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Teenagers Rope Lead at The American Semi-Finals

Teenagers Brenton Hall (right) and Paden Bray bested the veterans with a time of four seconds at The American Semi-Finals rodeo Thursday night at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth. They rope again Friday for a chance to compete Sunday at RFD-TV’s The American presented by Polaris RANGER at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Photo by Andy Watson

FORT WORTH, Texas – A pair of teenagers bested some of the world’s best ropers Thursday night at RFD-TV’s The American Semi-Finals presented by Polaris RANGER at Cowtown Coliseum.

As the final team to rope, Brenton Hall, 17, of Jay, Oklahoma, and Paden Bray, 18, of Granbury just wanted to rope their steer fast enough to wind up among the top 10 and qualify for Friday night’s Shootout round. The five best from Friday night punch their ticket to compete at The American, the world’s richest one-day rodeo, Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium with a chance to win a $1 million bonus.

As Hall and Bray backed their horses into the roping boxes, a time of 4.22 seconds by National Finals Rodeo veteran Charly Crawford of Stephenville and Oklahoman Joe Harrison held the lead. The young ropers brought the crowd to their feet with a lightning-quick run of 4.0.

Despite their ages, these two cowboys have a lot of experience. Bray says he first picked up a rope when he was two or three years old. Hall, son of a veteran team roper, started a bit later.

“When I was little, I wanted to be a bull rider,” Hall said. He tried riding sheep and graduated to calves, but “I really didn’t like it when I started getting on live animals,” he said. “I quit at about age 7 and started roping.”

Although they live nearly 400 miles apart, this pair has been roping together for a couple of years. They have both won big paychecks at major roping events and Hall competed at the International Finals Rodeo in January. Just one steer stands between them and the spotlight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Youth was the theme of the night with 12-year-old Nevada cowgirl Wylee Mitchell winning the affection of the crowd in barrel racing. Mitchell had the third fastest time of the night, 14.012, and is currently sixth. With more than 1000 competitors in qualifying events across the country, the barrel racing brings the top 30 times to the semi-finals with 10 running each night. Mitchell will have to wait until Friday’s set of racers finish to see if she will be competing at The American.

The fastest time of the night was turned in by cowboy Brandon Cullins of Clements, Maryland. His time of 13.833 is the second fastest, so he has a great chance to be one of a handful of men and the first person from Maryland to barrel race at AT&T Stadium.

Derek Kolbaba of Walla Walla, Washington, who is currently ranked 8th in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) standings, ended the night on a high note with a score of 90 points on a bull named Utter Lover. That was only the second time the bull, owned by D & H Cattle Company, had ever been ridden. Ten cowboys rode their bulls during the first two performances and will return for Friday’s shootout round where the top five move on to face the PBR’s top 10 2016 finishers and three-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) champion Sage Kimzey on Sunday.

Timber Moore of Aubrey has dominated the tie-down roping. He qualified for the semi-finals with two slots. Wednesday night he roped and tied his calf in 6.81 seconds to take the lead. Thursday, he moved into second place with a time of 6.96. Moore has won nearly $6,000 in two nights and will have two chances Friday to be among the top six that get to rope again Sunday.

Former world champion Will Lowe of Canyon scored 85 points on Four Star Rodeo’s horse Lolita to lead the bareback riding. He needs another solid ride Friday night to return to The American. Lowe has been an invited contestant as one of the top 10 for the past three years, but if he makes it back this year, he’ll have a shot at the $1 million bonus for the first time.

Cody Harmon of Dublin turned in the fastest time of the semi-finals when he wrestled his steer to the ground in 4.08 seconds. Thursday night’s steer wrestling was especially tough. The five fastest times of the rodeo all happened during this performance.

National Finals Rodeo veteran Cody DeMoss is another cowboy who has previously competed at The American. His score of 80.75 on Four Star’s Boogie was the best of the night. If he stays consistent, he’ll be back at AT&T Stadium with his first chance at the bonus.

The unique format of The American gives any contestant an opportunity to qualify for the semi-finals and earn a share of nearly $1 million at Cowtown Coliseum. Those who finish among the best in each event move on and could win a portion of an additional $1 million in prize money and a $1 million bonus.

Tickets for the semi-finals start at $20 and are available at Cowtown Coliseum. Tickets for The American are available through Ticketmaster.

The following are Thursday night’s RFD-TV’s The American Semi-Finals rodeo performance results at Cowtown Coliseum.

Bareback Bronc Riding: 1, Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 85 points on Four Star Rodeo Company’s Lolita, $1,185. 2, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 83.25, $889. 3, JR Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 79.5, $593. 4, David Peebles, Powell Butte, Ore., 79.00, $296.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Cody Harmon, Dublin, Texas, 4.08 seconds, $2,474. 2, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif., 4.42, $1,896. 3, Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo., 4.51, $1,484. 4, Jacob Shofner, Huntsville, Texas, 4.74, $1,154. 5, Chris Berry, Valley View, Texas, 4.79, $742. 6, Jeff Miller, Blue Mound, Kan., 4.90, $495.

