Larsen Rides to Top of San Antonio Stock Rodeo Leaderboard

By Susan Kanode
For the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A talented field of saddle bronc riders lit up the scoreboard at the AT&T Center at the first performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo.

San Antonio’s bracket style of competition is so popular among contestants that this rodeo has been named the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year for 11 consecutive years. It doesn’t hurt that $1.67 in prize money is up for grabs either.

There are 50 contestants in each of the standard rodeo events, divided into five brackets. Each bracket has three rounds of competition with the top money winners advancing to a semi-finals competition. Winning a round in a bracket nearly assures that advancement.

One of those contestants hoping that is the case is Tyrel Larsen from Inglis, Manitoba. Larsen qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last December along with his brother Orin Larsen who is a bareback rider. They were the first contestants ever from Manitoba to compete at rodeo’s championship event.

Larsen won the first round of the bracket with a whopping 84-point effort on Frontier Rodeo’s Let Er Rip. That netted him $2,281. He was followed by Ben Londo, the rodeo coach at Cal Poly State University – San Luis Obispo who had an 81 to win $1,171.

Thursday night’s field also included the reigning world champion saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley who lives in nearby Boerne. Crawley scored 77 points and was one place out of the money. However, with San Antonio’s format he has two more opportunities to earn paychecks and still advance to the semifinals.

The number one barrel racer in the world added to her earnings here with a first-place finish. Ivy Conrado had the fastest time of the night and the only run less than 14 seconds at 13.88. She is riding a home-grown horse named CFour Tibbie Stinson that was flawless in the AT&T Center. Conrado earned the title at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo last weekend. It’s safe to say that she and her horse are both enjoying Texas.

There were five successful bull riders with the leader of the pack being Cody Rostockyj from Lorena, Texas. Rostockyj scored 81 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s South Point Style. Other successful riders were Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas; Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah; Newt Brasfield, Lane, Okla.; and Canada’s Adam Jamison. Even though Jamison made it to the eight-second mark, he finished in fifth place and did not get a check.

Friday’s rodeo will see all of these contestants in the second round of bracket one starting at 7:30 p.m.

The following are results from the first performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo which features over $1.65 million in cash and prizes.

Bareback Riding: 1, Teddy Athan, Livermore, Calif., 80.5 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Nodbig’s Rage, $2,281. 2, Tyler Waltz, Martin, Tenn., 79, $1,711. 3, (tie) Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, and Kyle Brennecke, Stephenville, Texas, 78 and $855 each.

Steer Wrestling: 1, (tie) Tommy Cook, McAlester, Okla., and J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 4.5 seconds and $1,996 each. 3, Kyle Whitaker, Chambers, Neb., 5.0, $1,141. 4, Morgan Grant, Didsbury, Alberta, 5.0, $570.

Team Roping: 1, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 5.7 seconds, $2,281 per man. 2, Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas, and Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, 6.3, $1,711. 3, David Key, Stephenville, Texas, and Travis Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 10.5, $1,141. 4, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Cole Davison, Roosevelt, Utah, 11.6, $570.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 84 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Let Er Rip, $2,281. 2, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81, $1,711. 3, (tie) Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, and Cooper DeWitt, Rio Rico, Ariz., 78, $855 each.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 8.7 seconds, $2,281. 2, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 9.0, $1,711. 3, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 9.4, $1,141. 4, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, 10.5, $570.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo, 13.88 seconds, $2,281. 2, Kelley Schnaufer, Pueblo, Colo., 14.05, $1,711. 3, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 14.09, $1,141. 4, Vickie Carter, Richfield, Utah, 14.18, $570.

Bull Riding: 1, Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas, 81 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s South Point Style, $2,281. 2, Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, 78.5, $1,711. 3, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 77.5, $1,141. 4, Newt Brasfield, Lane, Okla., 76, $571.

Courtesy of PRCA