Team Roping Tightens Up at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

by Susan Kanode
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 31, 2017) – Arizona team ropers took center stage at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo on Tuesday.

With Erich Rogers from Round Rock heading, and Cory Petska, from Marana heeling, they are the most successful team here so far. Rogers and Petska stopped the clock in 5.3 on Monday night, then came back and shaved nearly a second off their time Tuesday afternoon. Their time of 4.4 jumped them to the overall lead with a total time of 9.7 seconds.

Clayton Hass, from Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, from Poulson, Mont., are now in second with 10.5 seconds on two runs. Right behind them is another team from Monday and Tuesday, Dustin Bird from Cut Bank, Montana, and Russell Cardoza, from Terrebonne, Oregon who have a total of 10.6.

Rogers and Petska are both currently eighth in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. The other two teams aren’t in the top 50 but could easily move up with a win at Will Rogers Coliseum. There is a spread of just over two seconds among the top six teams here with 24 teams left to compete. Saturday night’s championship finals may be the best team roping that has been held here since the event was added in 2006.

The first round of barrel racing is complete and Weatherford’s Stevi Hillman finished at the top of the leaderboard. Riding her 10-year-old gelding Quatro Fame that she calls Truck, she stopped the clock in 16.48 seconds to win $5,100. She will get to run here again and will be a favorite to advance to the finals.

A Wright has left Fort Worth with a saddle bronc riding championship four out of the last six years and the Utah family hopes to make it five of seven. Jake Wright, who won the title here a year ago, competed in the first two performances and has been at the top of the leaderboard ever since. His older brother Cody has earned the title here three times–in 2014, 2013 and 2011.

The Wrights have dominated saddle bronc riding across the country and, in December, five of them competed in Las Vegas at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. On Tuesday night, two of them competed here and were successful.

Spencer Wright, the 2014 world champion, and his nephew Rusty Wright (Cody’s oldest son) were in the field. Spencer scored 80.5 points and Rusty tallied 77. While neither of these scores were high enough to be placing in the first round of competition, they do give them an opportunity to move into the overall standings. Jake has a total of 168.5 points. The final spot to advance to Saturday night’s finals is being held with a 154.5-point total. Rusty, who finished in second place behind his dad at Fort Worth in 2014, needs an 80-point or better ride and Spencer needs 75 or better to have a chance to compete in the finals here.

The 121st Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo continues Wednesday with rodeo performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

The following are unofficial results from Tuesday at the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, January 31, 2017.

Twentieth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Zachariah Phillips, Gillette, Wyo., 81 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Fiddle Faddle. 2, Mike Solberg, Sunnynook, Alberta, 75.5. 3, Tucker Zingg, Glendive, Mont., 75.5. 4, Pascal Isabelle, Crossfield, Alberta, 74.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Cody Harmon, Dublin, Texas, 4.3 seconds. 2, Mike Bates Jr., Mexican Springs, N.M., 4.8. 3, Heath Thomas, Hemphill, Texas, 6.4. 4, Will Scoggins, Mt. Pleasant, Texas, 16.0.

Team Roping: 1, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 4.4 seconds. 2, Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont., and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 5.4. 3, Rowdy Rieken, Arp, Texas, and Ace Pearce, Washington, Texas, 14.9. 4, Cody Russell, Weatherford, Texas, and Jace Harris, Vilonia, Ark., 15.3.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Shade Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 80.5 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Detour. 2, Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D., 78.5. 3, Landon Mecham, Tropic, Utah, 76. 4, Andy Clarys, Riverton, Wyo. 69.5.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Justin Smith, Leesville, La., 11.0 seconds. 2, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., 12.4. 3, Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 12.5. 4, Will Howell, Stillwater, Okla., 14.6.

Barrel Racing: 1, Clay Sewalt, Del Rio, Texas, 17.11 seconds. 2, Natalie Bland, Boyd, Texas, 17.16. 3, Kali Parker, Wendell, Idaho, 17.17. 4, Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 17.21.

Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Skyler Sims, Peculiar, Mo., 73 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Ant Man. 2, Money Crist, Reno, Nev., 71.5. 3, Cole Melancon, Liberty, Texas, 64.

Twenty-First Performance

Bareback Riding: (three rides) 1, (tie) Dantan Bertsch, Eastend, Saskatchewan, on Four Star Rodeo’s Star Light and Pascal Isabelle, Crossfield, Alberta, on Four Star Rodeo’s Lil’ Devil, 77 points. 2, Mike Solberg, Sunnynook, Alberta, 76.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 4.2. 2, Logan Gledhill, Huntsville, Texas, 6.0. 3, Jeffrey Boriski, College Station, Texas, 9.2. 4, Chance Carlson, Alden, N.M., 14.3.

Team Roping: 1, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 4.4 seconds. 2, Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont., and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 5.4. 3, Rowdy Rieken, Arp, Texas, and Ace Pearce, Washington, Texas, 11.3.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 80.5 points on Four Star Rodeo’s Chucky. 2, Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, 79.5. 3, Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah, 79. 4, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 77.

