Saddle Bronc Rider had Memorable Ride at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo
By Susan Kanode
For the National Western Stock Show
DENVER – Friday night at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo was one that saddle bronc rider Will Smith won’t soon forget.
Smith, who lives in Marshall, Mo., rode Calgary Stampede’s horse named Stampede Warrior for 88 points to take the lead in the first round of competition. The native of South Carolina left his home state to attend school at Missouri Valley College in Marshall and never left. While there he qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) all four years and earned his bachelor’s degree in religion and philosophy.
Now he is making a living riding bucking horses and is hoping a good start here will give him his best season yet and get him to Las Vegas next December to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Smith has his second ride here at the Saturday morning performance and will be a favorite to take the overall lead.
Friday night also saw a high score in the bareback riding. Logan Corbett rode Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies for 87 points. Corbett has deep ties to college rodeo as well. He got his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Kentucky’s Murray State University where he competed in bareback riding, bull riding and team roping. He qualified for the CNFR twice in bareback riding.
Corbett now lives in Las Cruces, N.M., where he is the rodeo coach for New Mexico State University. He is using his experiences in and out of the arena to inspire college rodeo athletes. Another good ride here in Denver and his students will be bragging about him.
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association action continues here on Saturday with performances at 11 a.m., 3:30 and 7:30 p.m.
The following are unofficial results from the National Western Stock Show Rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Second Performance —
Bareback Riding: 1, Richmond Champion, 85 points on Calgary Stampede’s Tootsie Roll. 2, Hunter Carlson, Sheridan, Wyo., 77.5. 3, (tie) Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., and Jordan Pelton, Halliday, N.D., 69.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Luke Branquihno, Los Alamos, Calif., 4.2 seconds. 2, Will Lummus, West Point, Miss., 4.4. 3, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif., 4.6. 4, Gary Gilbert, St. Cloud, Fla., 4.8.
Team Roping: (three times) 1, Olin Pulham, Payson, Utah, and Thad Ward, Howell, Utah, 4.1 seconds. 2, Kelsey Parchman, Cumberland City, Tenn., and Kinney Harrell, Marshall, Texas, 5.0. 3, Ryne Hutton, Boerne, Texas, and Chase Hansen, Homedale, Idaho, 16.3.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 85 points on Calgary Stampede’s Sergeant Whitney. 2, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 81. 3, Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D., 79. 4, Taygen Schulke, Newell, S.D., 77.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 7.8. 2, J.D. McCuistion, Collinsville, Texas, 8.1. 3, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.2. 4, Jesse Woodward, Dupree, S.D., 16.4.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Rainy Pruitt, Stephenville, Texas, 15.51. 2, Meghan Johnson, Stephenville, Texas, 15.58. 3, Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 15.59. 4, Megan McLeod – Sprague, Marsing, Idaho, 15.62.
Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Riker Carter, Stone, Idaho, 61 points on Mo Betta Rodeo’s John Boy.
Third Performance —
Bareback Riding: 1, Logan Corbett, Las Cruces, N.M., 87 points on Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies. 2, Buck Lunak, Cut Bank, Mont., 83.5. 3, Brazos Winters, Texline, Texas, 82.5. 4, Jamie Howlett, Snyder, Texas, 77.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Gary Gilbert, St. Cloud, Fla., 4.1 seconds. 2, Cody Cabral, Hilo, Hawaii, 4.3. 3, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif., 4.6. 4, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 4.8.
Team Roping: (three rimes) 1, Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 5.5 seconds. 2, Tanner Baldwin, Vale, Ariz., and Tanner Luttrell, Oroville, Calif., 11.1. 3, Bobby Boyd, DVM, Midland, Texas, and Bubba Paul, Lamesa, Texas, 21.5.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Will Smith, Marshall, Mo., 88 points on Calgary Stampede’s Stampede Warrior. 2, Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, 86. 3, Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla., 82.5. 4,(tie) Jesse James Kirby, Dodge City, Kan., and Tyler Turco, Franktown, Colo., 78 points each.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Caddo Lewellen, Morrison, Okla., 7.9. 2, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 8.4. 3, Clint Akins, Sanger, Texas, 9.3. 4, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 13.3.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 15.38. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 15.41. 3, Kali Parker, Wendell, Idaho, 15.46. 4, Alexa Lake, Richmond, Texas, 15.66.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Mike Sparks, Caldwell, Idaho, 85.5 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s HTTR. 2, (tie) Chase Robbins, Marsing, Idaho and Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 83.5.