Malone, Hadley Win First Round at Fort Worth Rodeo

by Johna Cravens
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 22, 2017) — J.C. Malone is having a good week. The Utah cowboy was one of 129 cowboys who competed in Fort Worth Wednesday morning in the tie-down roping. He left Cowtown leading the first round with a time of 8.1 seconds, but had to wait through five performances of the 2017 World’s Original Indoor Rodeo® to see if that lead would hold.

When the last of 185 ropers competed Sunday afternoon, Malone held on to the lead and won almost $6,400. He competed in the championship round of the National Western Livestock Show & Rodeo in Denver Sunday, winning third to put his week’s earnings at more than $10,000.

Malone said he felt good after his first run in Will Rogers Coliseum, but he has competed at Fort Worth five or six times and “I don’t think I’ve ever won a check there. You just never know (how a round will turn out),” he said. “There are so many entries. I like that they allow everyone to come.” Fort Worth is one of the few major rodeos that does not limit entries.

“I have such a good horse now,” he said of the 16-year-old gray mare that he calls Lucy. “I had a good calf, but she really makes the difference.”

Malone barely missed qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas as one of the top 15 ropers in the country the past two years. (He finished 18th in 2015 and 16th last year.) He said, “This is a great start. This year I plan on making it to Vegas.”

Malone, his wife Mandy, five-year-old son Treyson and two-year-old daughter Macie will return to Fort Worth Feb. 4 when he’ll compete during the afternoon performance on his second calf. If all goes well, he will be roping in that evening’s championship finals.

The first round of steer wrestling ended Sunday night and Shane Hadley of Stephenville, Texas, bested 176 other cowboys. He clocked a time of 3.4 seconds on Thursday morning that held through six rodeo performances. The Wyoming native earned $5,624 which could be the beginning of a breakout rodeo season for the Tarleton State University graduate who works at Mitchell Pipe & Supply in Stephenville.

Bull rider Elliott Jacoby had a successful Sunday, too. The Fredericksburg, Texas, cowboy rode Rafter G Rodeo’s bull Lucifer for 81.5 points Sunday afternoon to take the lead in the first round. Sunday night he took the overall and the second-round lead with an 85-point ride on United Pro Rodeo’s Wonder Boy. His total of 166.5 is 10 points higher than his closest rival and should be enough to put him in the championship finals on Feb. 4.

The World’s Original Indoor Rodeo® continues Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Fort Worth’s historic Will Rogers Coliseum.

The following are unofficial results from Sunday at the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, January 22, 2017.

Fifth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 75.5 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Just Bugs. 2, Wyatt Maines, Maple Creek, Sask., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 75. 4. Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 74.5.

Steer Wrestling: (three times) 1, Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M., 4.1 seconds. 2, Mason Miles Carter, Checotah, Okla., 5.1. 3, Dean McIntyre, Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia, 14.3.

Team Roping: (three times) 1, Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo., and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 5.6 seconds. 2, Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 6.5. 3, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Clint Summers, Lake City, Fla., 7.0.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla., 85.5 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Night Hawk. 2, Leon Fountain, Socorro, N.M., 78.5. 3, RayTom Meiers, Mills, Wyo., 78. 4, (tie) Treyson Antonick, Overton, Texas, and Tanner Lockhart, Lewis, Colo., 76.

Tie-Down Roping: 1. C.R. Bradley, Collinsville, Texas, 14.0 seconds. 2, Clint Townsend, Senatobia, Miss., 15.6. 3, Justin Weichel, Cordell, Okla., 16.0. 4, Jim Bob Fritz, Valley View, Texas, 24.6.

Barrel Racing: 1, Jody McKay, Red Oak, Okla., 17.09 seconds. 2, Gina Suick, Arp, Texas, 17.37. 3, JJ Baldwin, Lufkin, Texas, 17.55. 4, Rachel Primm, Washoe Valley, Nev., 17.63.

Bull Riding: (three rides) 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 81.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Lucifer. 2, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 81. 3, Christopher Byrd, Compton, Calif., 74.5.

Sixth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 77 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Montana. Jack. 2, Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 74.5. 3, Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 74. 4, (tie) Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., and Blake Smith, Zap, N.D. 73.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Cody Devers, Alva, Okla., 4.5 seconds. 2, Wyatt Lindsay, Cuchillo, N.M., 5.7. 3, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo., 6.1. 4, Kevin Helton, Paradise, Texas, 13.7.

Team Roping: 1, Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo., and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 7.2 seconds. 2, Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 10.8. 3, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Clint Summers, Lake City, Fla., 11.2. 4, Pace Freed, Chubbock, Idaho, and Cody Pearson, Tucson, Ariz., 14.6.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (three rides) 1, Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla., 70 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Partly Fiction. 2, Treyson Antonick, Overton, Texas, 69.5. 3, Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., 66.

Tie-Down Roping: 1. Seth Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas, 10.2 seconds. 2, Justin Weichel, Cordell, Okla., 14.0. 3, Jim Bob Fritz, Valley View, Texas, 14.6. 4, Clint Townsend, Senatobia, Miss., 23.1.

Barrel Racing: 1, Abby Penson, Blossom, Texas, 16.82 seconds. 2, Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 17.20. 3, Carly Twisselman, Fort Worth, Texas, 17.27. 4, Candie Miner, Decatur, Texas, 17.32.

