Semifinals Action Underway at San Antonio Rodeo
The highest marked saddle bronc ride at this year’s San Antonio Rodeo happened on Tuesday night. Rusty Wright, from Milford, Utah, was 89 points on Calgary Stampede’s Weekend Departure to win the first round of Semifinals 1. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – The first of two Semifinals began in the AT&T Center on Tuesday night at the San Antonio Rodeo got underway with some great rides and fast times.
Richmond Champion from The Woodlands, Texas had the high-marked ride in the bareback riding. Champion, who has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) three times is looking for his first San Antonio Rodeo title. He came one step closer with an 86.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s horse named Yukon Rambler. That added $4,429 to $3,121 that he had already won here. Champion is now in good shape to be among the top five money winners that will ride for a title here on Saturday night.
Rusty Wright also made a big move in saddle bronc riding. He was 92 points on another horse owned by Calgary Stampede named Weekend Departure. Wright won the title here in 2015 on the way to the first of two NFR qualifications. He made the trip to Vegas in 2015 and 2016 to compete at rodeo’s championships. Then injury kept him out of the top 15 in 2017.
Instead, he was a spectator at the 2017 NFR and watched his younger brother, Ryder Wright earn the world championship. That lit a fire in Rusty Wright that had been very evident here. His 89 was the highest marked saddle bronc rider here so far and with what he won on Tuesday, he has the lead in the money standings at $10,107. Wade Sundell from Coleman, Oklahoma, is second here with $9,364.
The barrel racing at this year’s rodeo is speeding up in the Semifinals. All four of the top times were under 14 seconds for the first time this year. Leader of the pack was Jessie Telford from Caldwell, Idaho, with a 13.76-second run. Telford put her barrel racing aspirations on hold after she got married and had two daughters. Her children are older now and she and her horse are making a big statement here.
Telford is second in the money standings behind Hailey Kinsel who placed third Tuesday night. Kinsel, from Cotulla, Texas had a time of 13.83. Second went to Kelly Bruner who won the final round of Bracket 5 to advance. Bruner stopped the clock in 13.83. Fourth place was Tiany Schuster from Krum, Texas, with a 13.91.
These Semifinal contestants will have their second round on Wednesday night beginning at 7 p.m. Half of them will head home as the other half waits for Saturday night’s finals. The five contestants in each event that have won the most money will have one more opportunity to cash in at the $1.7 million San Antonio Rodeo.
The following are results after the 16th performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 13-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Semifinal 1, round 1, followed by total money –
Sixteenth performance
Bareback Riding: 1, Richie Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 86.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Yukon Rambler, $4,459. 2, Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 85, $3,344. 3, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 81, $2,230. 4, (tie) Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho; Seth hardwick, Ranchester, Wyo.; Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore, 80 points, $372 each. (total money) 1, (tie) Champion and Breuer, $7,580. 3, Lowe, $6,911. 4, Foss, $5,128.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Jacob Schofner, Jasper, Texas, 3.5 seconds, $4,459. 2, Cole Edge, Durant, Okla., 3.9, $3,344. 3, Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, 4.0, $2,230. 4, Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, $1,115. (total money) 1, Edge, $8,695. 2, Schofner, $7,432. 3, Reeves, $5,574. 4, Tavenner, $5,202.
Team Roping: 1, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 4.8 seconds, $4,459 each. 2, Cory Kidd, Statesville, N.C., and Cole Davidson, Stephenville, Texas, 5.1, $3,344. 3, Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Wyatt Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 5.4, $2,230. 4, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 14.8, $1,115. (total money) 1, Brazile and Smith, $8,621 each. 2, Macy and Cox, $5,202. 3, Kidd and Davidson, $4,128. 4, (tie) Tyler Wade, Terrel, Texas, and Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas; and Bubba Buckaloo, Kingston, Okla., and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla., $4,756 each.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 89 points on Calgary Stampede’s Weekend Departure, $4,459. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 84.5, $3,344. 3, Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa, 83, $2,230. 4, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 80.5, $1,115. (total money) 1, Rusty Wright, $10,107. 2, Sundell, $9,364. 3, Crawley, $8,101. 4, Cort Scheer, Douglas, Wyo., $5,351.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, (tie) Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., and Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 7.7 seconds, $3,902 each. 3, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 7.9, $2,230. 4, Ace Sloan, Cuero, Texas, 8.4, $1,115. (total money) 1, Solomon, $8,769. 2, (tie) Pratt and Cooper, $6,280. 4, Jordan Ketcher, Squaw Valley, Calif., $5,351.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho, 13.76 seconds, $4,459. 2, Kelly Bruner, Millsap, Texas, 13.83, $3,344. 3, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.88, $2,230. 4, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 13.91, $1,115. (total money) 1, Kinsel, $9,364. 2, Telford, $6,837. 3, Carly Richardson, Pampa, Texas, $6,540. 4, Bruner, $5,722.