Hillman Sets New Arena Record at Caldwell Night Rodeo
By Susan Kanode for the Caldwell Night Rodeo
CALDWELL, Idaho – A five-year-old gray horse called Sharpie and a petite blonde from Texas, had the rowdies and the civies making lots of noise at the first performance of the Caldwell Night Rodeo.
Stevi Hillman from Weatherford was one of 78 barrel racers that entered the rodeo here. They all had their first-round run during slack on Tuesday morning where she finished in second place behind Taci Bettis from Round Top, Texas.
Then 12 of those members of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association made their second appearance during the Family Night performance on Tuesday. Just hours after placing second, Sharpie and Hillman stopped the clock in 16.68 seconds to set a new arena record.
The previous record of 17.01 seconds was set by Mary Aller in 1998. When Aller had her success here, the entry and exit to the arena was on the side. It is now in the middle of the arena. While the set up may have changed the pattern is set the same and Hillman’s run put her at the top of the overall standings and will make her a favorite to compete here at next Saturday’s championships.
This is not the first success that Hillman has had aboard Sharpie. Just over two weeks ago, they won the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Wyoming and caught the attention of rodeo fans there.
“I got goosebumps tonight,” Hillman said. “I could feel how hard he was running and working. I’m sure he also responded to the crowd here. He was electric.”
The very exciting barrel race set the stage for the bull riding where Idaho’s own Garrett Smith was the first man to ride. He scored 84.5 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Fireworks. Brennon Eldred from Sulphur, Oklahoma, also rode and took the lead with an 88-point ride on another bull from Powder River, Party Hardy.
The second performance of the rodeo begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. More information is available at www.caldwellnightrodeo.com.
The following are unofficial results from the Caldwell Night Rodeo.
First Performance —
Bareback riding: 1, Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 86 points on Outlaw Buckers Rodeo’s American Thumper. 2, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82. 3, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 80.5. 4, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 79.
Steer wrestling: 1, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 3.8 seconds. 2, Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 4.2. 3, Scott Guenthner, Provost, Alberta, 4.4. 4, Chance E howard, Cedarville, Ark., 4.6.
Team roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Noguiera, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 5.2. 2, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Billy Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 5.6. 3, Bryce Palmer, Milton Freewater, Ore., and Bo Patzke, Klamath Falls, Ore., 7.0. 4, Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore., and Justin Davis, Cottonwood, Calif., 10.5.
Saddle bronc riding: 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 88.5 points on Outlaw Buckers Rodeo’s Little Muffin. 2, Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 86.5. 3, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 82.5. 4, Wade Sundell, Coleman, Okla., 82.
Tie-down roping: 1, Ty Baker, Van Horn, Texas, 8.2 seconds. 2, Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif., 8.5. 3, Jared Parke, Gooding, Idaho, 9.0. 4, Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 9.8.
Women’s barrel racing: 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 16.68 seconds.* 2, Liz Herrin, Big Spring, Texas, 17.30. 3, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 17.39. 4, Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas, 17.48.
Bull riding: (two rides) 1, Brennon Eldred, Sulphur, Okla., 88 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Party Hardy. 2, Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, 84.5.
The following are first round winners and current leaders in steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping and barrel racing from the Caldwell Night Rodeo.
Steer wrestling: (first round winners) 1, (tie) Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 3.7, $2,520 each. 3, (tie) Cole Edge, Durant, Okla., and Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 3.8, $1,819. 5, (tie) John Henry Franzen, Riverton, Wyo.; Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev.; and Errol Frain, Marysville, Calif.; 3.9, $938. 8, Levi Rudd, Chelsea, Okla., 4.0, $234. (second round) Kyle Whitaker, Chambers, Neb., 3.6. 2, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 3.7. 3, (tie) Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta; Cody Cabral, Hilo, Hawaii; and Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev.; 3.8 each. (total on two) 1, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 7.6. 2, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 7.9. 3, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 8.1. 4, Cody Doescher, Oklahoma City, 8.4.
Team roping: (first round winners) 1, Jake Orman, Prairie, Miss., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 4.8 seconds, $2,671 each. 2, (tie) Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Billy Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla.; and Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas, and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 4.9 and $2,148 each. 4, (tie) Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta and Tyler Worley, Bluffdale, Texas; Joshua and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla.; and Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Noguiera, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 5.1, $1,277 each. 7, (tie) Brandon Beers, Powell, Butte, Ore., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz.; Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash.; and Bryce palmer, Milton Freewater, Ore., and Bo Patzke, Klamath Falls, Ore., 5.2, $271. (second round) 1, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 4.9. 2, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 5.0. 3, Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz., and Ty Romo, Whitewater, Ariz., 5.1. 4, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga.,, and Junior Noguiera, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 5.2. (total on two) 1, Driggers and Noguiera, 10.3.2, Wade and Saebens, 10.5. 3, Marcos Theriot, Poplarville, Miss., and Cody Doescher, Oklahoma City, 10.8. 4, Riley and Brady Minor, 11.0.
Tie-down roping: (first round winners) 1, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.1, $2,555. 2, Timber moore, Aubrey, Texas, 8.3, $2,222. 3, Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 8.5, $1,889. 4, (tie) J.C. Malone, Plain City, Utah; Justin Smith, Leesville, La.; and Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo.; 8.7, $1,222. 7, Randall Carlisle, Athens, La., 8.9, $556. 8, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 9.0, $222. (second round) 1, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 7.7. 2, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 7.9. 3, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.0. 4, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 8.1. (total on two) 1, (tie) Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas and Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 18.5 each. 3, J.C. Malone, Plain City, Utah, 18.7. 4, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 19.1.
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Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1, Taci Bettis, Round Top, Texas, 17.05 seconds, $2,555. 2, Stevi Hillman, 17.08, $1,743. 3, Darby Fox, King Hill, Idaho, 17.18, $1,452. 4, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, 17.22, $1,259. 5, Jessi Fish, Franklin, Tenn., 17.38, $968. 6, Kelly Tovar, Rockdale, Texas, 17.41, $775. 7, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 17.42, $581. 8, Kim Schulze, Larkspur, Colo., 17.44, $387. 9, (tie) Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, Ore., and Kelly Collier, Hereford, Texas, 17.45, $242 each. (second round) 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 16.68*. 2, Taci Bettis, 17.09. 3, Amberleigh Moore, 17.23. 4, Liz Herrin, Big Spring, Texas, 17.30. (total on two) 1, Hillman, 33.76. 2, Bettis, 34.14. 3, Moore, 34.68. 4, Herrin, 34.78.
*New arena record. Previous record was Mary Aller at 17.01 in 1998.