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Dent’s New Enthusiasm for Bareback Riding Evident at Fort Worth Rodeo

by Susan Kanode
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 29, 2017) – The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo has always been on Steven Dent’s rodeo bucket list.

With one more horse to ride in preliminary competition, the bareback rider is looking good for a trip back here on Feb. 4. He competed in the first and second round on Sunday scoring 80.5 at the matinee performance and 87 in the evening. He now has 160.5 points on two rides and needs an 83.5 point ride to move to the top of the overall leaderboard.

“I’ve gotten on two good horses here and am looking forward to getting on another one tomorrow,” Dent said. “You can find positive and negative in every horse you get on. I’m looking at the positive and going to make the most of every opportunity.”

Dent has made the trip to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo seven times, the most recent in 2014. He was tired of getting beat up riding bareback horses and spent more time competing in his second event saddle bronc riding. Last year, he didn’t compete at Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned rodeos and this year he has come back with a new attitude.

“Bareback riding is something you really need to be craving, or you’re going to be mediocre,” he said. “I don’t like being mediocre and that’s exactly where I was. It’s a lot of work out of the arena to be physically ready to ride in the bareback riding. I’m putting in the work and feel like a rookie again.”

Mediocre wasn’t in his vocabulary here. His 87-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog is leading the second round. He will ride his third horse here at the Monday matinee performance and is already planning his trip back here next Saturday to compete in the finals. The 12 contestants in each event with the highest total scores and fastest times will qualify for Saturday night’s championship finals.

Reigning world champion saddle bronc rider, Zeke Thurston, from Big Valley, Alberta, also made a move towards a Fort Worth title on Sunday. Thurston rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Momentum Shifter for 84 points. That is tied with the 2015 world champion Jacobs Crawley from Boerne, Texas for third place in the first round. Saddle bronc riders each ride twice before the finals. Thurston will ride his second horse on Monday afternoon.

The 121st Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo continues on Monday with two rodeo performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

The following are unofficial results from Sunday at the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, January 29, 2017.

Sixteenth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 83 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Bar Bandit. 2, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 80.5. 3, Buck Lunak, Cut Bank, Mont., 80. 4, Jessy Davis, Power Pont., 79.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Garrett Poston, Winnsboro, Texas, 4.1 seconds. 2, Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark., 4.7. 3, Mikes Switzer, Morro Bay, Calif., 5.2. 4, Matt Mousseau, Hillsburgh, Ontario, 7.4.

Team Roping: (three times) 1, Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta, and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., 5.3 seconds. 2, Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 5.9. 3, Anthony Lucia, Weatherford, Texas, and Seth Jones, Decatur, Texas, 20.2.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, 81.5 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s In The River. 2, Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 89. 3, Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 75. 4, Ty Kirkland, Wells, Texas, 71.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Bobby Abernathy, Athens, Ala., 8.3 seconds. 2, Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas, 9.8. 3, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 10.4. 4, Randall Carlisle, Athens, La., 11.2.

Barrel Racing: 1, Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 16.64 seconds. 2, Emily Miller, Weatherford, Okla., 16.80. 3, Kelly Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 16.88. 4, McKinley Goodger, Boyd, Texas, 17.14.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 77 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Pickled Poison.

Seventeenth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 87 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog. 2, Jake Brown, Cleveland, Texas, 83.5. 3, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 81. 4. Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 76.5.

Steer Wrestling: 1, K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 5.1 seconds. 2, Cody Moore, Hart, Texas, 5.4. 3, Morgan Grant, Didsbury, Alberta, 5.7. 4. Hank Fillippini, Battle Mountain, Nev., 6.6.

Team Roping: 1, (tie) Tanner Baldwin, Vail, Ariz., and Cody Thornton, Hempstead, Texas, and Zayne Dishion, Bishop, Calif., and Tanner Luttrell, Oroville, Calif., 5.7 seconds. 3, John Alley, Adams, Tenn., and Clark Adcock, Smithville, Tenn., 6.2. 4, Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M., and Byron Wilkerson, Duncan, Ariz., 11.4.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Momentum Shifter. 2, Taygen Schuelke, Newell, S.D., 76. 3, Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 75.5. 4, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 74.

Tie-Down Roping: (three times) 1, Justin Maass, Giddings, Texas, 11.9 seconds. 2, Michael Pederson, Hermiston, Ore., 13.9. 3, Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas, 18.6.

Barrel Racing: 1, Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas, 16.65. 2, Taylor Smith, Tomball, Texas, 16.80. 3, Cierra Chapman, Kiowa, Okla., 16.89. 4, Sammi Bessert, Grand Junction, Colo., 16.99.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Shad Heiner, Morgan, Utah, 66.5 points.

