Red Bluff Crowns Champions; Win is Confidence Booster for Tie-Down Roper

Second year of rodeo, Red Bluff win is confidence booster for tie-down roper

Red Bluff, Calif. – Westyn Hughes knows where he belongs, and it’s in the winner’s circle.

The Caldwell, Texas cowboy secured the tie-down roping title at the 96th annual Red Bluff Round-Up on April 23 with the average win, the fastest times combined on four runs. His time of 40.9 seconds on four head was nearly two seconds faster than the number two man, Cimarron Boardman, of Stephenville, Texas.

Tie-down ropers Luke Landry, Leesville, La. and Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., who trailed Hughes going into the average by a second or less, opened the door for Hughes when they didn’t rope their calves today. “Today I just had to go in there and make a solid run, just get out clean at the barrier, and not have any penalties.” Hughes didn’t have to rope as aggressively, with Landry and Smith out of the lead. “At that point, I didn’t have to take as much of a gamble.”

Hughes, who is nineteen years old, is in his second year of PRCA rodeo competition, having won the Resistol Rookie Tie-Down Roper in 2016, and it’s going well. “This year has started off a lot better than it did last year,” he said. He chalks it up to more experience. “I think I’ve roped smarter in general. The second year of going to the PRCA rodeos has definitely helped me and been in my favor.”

His second trip to the Red Bluff Round-Up is the complete opposite of last year. “The crazy thing is,” he said, “last year, I never caught a calf here. I missed all my calves. It was me, not roping smart, and fighting my head.”

Winning Red Bluff is a big confidence booster. “I just feel like I belong here. Last year, I was struggling, and had in my head, do I belong here? Now I know I do.”

Hughes’ mount is a horse he purchased from Jade Conner of Iowa, La. The eleven year old horse, named Clorox, has “been a big help. He’s got a lot of run and he’s real honest.”

The 2017 Round-Up bull riding title went to Rock Island, Texas’ Trey Benton III, who scored 88.5 points on the Rosser Rodeo bull Heartbreak. Hughes is coming off of two years of injuries which have kept him out of competition and the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Within a six week span in 2015, he had surgeries to repair the ACL in one knee and the ACL and MCL in the other knee, and in 2016, he tore his groin, his labrum, and had a minor sports hernia. “I’m getting my feet back under me,” he said. “The past two years, I’ve been getting hurt, and I’m not able to get anything rode.”

Benton is rodeoing a bit differently this year. He is working with a sports trainer and has a plan for rodeo. The plan relates to the mental part of bull riding, since bull riding is “more mental than physical.” He’s also competing at fewer rodeos, being more careful where he rides. “I haven’t been rodeoing as hard as other guys. I’ve been to just fifteen rodeos this year, at the rodeos that fit me, with more added money.”

Other Red Bluff champions include bareback riders Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D. and Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas (85.5 points each); steer wrestler Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark. (19.2 seconds on four runs); saddle bronc rider Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla. (85 points); team ropers Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla. and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. (38.1 seconds on four runs); and barrel racer Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas (34.58 seconds on four runs.)

During the rodeo, which was the annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink event, a VIP rodeo package was auctioned off. Rose Crain and Dan Davidson, owners of Haleakala Ranch, purchased it for $35,000. The package includes an engraved Henry repeating Arms Big Boy .44 Magnum/.44 Special with a custom-made scabbard and a silver bracelet with rose-gold accents. The auction winner also receives a behind-the-scenes experience at two of Napa’s top wineries: Clos Pegase and Swanson Vineyards, with a two-night stay at a five-star hotel, a personal tour and connoisseur’s tasting of current and library vintages. Monies raised during the Round-Up’s “pink” campaign go to breast cancer treatment at the St. Elizabeth Imaging Center.

Next year’s Red Bluff Round-Up will be held April 20-22, 2018. For more information on the rodeo, visit RedBluffRoundup.com.

Results, Red Bluff Round-Up, April 21-23, 2017

All-around winner: Ryle Smith, Oakland, Calif. $7,051 in the steer wrestling and tie-down roping

Bareback Riding – 2017 Red Bluff Co-Champion – Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D. and Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas
1. (tie) Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D. 85 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Caddy Wagon and Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 85 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Raggidy Ann; 3. Jessy Davis, Power, Mont. 84.5; 4. Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah 83; 5. (tie) R. C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., and Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 82.5 each; 7. Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas 82; 8.(tie) Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore. and Justin Miller, Billings, Mont. 81.5 each.

