Field Set for Reno Rodeo Finals
RENO, Nev., (June 23, 2018) – It took eight performances and countless hours of slack, but the field for the Reno Rodeo championship finals is set.
The top 12 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, women’s barrel racing and bull riding have advanced for a chance to compete for the prestigious Silver Spurs as well as the lion’s share of nearly half a million in prize money.
It was an exciting week but nobody could touch Caleb Bennett’s impressive 87-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Bob Cat in front of the sold-out crowd on Saturday, June 16. Though he only had a 77-point ride on the first night, his combined score of 164 puts him at second place going into tonight’s finals. The top spot goes to Kaycee Feild of Genola, Utah with a combined 165 points. Feild was the Reno Rodeo bareback champ in 2014 with 253 on three.
Steer wrestler Jacob Talley, from Keatchie, La., had the fastest throw of the week on day two at 3.7 seconds. Combined with his second round run, he moved into third place with a total of 9.4 seconds. Talley is on the PRCA 2018 leaderboard for one of the best bulldogging runs of 2018 with a lightning fast 3.1 second run in Davie, Fla. earlier this year. Heppner, Ore.’s Blake Knowles was fast and consistent with 4.3 seconds on both his first and second runs. He enters the finals in first place with 8.6 seconds.
Team ropers Brenten Hall and Chase Tryan had the week’s best run when they roped their calf in 4.5 seconds, but a miss in the second go put them out of contention for the finals. The top spot goes to header Aaron Tsinigine of Tuba City, Ariz. and heeler Trey Yates of Pueblo, Colo. The pair had 11.4 seconds on two.
The best rides of the week in saddle bronc went to Elsmere, Neb.’s Cort Scheer with an 87.5 on Big Bend Rodeo’s Kool Toddy on day five and Helfin, La.’s Cody DeMoss with an 87 on Big Bend Rodeo’s Shady Lady on day seven. They made the top 12 in fifth and fourth places, respectively. The top spot goes to Allen Boore of Axtell, Utah with a combined score of 169.
In tie-down roping, Caleb Smidt of Bellville, Texas had the fastest time with 7.9 seconds but his 9.6 on the second go puts him in second place behind Tyson Durfey of Millsap, Texas who had 16.9 seconds on two for first place.
Barrel racer Ivy Conrado had the crowd cheering on day five with her impressive 17.07 run. Unfortunately, her 18 second run in slack put her just two-tenths of a second out of contention for the top 12. The fastest run of the week happened last night when Kylie Weast of Comanche, Okla. and her horse Hell on the Red rounded the barrels in 17 seconds flat. Her combined 34.5 puts her in the top position for the championships – but Katie Pascoe of Morro Bay, Calif. is nipping at her heels in second place with 34.51 seconds.
Two of the top bull rides of the week happened during the seventh performance. Dustin Boquet of Bourg, La. topped the Reno Rodeo leaderboard with an 87-point ride on Rosser Rodeo’s Kolohe. It was short lived though as he was bumped by Jeff Askey of Athens, Texas who had an 87.5 on Rosser Rodeo’s Hash Tag. Defending Reno Co-Champion Bull Rider Brennan Eldred of Sulphur, Okla. had an 87.5 ride during the eighth performance on Flying 5 Rodeo’s Lone Star, putting him at a tie for the lead and set up for a possible repeat going into the finals.
Saturday night’s championship finals start at 7. p.m.