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, (tie) Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Biscuit and Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, on J Bar J Rodeo’s Bar Bandit, 83 points. 3, Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 81.5. 4, (tie) Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., and Mason Clements, Santaquin, Utah, 81. (second round) 1, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 87 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog. 2, Jake Brown, Cleveland, Texas, 83.5. 3, (tie) Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., and Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 81. 5, Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., 80. 6, Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., 79.5. (third round) 1, Clements, 87.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Night Fist. 2, Wyatt Denny, 84 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Wolverine. 3, Rutherford, 83. 4, Rio Lee, Tucson, Ariz., 80.5. 5, (tie) Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., and Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 77. 5, (total on three) 1, Rutherford, 243.5. 2, (tie) Wyatt Denny and Clements, 241.5. 4, Miller, 237. 5, Bloom, 230. 6, (tie) Grant Denny and Cole Picton, Marshall, Mo., 229.5.

Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, (tie) Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., and Garrett Poston, Winnsboro, Texas, 4.1 seconds. 3, Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah, 4.2. 4, (tie) Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., and Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 4.3. 6, (tie) Grady Payne, Stephenville, Texas, and Ringo Robinson, Caldwell, Idaho, 4.5. (total on two) 1, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 8.3. 2, (tie) Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., and Thomas, 9.5. 4, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 9.7. 5, (tie) Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., and K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 10.5.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 4.5 seconds. 2, Lightning Aguilera, Athens, Texas, and Cody Hogan, Athens, Texas, 4.6. 3, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 4.7. 4, (tie) Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and Brady Norman, Springer, Okla., and Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 5.1. 6, Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 5.2. (second round) 1, Blake Teixeira, Tres Pinos, Calif., and York Gill, Stephenville, Texas, 4.5. 2, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar del la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 4.7. 3, (tie) Dan Williams Jr., Standish, Calif., and Caleb Twisselman, Santa Margarita, Calif., and Marcus Theriot, Poplarville, Miss., and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., 4.8. 5, Reno Stoebner, Bastrop, Texas, and Larry Gonzalez, Elgin, Texas, 5.2. 6, Ryan Reed, Whitman, Ariz., and Dugan Kelly, Paso Robles, Calif., 5.5. (total on two) 1, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 10.5. 2, Teixeira and Robertson, 10.7. 3, Driggers and Nogueira, 10.9. 4, Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 11.0. 5, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 12.2. 6, Blasingame and Von Ahn, 12.8.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Watson, Hudsons Hope, B.C., 87 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Money Maker. 2, Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla., 85.5. 3, (tie) Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, and Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84. 4, Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, 83.5. 5, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 83. 6, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 82. (second round) 1, (tie) Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk and Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Low Bucks, 85. 3, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 82. 4, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Milford, Utah, and Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, 81.5. 6, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 810.5. (total on two) 1. Jake Wright, 168. 2, Cody DeMoss, 166.5. 3, Bradshaw, 163.5. 4, Watson, 161. 5, (tie) Sterling and Jacobs Crawley, 159.

Tie-Down Roping: (second round) 1, (tie) Ben Robinson, Red Deer County, Alberta, and Bobby Abernathy, Athens, Ala., 8.3 seconds. 3, Justin Brinkerhoff, Corrine, Utah, 8.5. 4, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.7. 5, Luke Jeffries, Maricopa, Ariz., 8.8. 6, (tie) Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, and Cody Ohl, Hilo, Texas, 8.9, (total on two) 1, Tuf Cooper, 18.5. 2, Akins, 19.0. 3, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 19.7. 4, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 20.3. 5, Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas, 20.5. 6, (tie) Clay McCuistion, Sanger, Texas, and Taylor Santos, Creston, Calif., 20.7.

Barrel Racing: (first round) 1, Cayla Small, Burneyville, Okla., 16.49 seconds. 2, Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, Ore., 16.62. 3, Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 16.64, 4, Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas, 16.65. 5, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 16.70. 6, (tie) Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, and Meghan Johnson, Stephenville, Texas, 16.75.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Tim Bingham, Honeyville, Utah, 88 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s J Lazy. 2, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 84.5. 3, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 83.5. 4, Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 81.5. 5, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 81. 6, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 79.5. (second round) 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 85 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Wonder Boy. 2, Lon Danley, Tularosa, N.M., 84.5. 3, (tie) Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, Wesley Silcom, Antiquing, Utah, and Bayle Worden, 83.5. 6, Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 82.5. (total on two) 1. Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 167. 2, Jacoby, 166.5. 3, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 158.5. 4, Radley, 156. 5, Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., 151. 6, Dave Mason, Burnet, Texas, 151.

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