Healthy Pass Takes Bull Riding Lead at Cheyenne
CHEYENNE, Wyo., (July 18, 2015) – Aaron Pass rode a bull at the 119th Annual “Daddy of ‘em All” on Saturday under unusual circumstances for the Dallas, Texas, resident – he wasn’t hurting.
Pass has been riding bulls for over 13 years and has spent much of that time on the injured reserve list. That time includes the past six weeks after sustaining broken ribs at the Cloverdale Rodeo in British Columbia, the end of May.
He spent the time off with his family and getting in shape to get back on a bull again. That happened on Saturday at Frontier Park where he took the early lead in the first round. He rode Smith Harper and Morgan’s bull named Juke Box Hero for 84 points.
“I’m just happy I stayed on,” Pass said. “It takes riding three to win Cheyenne, so I’ve got my work cut out for me. It feels really good to be riding and not be sore.”
Pass qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last year for the first time. His year this year has been less than what he had hoped for, but any money out of Cheyenne will be a big boost for his season.
Tanner Aus, from Granite Falls, Minn., had a little sweet revenge here on Saturday. The bareback rider was competing here last year on a horse named Mike Outhier owned by Stace Smith Pro Rodeo. He came off early and tore his MCL. When he found out he would get on the same horse again here this year, it was time to ride and score.
That’s exactly what the former National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association champion did. When the judges added up their scores, Aus was at the top of the leaderboard with an 84. He is just outside of the top 15 in the world standings, so anything he wins here would certainly help him move up.
All of Sunday’s competitors will be in the second go-round. Rodeo competition starts at 12:15 p.m.
The following are current leaders at Cheyenne Frontier Days:
Bareback riding: (first round) 1, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 84 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Mike Outhier. 2, George R. Gillespie IV, Hamilton, Mont., 82. 3, (tie) Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, and Mason Clements, Sandy, Utah, 79.
Tie-down roping: (first round) 1, (tie) Justin Macha, Needville, Texas and Chris Demasas, Boyd, Texas, 10.5 seconds each. 3, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 10.8. 4, Chris Neal, Muldrow, Okla., 10.9. (second round) 1, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 10.2. 2, Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 10.6. 3, Garrett Hale, Snyder, Texas, 10.9. 4, Don Coffell, Iredell, Texas, 10.9. (total on two) 1, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 21.0. 2, Justin Macha, Needville, Texas, 22.6. 3, Robert Mathis, Mart, Texas, 23.0. 4, Jon Peek, Berthold, N.D., 24.2.
Saddle bronc riding: (first round) 1, Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, 77 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Pack Train. 2, Joe Lufkin, Sallisaw, Okla., 75. 3, (tie) Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., and Blaze Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., 74.
Steer wrestling: (first round) 1, Jon Ragatz, Beetown, Wis., 10.6 seconds. 2, Beau Clark, Belgrade, Mont., 11.6. 3, Dean Stermer, Frisco, Texas, 12.1. 4, Mitchell Gardner, Dover, Okla., 12.8.
Rookie saddle bronc riding: (first round) (one ride) 1, Garrett Buckley, Craig, Colo., 47 points.
Team roping: (first round) (three times) 1, Clayton Van Aken, Descanso, Calif., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 10.0 seconds. 2, Corey Whinnery, Powderhorn, Colo., and Pake Younger, Grand Junction, Colo., 11.3. 3, Rhett Anderson, Anabella, Utah, and Cole Wilson, Lake Shore, Utah, 15.3.
Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.48 seconds, $5,742. 2, Callie DuPerier, Boerne, Texas, 17.51, $4,922. 3, Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 17.53, $4,102. 4, Elaine Hollings, Pavillion, Wyo., 17.64, $3,555. 5, Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 17.73, $2,735. 6, Taylor Jacob, Carmine, Texas, 17.75, $2,188. 7, (tie) Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore.; Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga; and Alicia Stockton, Stephenville, Texas; 17.77, $1,184 each. 10, Megan McLeod, Marsing, Idaho, 17.78, $547. (second round leaders) 1, Megan Swint, Lithia, Fla., 17.52 seconds. 2, Jenna Waggoner, Fowler, Colo., 17.69. 3, Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, 17.75. 4, Chandler Markel, Scottsbluff, Neb., 18.23. (total on two leaders) 1, Swint, 35.62 seconds. 2, Waggoner, 35.84. 3, Gordon, 35.90. 4, Market, 36.49.
Bull riding: (first round) 1, Aaron Pass, Dallas, Texas, 83 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan Rodeo’s Jukebox Hero. 2, Jeff Bertus, Avon, S.D., 82. 3, Tate Stratton. Kellyville, Okla., 77. 4, McKennon Wimberley, Cool, Texas, 75.
Steer Roping: (first round winners) 1, Mike Chase, McAlester, Okla., 13.9 seconds, $5,875. 2, Casey Tillard, Douglas, Wyo., 14.5, $5,108. 2, Martin Poindexter, Stephenville, Texas, 14.7, $4,342. 4, (tie) Trent Mills, Gillette, Wyo., and Neal Wood, Needville, Texas, 14.9, $3,193 each. 6, Howdy McGinn, North Powder, Ore., 15.0, $2,043. 7, Chance Kelton, Mayer, Ariz., 15.5, $1,277. 8, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 15.6, $511. (second round winners) 1, Brady Garten, Claremore, Okla., 15.3, $5,875. 2, Jess Tierney, Hermosa, S.D., 16.5, $5,108. 3, (tie) Marty Jones, Hobbs, N.M., and Scott Snedecor, Fredricksburg, Texas, 16.6, $3,959. 5, Steve Wolf, Decatur, Texas, 16.9, $2,810. 6, J.R. Magdeburg III, Roland, Okla., 17.1, $2,043. 7, C.A. Lauer, Buffalo, Okla., 17.3, $1,277. 8, Chet Herren, Ponca City, Okla., 17.4, $511. (total on two leaders) 1, Trent Milles, Gillette, Wyo., 32.8. 2, Casey Tillard, Douglas, Wyo., 34.7. 3, Shay Good, Midland, Texas, 35.6. 4, Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas, 35.8. 5, C.A. Lauer, Buffalo, Okla., 36.5. 6, JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas, 38.5.
Wild horse race: 1, Gillham Fencing, $591. 2, Joe Evan, $443. 3, Josh Lair, $295. 4, Barn Door Photography, $147.78.