Steer Wrestling 2017 Red Bluff Champion – Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark.
First round: 1. Kody Dollery, Caldwell, Texas 4.7 seconds; 2. Chance E. Howard, Cedarville, Ark. 4.9; 3. Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah 5.0; 4. Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss. 5.2; 5. Will Lummus, West Point, Miss. 5.4; 6. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. 5.6.

Second round: 1. Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alb.; 4.1 seconds; 2. Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif. 4.6; 3. John Henry Franzen, Riverton, Wyo. 4.7; 4. (tie) Jarret New, Wimberly, Texas and Kody Dollery, Caldwell, Texas 4.9 each; 6. (tie) Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont. and Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev. 5.1 each.

Third round: 1. Cody Pratt, Pueblo, Colo. 4.4 seconds; 2. Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif. 4.6; 3. Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah 4.7; 4. (tie) Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev. and Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark. 4.8 each; 6. Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo. 4.9.

Finals: 1. Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark. 4.3 seconds; 2. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. 4.7; 3. (tie) Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif. and Taylor Gregg, Walla Walla, Wash. 4.9 each; 5. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont. 5.1; 6. Kody Dollery, Caldwell, Texas 5.2.

Average: 1. Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark. 19.2 seconds on four runs; 2. Kody Dollery, Caldwell, Texas 20.5; 3. Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif. 21.4; 4. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont. 21.7; 5. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev. 22.2; 6. Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev. 22.6.

Saddle bronc riding 2017 Red Bluff Champion – Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla.
1. Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla. 85 points on Calgary Stampede’s Turbo Rocket; 2. Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah 84.5; 3. (tie) Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alb. and Jake Watson, Hudsons Hope, B.C. 83.5 each; 5. Cody Wright, Milford, Utah 83; 6. (tie) Tyrell J. Smith, Sand Coulee, Mont. and Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas; 82.5 each; 8. (tie) Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M. and Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah 82 points each.

Tie Down Roping 2017 Red Bluff Champion – Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas
First round: 1. Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas 8.9 seconds; 2. D.J. Parker, Hollister, Calif. 9.4; 3. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas 9.6; 4. Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas 10.1; 5. Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas 10.2; 6. Cody McCartney, Ottawa Lake, Mich. 10.4.

Second round: 1. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 8.4 seconds; 2. Cooper Martin, Alma, Kan. 8.7; 3. Cy Eames, Gooding, Ida. 8.9; 4. (tie) Luke Jeffries, Maricopa, Ariz. and Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas 9.1 each; 6. Clint Nyegaard, Cuero, Texas 9.2.

Third round: 1. Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. 8.9 seconds; 2. Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif. 9.3; 3. Luke Landry, Leesville, La. 10.2; 4. Cimarron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas 10.7; 5. Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash. 10.8; 6. Roger Nonella, Redmond, Ore. 11.1.

Finals: 1. Cimarron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas 8.7 seconds; 2. Kody Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas 8.9; 3. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 10.0; 4. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas 10.1.

Average: 1. Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas 40.9 seconds on 4 runs; 2. Cimarron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas 42.8; 3. Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas 43.0; 4. Kody Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas 43.5; 5. Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. 43.8; 6. Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash. 45.6.

Team Roping 2017 Red Bluff Champions – Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla. and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla.
First round: 1. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 7.0 seconds; 2. Brandon Beers, Powell Butte, Ore./Joel Bach, Mt. Vernon, Texas 7.6; 3.Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev. 7.8; 4. Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, Ariz./Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev. 8.2; 5. Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz./Tyler Worley, Bluffdale, Texas 8.4; 6. Ryan Reed, Farmington, Calif./Cody Pearson, Tucson, Ariz. 8.6; 7. Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas/Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas 8.8; 8. Lane Karney, Creston, Calif./Dalton Pearce, San Luis Obispo, Calif. 9.1.

