For the Record: Fort Madison

With less than a month left in the regular season, cowboys seeking to make the Top 15 to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo will try their luck at the Tri-State Rodeo in Fort Madison, Iowa.

Since 1948, this Hawkeye-state rodeo has attracted some of the biggest names in professional rodeo, but only the best left their mark by setting a rodeo record.

Steer wrestler Justin Smith has the oldest record at Fort Madison with the 7.6 seconds on two head that he scored in 1995. The Oklahoma cowboy’s PRCA career lasted 20 years, from 1993 through 2013, and garnered more than a quarter of a million dollars in prize money.

Cowboys have from Sept. 6-8 to top Smith’s record, and others, while claiming their share of Fort Madison’s prize money.

Rodeo records

• Total payout: $138,524, 2001
• All-around: $5,847, Ronnie Hyde, 2002
• Bareback riding: 88 points, Bobby Mote, 2009; Wes Stevenson, 2009; Ty Breuer, 2012; Kaycee Feild, 2013; Will Lowe, 2014
• Steer wrestling: 3.4 seconds, Garet McMurry, 2006 (7.6 seconds on two head, Justin Smith, 1995)
• Team roping: 4.4 seconds, Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill, 2017 (10.4/2, Adam Rose/Gabe Gwaltney, 2010)
• Saddle bronc riding: 90 points, Heith DeMoss, 2012
• Tie-down roping: 7.2 seconds, Cory Solomon, 2013; Jake Hannum, 2013 (15.1/2, Solomon, 2013)
• Barrel racing: 16.76 seconds, Kay Blandford, 2001
• Bull riding: 91 points, Ardie Maier, 2010

Courtesy of PRCA