Team Roping: (leaders) 1, Brenton Hall, Jay, Okla., and Paden Bray, Granbury, Texas, 4.00 seconds. 2, Charly Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla., 4.22, 3, Dustin Esgusquiza, Marianna, Fla., and Levi Lord, Stephenville, Texas, 4.79. 4, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas, 4.89. 5, Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas, 4.99.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 80.75 points on Four Star Rodeo Company’s Boogie, $1,343. 2, Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D., 79.75, $1,007. 3, Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta, 78.50, $671. 4, Joaquin Real, Santa Paula, Calif., 77, 336.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 6.96 seconds, $2,982. 2, Ryan Thibodeaux, Eunace, La., 7.14, $2,286. 3, Landyn Duncan, Atascosa, Texas, 7.47, $1,789. 4, Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas, 7.70, $1,391. 5, Seth Cooke, Weatherford, Texas, 7.83, $845. 6, Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 7.92, $596.

Barrel Racing: 1, Brandon Cullins, Clements, Md., 13.833 seconds, $3,604. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 13.900, $3,003. 3, Wylee Mitchell, Pioche, Nev., 14.012, $2,402. 4, Victoria Williams, Kiln, Miss., 14.053, $1,802. 5, Amy Jo Farella, Cheyenne, Wyo., 14.076, $1,201.

Bull Riding: 1, Derek Kolbaba, Walla Walla, Wash., 90 points on D&H Cattle Company’s Utter Lover, $883. 2, Claudio Marcelino de Montanha Junior, Ribeirão Dos Indios, São Paulo, Brazil, 88, $662. 3, Luciano Castro, Guzolandia, São Paulo, Brazil, 86.25, $441. 4, Trey Benton, Huntsville, Texas, 85.5, $221.

Friday Shoot-out Contestants:
Bareback Bronc Riding: 1, Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas. 2, Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore. 3, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore. 4, JR Vezain, Cowley, Wyo. 5, Tilden Hooper, Weatherford, Texas. 6, David Peebles, Powell Butte, Ore. 7, Grant Denny, Clements, Calif. 8, RC Landingham, Pendleton, Ore. 9, Leighton Berry, Poolville, Texas. 10, Blake Smith, Zap, N.D.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Cody Harmon, Dublin, Texas. 2, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif. 3, Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo. 4, Jacob Shofner, Huntsville, Texas. 5, Chris Berry, Valley View, Texas. 6, Ryan Swayze, Freedom, Okla. 7, (tie) Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., and Jeff Miller, Blue Mound, Kan. 9, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La. 10, Josh Garner, Live Oak, Calif.

Team Roping: 1, Brenton Hall, Jay, Okla., and Paden Bray, Granbury, Texas. 2, Charly Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla. 3, Blake Hughes, Sulphur, Okla., and Brady Norman, Springer, Okla. 4, Dustin Esgusquiza, Marianna, Fla., and Levi Lord, Stephenville, Texas. 5, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas. 6, Travis Whitlow and Tanner Luttrell, San Tan Valley, Ariz. 7, Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas. 8, J.B. James, Bennett, Colo., and Brock Hanson, Casa Grande, Ariz. 9, Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Brady Norman, Springer, Okla. 10, Edward Hawley, Hays, Mont., and Ty Romo, Whiteriver, Ariz.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Isaac Diaz, Desdemonda, Texas. 2, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La. 3, Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D. 4, Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta. 5, Clay Elliot, Nanton, Alberta. 6, Joaquin Real, Santa Paula, Calif. 7, Louie Brunson, Interior, S.D. 8, Ryan Mackenzie, Jordan Valley, Ore. 9, Will Smith, Lugoff, S.C. 10, Sage Newman, Melstone, Mont.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas. 2, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas. 3, Ryan Thibodeaux, Eunace, La. 4, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas. 5, Ty Harris, San Angelo, Texas. 6, Landyn Duncan, Weatherford, Texas. 7, Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas. 8, Seth Cooke, Weatherford, Texas. 9, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas. 10, Blair Burk, Durant, Okla.

Barrel Racing: (There is not a shoot-out round in barrel racing. The top ten times from the 30 qualifiers will advance.)

Bull Riding: 1, Derek Kolbaba, Walla Walla, Wash. 2, Claudio Marcelino de Montanha Junior, Ribeirão Dos Indios, São Paulo, Brazil. 3, Cole Melancon, Liberty, Texas. 4, Sevi Torturo, Oklahoma City, Okla. 5, Luciano Castro, Guzolandia, São Paulo, Brazil. 6, (tie) Luke Haught, Weatherford, Texas, and Trey Benton, Huntsville, Texas. 8, Jory Markiss, Redmond, Ore. 9, Stetson Lawrence, Trenton, N.D. 10, Jake Gowdy, Bristow, Okla.

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