Bull Riding: 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 85 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Wonder Boy. 2, Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, 83.5. 3, Laine Vicaro, Hammond, La., 81.5. 4, Wyatt Edwards, Sulphur, Okla., 76.5.

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., 83 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Biscuit. 2, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 81. 3, R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 4, Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 79.5. 5, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 78. 6, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 77.5. (second round) 1, Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., 77.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Boss Man. 2, Denny, 75.5. 3, (tie) Wyatt Maines, Maple Creek, Sask., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 75. 5. Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 74.5. 6, Creasy, 73. (third round) 1, Rio Lee, Tucson, Ariz., 80.5 on Dakota Rodeo’s Bartender. 2, (tie) Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., and Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 77. 4, Creasy, 74.5. 5, (tie) Kiser and Wisehart, 74. (total on three) 1, Denny, 229.5. 2, Brown, 227.5. 3, Creasy, 227. 4, Montero, 226.5. 5, Vaira, 226. 6, Kiser, 223.

Steer Wrestling: (first round winners) 1, Shane Hadley, Stephenville, Texas, 3.4 seconds, $5,624. 2, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.6, $4,891. 3, (tie) Sam Powers, Sonora, Texas, and Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Ca., 3.8, $3,790 each. 5, (tie) Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., and Sean Mulligan, Coleman, Okla., 4.0, $2,323 each. 7, Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M., 4.1, $1,223. 8, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 4.2, $489.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and Brady Norman, 5.1 seconds. 2, Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo., and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 5.6 3, Brett Stuart, Bridgeport, Texas, and Wesley Moss, Paradise, Texas, 6.0. 4, Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 6.5. 5, 5, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Clint Summers, Lake City, Fla., 7.0. 6, J.D. Yates and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 7.5. (second round – two times) 1, Dan Williams Jr., Standish, Calif., and Caleb Twisselman, Santa Margarita, 4.8 seconds. 2, Bobby Joe Hill, Mexia, Texas, and Joe Mattern, Plantersville, Texas, 6.5 seconds 3, Blasingame and VonAhn, 7.2. 4, Rhett Anderson, Anabella, Utah, and Robby Farias, Kilauea, Hawaii, 7.5. 5, Olson and Woodard, 10.8. 6, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Clint Summers, Lake City, Fla., 11.2. (total on two) 1, Blasingame and VonAhn, 12.8. 2, Olson and Woodard, 17.3. 3, Vick and Summers, 18.2. 4, Williams Jr. and Twisselman, 4.8 (on one). 5, Cooper and Norman, 5.1. 6, Stuart and Moss, 6.1.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Watson, Hudsons Hope, B.C., 87 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Money Maker. 2, Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla., 85.5. 3, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 84. 4, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 83. 5, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 82. 6, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 81.5. (second round) 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 85 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk. 2, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 85. 3, CoBurn Bradshaw, Milford, Utah, 81.5. 4, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 810.5. 5, Clint Hopping, Memphis, Texas, 80. 6, (tie) Nat Stratton, Goodwell, Okla., and Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah. 76. (total on two) 1. Jake Wright, 168. 2, Cody DeMoss, 166.5. 3, Bradshaw, 163.5. 4, Watson, 161. 5, (tie) Sterling and Jacobs Crawley, 159.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round winners) 1, J.C. Malone, Plain City, Utah, 8.1 seconds, $6.370. 2, Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texas, 8.3, $5.529. 3, Ace Sloan, Cuero, Texas, 8.4, $4,708. 4, Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 8.5, $3,877. 5, (tie) Justin Smith, Leesville, La., and Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 8.6, $1,149 each. 7, (tie) Clint Nyegaard, Cuero, Texas, and Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 8.7, $969 each. (second round) 1. Seth Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas, 10.2 seconds. 2, Justin Weichel, Cordell, Okla., 14.0. 3, Jim Bob Fritz, Valley View, Texas, 14.6. 4, Clint Townsend, Senatobia, Miss., 23.1. 5, Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 23.9. 6, Thomas Merritt, Weatherford, Okla., 26.0. (total on two) 1. Justin Weichel, Cordell, Okla., 30.2. 2, Seth Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas, 34.9. 3, Clint Townsend, Senatobia, Miss., 38.7. 4, Jim Bob Fritz, Valley View, Texas, 39.2. 5, Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 48.8.

Barrel Racing: (first round) 1, (tie) Sadye Simpson, Millsap, Texas, and Abby Penson, Blossom, Texas, 16.82 seconds. 3, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 16.84. 4, Darby Fox, King Hill, Idaho, 16.90. 5, Liz Herrin, Big Spring, Texas, 16.93. 6, Davie King, Decatur, Texas, 16.96.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 81.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Lucifer. 2, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 81. 3, Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., 77. 4, Chris Bechthold, Balko, Okla., 74.5. 5, Christopher Byrd, Compton, Calif., 74.5. 6, Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, 74., (second round) 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 85 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Wonder Boy. 2, Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, 83.5. 3, Laine Vicaro, Hammond, La., 81.5. 4, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Sask., 78. 5, Wyatt Edwards, Sulphur, Okla., 76.5. 6, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 75. (total on two) 1. Jacoby, 166.5. 2, Radley, 156. 3, Hallam, 151. 4, Campbell, 83.5 (on one) 5, Vicaro, 81.5. 6, Parsonage, 78.