Contestants Cashing in at San Antonio Rodeo
Hailey Kinsel and her great mare, Sister, stopped the clock in 13.86 seconds to win the first round of Bracket 1 at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – The first performance of the most lucrative rodeo on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit got underway at the San Antonio Stock Show on Thursday night.
The rodeo has featured a tournament style format since 2003 when it moved into the AT&T Center. A total of 50 contestants earned the right to compete here. They are divided into groups of 10 that each compete in one of five brackets. They compete for three consecutive nights as part of their bracket and hope to be among the four highest money winners to move onto the Semifinals.
Thursday night’s rodeo saw the first paychecks for Bracket 1. Among the winners were the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association reserve-champion barrel racer Hailey Kinsel. Kinsel, who lives less than 100 miles from San Antonio at Cotulla, rode her great mare, DM Sissy Hayday that she calls Sister. This is their first time that Kinsel has qualified for this rodeo where they stopped the clock in 13.86 seconds to win $2,378.
Kinsel graduated from Texas A & M last May, and won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association title in June. Now she is through with school and concentrating on barrel racing. She finished second at the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo last week and was fourth in the world standings prior to running here. She has the potential to improve that position with more fast runs in the AT&T Center.
The big winner here already is in the bull riding. Trevor Kastner from Roff, Okla., leads the world standings after winning in Fort Worth. He was the lone man to ride eight second on Thursday and while it wasn’t a big score, it got him a big check. Kastner rode a bull from California, four Star Rodeo’s Hot Rod. When the judges added up their scores, he had 78 points and was hoping to get a check.
When the rest of the bull riders came up short, Kastner got all of the prize money for the performance. That $5,945 will get him a trip back here to compete in the semi-finals and have him looking towards his first San Antonio Rodeo championship.
Friday night’s rodeo action will see the same contestants competing in round two of Bracket 1, beginning at 7 p.m.
The following are results after the first performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 12-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Bracket 1, round 1 —
Bareback Riding: 1, (tie) Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., on Four Star Rodeo’s Big Star and Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, on J Bar J Rodeo’s Pass the Hat, 84.5 points and $2,081 each. 3, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 82, $1,189. 4, (tie) Grant Denny, Minden, Nev.; Kash Wilson, Gooding, Idaho; and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 81, $198.
Steer Wrestling: 1, (tie) Matt Reeves, Coleman, Texas, and Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 3.9 seconds and $2,081 each. 3, Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore., 4.2, $1,189. 4, Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah, 4.4, $595.
Team Roping: 1, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 4.6 seconds, $2,378. 2, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 4.9, $1,784. 3, Bubba Buckaloo, Kingston, Okla. And Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla., 5.5, $1,189. 4, Bart Brunson, Terry, Miss., and Jason Duby, Klalmsth Falls, Ore., 5.5, $595.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 87 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s No Show Jones, $2,378. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 86, $1,784. 3, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 85.5, $1,189. 4, Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., 83, $595.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif., 8.2, $2,378. 2, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.5, $1,784. 3, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 8.9, $1,189. 4, Ty Harris, San Angelo, Texas, 9.0, $595.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.86 seconds, $2,378. 2, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 14.10, $1,784. 3, Brittany Pozzi – Tonozzi, Victoria, Texas, 14.19, $1,189. 4, Carmel Wright, Roy, Mont., 14.35, $595.
Bull Riding: (one qualified ride) Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla., 78 points on Four Star Rodeo’s Hot Rod, $5,945.