Second round: 1. Brandon Webb, Carrizo Springs, Texas/Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla. 6.3; 2. Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas/Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan. 6.4; 3. Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz./Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas 6.9; 4. (tie) Doyle Hoskins, Chualar, Calif./BJ Campbell, Aguila, Arz. And Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore. and Todd Hampton, Madera, Calif. 7.4 each; 6. Jake Stanley, Hermiston, Ore. and Kyle Lockett, Visalia, Calif. 7.8; 8. Case Hirdes, Turlock, Calif./Cord Forzano, Madera, Calif. 8.1.

Third round: 1. Lane Ivy, Adrian, Texas and Buddy Hawkins, II, Columbus, Kan. 7.1 seconds; 2. Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore. and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore. 7.3; 3. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla. and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 7.4; 4. Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore. and Todd Hampton, Madera, Calif. 8.2; 5. Preston Burgess, Hilmar, Calif. and Cody Cowden, Atwater, Calif. 8.7; 6. Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M. and Brady Norman, Springer, Okla. 9.0; 7. Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif. and John Chaves, Los Alamos, Calif. 9.5; 8. Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C. and Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas 9.7.

Finals: 1. Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif./John Chaves, Los Alamos, Calif. 7.6; 2. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 8.0; 3. Lane Ivy, Adrian, Texas/Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan. 8.8; 4. Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore./Todd Hampton, Madera, Calif. 8.9; 5. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev./Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif. and Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C./Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas 10.1 each.

Average: 1. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 38.1 seconds on 4 runs; 2. Lane Ivy, Adrian, Texas/Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan. 38.5; 3. Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore./Todd Hampton, Madera, Calif. 43.3; 4. Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif./John Chaves, Los Alamos, Calif. 47.4; 5. Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C./Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas 49.6; 6. Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M./Brady Norman, Springer, Okla. 53.8; 7. Jake Stanley, Hermiston, Ore./Kyle Lockett, Visalia, Calif. 54.4; 8. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev./Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif. 57.0.

Barrel racing – 2017 Red Bluff Champion – Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas
First round: 1. (tie) Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas and Christine Laughlin, Pueblo, Colo. 17.26 seconds each; 3. (tie) Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas and Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas 17.37 each; 5. Jana Bean, Ft Hancock, Texas 17.38; 6. Taylor Langdon, Aubrey, Texas 17.42; 7. Jill Welsh, Parker, Ariz. 17.50; 8. Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas 17.56; 9. Jaime Hinton, Bulverde, Texas 17.58; 10. Carman Pozzoon, Aldergrove, B.C. 17.61.

Second round: 1. Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas 17.02 seconds; 2. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M. 17.07; 3. Nellie Miller, Cottonwood, Calif. 17.19; 4. Taylor Langdon, Aubrey, Texas 17.22; 5. Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas 17.23; 6. Jaime Hinton, Bulverde, Texas 17.33; 7. Kris Gadbois, Escondido, Calif. 17.35; 8. Mary Jo Camera, Ceres, Calif. 17.40; 9. Sami Morisoli, Paso Robles, Calif. 17.41; 10. (tie) Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas and Brittany Kell, Paso Robles, Calif. 17.42 each.

Average: 1. Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas 34.58 seconds on two runs; 2. Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas 34.60; 3. Taylor Langdon, Aubrey, Texas 34.64; 4. Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas 34.71; 5. Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas 34.79; 6. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M. 34.86; 7. Jaime Hinton, Bulverde, Texas 34.91; 8. Jill Welsh, Parker, Ariz. 34.96; 9. Kris Gadbois, Escondido, Calif. 35.04; 10. Nellie Miller, Cottonwood, Calif. 35.07.

Bull Riding 2017 Red Bluff Champion – Trey Benton III, Rock Island, Texas
1. Trey Benton, III, Rock Island, Texas 88.5 points on Rosser Rodeo’s Heartbreak; 2. Tim Bingham, Honeyville, Utah 85.5; 3. Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Ida. 84; 4. Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla. 82; 5. Jordan Hansen, Okotoks, Alb. 81; 6. Cain Smith, Pendleton, Ore. 80; 7. Brennon Eldred, Sulphur, Okla. 76; 8. Jesse Petri, Geneva, Fla. 74.

** All results are unofficial. For more information, visit RedBluffRoundup.com. For complete rodeo results, visit ProRodeo.com.