Field Set for San Antonio Rodeo Championship Finals
By Susan Kanode
Kaycee Feild from Genola, Utah is hoping to win his fourth bareback riding championship at the San Antonio Rodeo. He tied for the win in round 2 of Semifinals 2 with an 89-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Delta Ship. Feild added $5,000 to his earnings and will enter Saturday night’s Championship Finals with $12,917. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Rodeo is an important stop for any contestant hoping to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo where world champions are crowned.
Just ask bareback rider Kaycee Feild from Genola, Utah, what a win in the AT&T Center means. Feild advanced to Semifinals 2 from Bracket 4 with $3,416. As rodeo competition moves through the brackets to the semifinals and then the finals, prize money increases as well. Feild took advantage of his advancement winning the first round on Thursday night. He came back Friday and tied for the win with an 89-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Delta Ship. Richmond Champion from The Woodlands, Texas, also had an 89.5 on Calgary Stampede’s Soap Bubbles. They each won $4,500.
Field will enter Saturday night’s Championship Finals with $12,917. If he rises to the top of the leaderboard again, he will win his fourth championship in the AT&T Center. He collected his first one in 2011, the same year that he won the first of four consecutive world championships. He won again in 2013 and 2016.
“I love this rodeo,” Feild said. “It’s always been one of my favorites and I look forward to coming here every year. To get a chance to ride these great horses and be in front of the fans they get is awesome. It would be great to win it again, but anyone of us could win it. It’s going to be exciting.”
Last year’s steer wrestling champion here, Dakota Eldridge from Elko, Nevada, will be hoping for a repeat. Eldridge finished fourth on Friday night with a 3.9-second run. The $1,500 that he won was enough to give him another opportunity on Saturday night.
Local favorite Hailey Kinsel was last year’s barrel racing champion and is looking good for a 2019 title as well. Kinsel and her great palomino mare, DM Sissy Hayday won the second round of Semifinals 2. Kinsel lives at Cotulla, Texas, and came to this rodeo as a child. She had dreams of being here as a competitor rather than a spectator. Those dreams came true when she qualified to compete in the AT&T Center last year. She and “Sister” set a new arena record at 13.60 seconds. They also earned the title which helped get them to Las Vegas last December to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Kinsel left with a gold buckle as the world champion.
Another victory here on Saturday night would set them on the road to the 2019 NFR next December where they could win back-to-back world titles. The final day of rodeo action in the AT&T Center will start with Xtreme Bulls at 1 p.m. The Championship Finals will begin at 7:30 p.m.
The following are results after the 19th performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Semifinals 2, Round 2, followed by Finals qualifiers
Bareback Riding: 1, (tie) Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah on Frontier Rodeo’s Delta Ship and Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, on Calgary Stampede’s Soap Bubbles, 89 points and $4,500 each. 3, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 86.5, $2,500. 3, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 83, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Feild, $12,917. 2, Champion, $10,875. 3, Foss, $9,000. 4, Aus, $6,875. 5, Seth Lee Hardwick, Ranchester, Wyo., $6,500.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo., 3.5 seconds, $5,000. 2, (tie) Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., and Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 3.8 and $3,250 each. 4, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 3.9, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Floyd, $8,875. 2, Eldridge, $8,750. 3, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, $8,500. 4, Waguespack, $7,750. 5, Vosler, $7,500.
Team Roping: 1, Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 4.4 seconds, $5,000. 2, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 4.5, $4,000. 3, Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Tyler Worley, Berryville, Ark., 4.8, $2,500. 4, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev., 14.3, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Begay and Petska, $11,000. 2, Tate Kirchenschlager, Yuma, Colo., and Ross Ashford, Lott, Texas, $10,750. 3, Sherwood and Worley, $7,000. 4, Minor and Minor, $6,750. 5, Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo., and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas, $6,500.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 88.5 points on C5 Rodeo’s Makeup Face, $5,000. 2, Ryder Wright, Milford, Utah, 86.5, $4,000. 3, Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa, 84, $2,500. 4, Jake Watson, Hudson’s Hope, British Columbia, 81, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Thurston, $12,250. 2, Sundell, $11,500. 3, Ryder Wright, $9,083. 4, Watson, $8,000. 5, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, $5,625.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 7.2 seconds, $5,000. 2, Taylor Santos, Creston, Calif., 7.6, $4,000. 3, (tie) Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, and Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 7.8 and $2,000 each. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Mayfield, $10,000. 2, Moore, $9,000. 3, Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., $8,500. 4, Santos, $6,750. 5, Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D., $5,250.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.83 seconds, $5,000. 2, Ericka Nelson, Century, Fla., 13.97, $4,000. 3, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 14.00, $2,500. 4, Amberleigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 14.03, $1,500. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Kinsel, $14,500. 2, Moore, $10,250. 3, Nelson, $8,000. 4, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., $6,875. 5, Shali Lord, Lamar, Colo., $6,500.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Parker Breding, Edgar, Mont., 88.5 point Powder River Rodeo’s Fire Water, $5,500. 2, Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, 87, $4,500. 3, J.W. Harris, Goldthwaite, Texas, 79.5, $3,000. (Finals qualifiers) 1, Frost, $15,000. 2, Harris, $10,250. 3, Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, $8,750. 4, Breding, $7,750. 5, Aaron Williams, Pismo Beach, Calif., $5,500.