Tie-Down Roping: (three times) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.3 seconds. 2, Clint Nyegaard, Cuero, Texas, 20.8. 3, Neil Dove, Bluff Dale, Texas, 27.8.

Barrel Racing: 1, Lacinda Rose, Willard, Mo., 16.83. 2, Michelle Lummus, Hiram, Ga., 16.87. 3, Rainy Pratt, Stephenville, Texas, 16.90. 4, Laura Kennedy, Quitman, Ark., 16.91.

Bull Riding: no qualified rides

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, (tie) Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Biscuit and Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, on J Bar J Rodeo’s Bar Bandit, 83 points. 3, Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 81.5. 4, (tie) Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., and Mason Clements, Santaquin, Utah, 81. (second round) 1, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 87 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog. 2, Jake Brown, Cleveland, Texas, 83.5. 3, (tie) Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, and Zachariah Phillips, Gillette, Wyo., 81. 6, Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., 80. (third round) 1, Clements, 87.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Night Fist. 2, Wyatt Denny, 84 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Wolverine. 3, Brown, 83.5. 4, Rutherford, 83. 5, Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 81. 6, (tie) Rio Lee, Tucson, Ariz., Dent, and Nelson, 80.5. (total on three) 1, Dent, 248. 2, Nelson, 244.5. 3, Rutherford, 243.5. 4, (tie) Wyatt Denny and Clements, 241.5. 6, Miller, 237.

Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 3.9 seconds. 2, (tie) Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., and Garrett Poston, Winnsboro, Texas, 4.1. 4, (tie) Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah, Cameron Morman, Glenullin, N.D., and Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 4.2. (total on two) 1, Etbauer, 8.1. 2, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 8.3. 3, Parrott, 8.6. 4, (tie) Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., Thomas, and Harmon, 9.5.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 4.5 seconds. 2, Lightning Aguilera, Athens, Texas, and Cody Hogan, Athens, Texas, 4.6. 3, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 4.7. 4, Chase Wiley, Charlotte, Texas, and Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas, 4.8. 5, (tie) Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and Brady Norman, Springer, Okla., and Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 5.1. (second round) 1, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Jade Corkhill, Fallon, Nev., 4.3 seconds. 2, (tie) Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, and B.J. Digger, Three Rivers, Texas, and Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 4.4. 4, Blake Teixeira, Tres Pinos, Calif., and York Gill, Stephenville, Texas, 4.5. 5, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar del la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 4.7. 6, (tie) Dan Williams Jr., Standish, Calif., and Caleb Twisselman, Santa Margarita, Calif., and Marcus Theriot, Poplarville, Miss., and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., 4.8. (total on two) 1, Rogers and Petska, 9.7. 2, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 10.5. 3, Bird and Cardoza, 10.6. 4, Teixeira and Gill, 10.7. 5, Driggers and Nogueira, 10.9. 6, Travis Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 11.0.

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, (tie) Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, and Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84. 5, (tie) Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, and Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 83.5. (second round) 1, (tie) Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk and Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Low Bucks, 85. 3, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 82. 4, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Milford, Utah, and Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, 81.5. 6, (tie) Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, Thurston and Shade Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 81.5. (total on two) 1. Jake Wright, 168. 2, Cody DeMoss, 166.5. 3, Thurston, 164.5. 4, Bradshaw, 163.5. 5, Watson, 161.6, (tie) Sterling and Jacobs Crawley, 159.

Tie-Down Roping: (second round) 1, Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas, 7.9 seconds. 2, (tie) Ben Robinson, Red Deer County, Alberta, Bobby Abernathy, Athens, Ala., and Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.3 seconds. 5, Justin Brinkerhoff, Corrine, Utah, 8.5. 6, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.7. (total on two) 1, Tuf Cooper, 18.5. 2, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 18.6. 3, Clint Akins, Sanger, Texas, 19.0. 4, Justin Smith, Leesville, La., 19.6. 5, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 19.7. 6, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 20.3.

Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas., 16.48 seconds, $5,100. 2, Cayla Small, Burneyville, Okla., 16.49, $4,372. 3, Jana Bean, Ft. Hancock, Texas, 16.58, $3,643. 4, Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, Ore., 16.62, $3,157. 5, Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 16.64, $2,429. 6, Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas, 16.65, $1,943. 7, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., $1,457. 8, Tammy Fischer, Ledbetter, Texas, $971. 9, (tie) Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, and Meghan Johnson, Stephenville, Texas, $607 each.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Tim Bingham, Honeyville, Utah, 88 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s J Lazy. 2, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 84.5. 3, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 83.5. 4, Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 81.5. 5, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 81. 6, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 79.5. (second round) 1. Elliott Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 85 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Wonder Boy. 2, Lon Danley, Tularosa, N.M., 84.5. 3, (tie) Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, Wesley Silcox, Santiquin, Utah, and Bayle Worden, 83.5. 6, Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 82.5. (total on two) 1. Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 167. 2, Jacoby, 166.5. 3, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 158.5. 4, Radley, 156. 5, Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., 151. 6, Dave Mason, Burnet, Texas, 151.