 5.1 seconds; 2. Dustin Egusquiza, Mariana, Fla./Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas 6.6; 3. Bryce Plamer, Milton-Freewater, Ore./Bo Patzke, Klamath Falls, Ore. 20.1; no other qualified runs.

Average leaders on two head
1. Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas 10.4 seconds on 2 head; 2. Jeff Flenniken, Caldwell, Ida./Taylor Duby, Homedale, Ida. 11.1 seconds on 2 head; 3. Ryan Opie, Crane, /Dayton Stafford, Prineville, Ore. 11.6; 4. (tie) Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alb./Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, Alb. and Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M./Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas 11.8 each.

Barrel racing
1. Megan McLeod-Sprague, Marsing, Ida. 17.75 seconds; 2. Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore. 17.86; 3. Amy Coelho, Echo, Ore. 17.95; 4. Jordan Minor, Hermiston, Ore. 18.19.

** All results are unofficial. For more information, visit www.StPaulRodeo.com.

Courtesy of PRCA