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Gary Gilbert Gets Off to Fast Start at RAM NCF

By Tracy Renck

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A hectic couple of weeks ended in celebration for steer wrestler Gary Gilbert on Thursday afternoon.

Gilbert took the lead after the first performance in the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo with a 3.7-second run at the Silver Spurs Arena.

“This was a dang-sure good start to get the first one out of the way,” said Gilbert, 33. “It pays in the round and it pays in the average, and that first one is really good to get going on.”

 
The time on the scoreboard didn’t tell the complete story for Gilbert – it was a task to get to that point.

“I had a horse (Balboa, 12) that I rode and got me here (but couldn’t perform Thursday due to injury), ” Gilbert said. “Good friends of mine Johnny Asher and Blake Mindemann sent me their horse (Django, 17) from Oklahoma all the way down here,” Gilbert said. “Blake rode that horse (at the 2018) NFR, and knowing that I had that good of a horse and I knew I had a good steer, I just had to do my job, and that lifted the weight off my shoulders.”

Mindemann placed 12th in the 2018 PRCA | RAM World Standings. He earned $49,558 at the Wrangler NFR.

Gilbert lives part of the year with his friends Kamry and Hardy Dymmek in St. Cloud about 10 miles from Kissimmee. Gilbert also has a construction business in Springtown, Texas.

“Two weeks ago, in Arcadia (Fla.) I caught a stopping steer and it knocked my tooth out, so I got all my dentistry work here in Kissimmee,” Gilbert said. “Then I went (back to Texas) and flew in March 19 back to Kissimmee to get my permanent tooth and my horse (Django) showed up March 20 here with Matt Reeves,” Gilbert said. “It has been a trying winter really, but it has been good. When you get steers like this and runs like this it is all good. I also had my wife and in-laws and sister and 8-year-old niece in the stands watching, which was cool. They get to enjoy some warm weather in Florida.”

The second performance of the 2019 RAM NCFR is at 7:30 p.m. today at Silver Spurs Arena. The RAM NCFR concludes with a 1 p.m. performance Sunday.

Gilbert, meanwhile, will come back for his second run at the 1 p.m., Saturday performance.

“My mindset is to stay disciplined and do my job and trust my horse and trust my hazer,” Gilbert said. “My hazer is Kamry, and he’s one of my best friends. He hazed for me at the (RAM Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo), and I won the average. I ride all their horses most of the time. Kamry and I practice together, hunt together and talk all the time. He and I are a lot alike. It is good to have someone over there that you know is 100 percent on your side. The rest of the week, I need to stay true to what got me here and not beat myself and trust my horse.”

Other leaders after the first performance were bareback rider Austin Foss (87 points on Rafter H Rodeo’s Storm Cloud), team ropers Clay Smith/Jake Long (5.0 seconds), saddle bronc rider J.J. Elshere (84 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Warhawk), tie-down roper Ty Harris (7.0 seconds), barrel racer Jessie Telford (15.19 seconds) and bull rider Cole Melancon (88 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeos’ Hacksaw Ridge).

There’s plenty of rodeo remaining at the RAM NCFR, and here are the thoughts of the first performance leaders.

Bareback rider Austin Foss

“When you come all the way to Florida from Oregon it is always a positive to excel in your event,” Foss said. “It’s just great. I rode this horse last year in the first round, and this year I had him out of the left-hand side, and he was a lot better. I was happy about the ride.”

Team ropers Clay Smith/Jake Long

“It was good to get the first one out of the way, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “I got a pretty good start, and Jake heeled him fast and I got a good finish. We’re glad to be here.”

“We had a good steer, and all the steers are pretty good here,” Long said. “Clay did a great job and spun him good, and honestly, I just caught him on my end. Hopefully we will win something decent.”

Saddle bronc rider J.J. Elshere

“I had never seen that horse before,” Elshere said. “I talked to a couple of guys and they said that horse has not been out a lot in the bronc riding. But some of the guys like Bradley Harter and Joey Sonnier had her this year and last year, and they said she was a nice horse and she was. She was leaning on me in the chute a little bit, and then she stood up and left out of there pretty hard, more than I was expecting. It was a good thing I didn’t have to ride for 10 (seconds).”

Tie-down roper Ty Harris

Harris’ 7.0-second run just missed tying the RAM NCFR tie-down roping record of 6.9 seconds set by Marty Yates in 2015 in Kissimmee. Harris was riding El Gato, owned by Bart Hutton.

“That run felt really good,” Harris said. “I had a really good calf, and I felt like I did a pretty good job on him. Now, I’m going to try and put a couple more together this weekend and see how it ends up.”

Bull rider Cole Melancon

“That was a good little bull,” Melancon said of Hacksaw Ridge. “I have been on that bull before, and he bucked me off both times, so I was excited to have him here. He was a lot better than he has been in the past. Getting that first bull rode takes a lot of pressure off you and helps you relax and go into the second one with some weight off your shoulders.”

Courtesy of PRCA

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