Tie-Down Roper Leonard Repeats as Casper Champ
CASPER, Wyo. – History repeated itself for tie-down roper Marshall Leonard – which was a good thing.
For the second year in a row, the Shongaloo, La., cowboy won the average at the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo, a Wrangler Million Dollar Tour silver rodeo, July 7-11.
Leonard notched his latest victory with a 28.8-second time on three head at the CWF&R Outdoor Arena.
“This is awesome,” said Leonard, 27. “I won it last year and I love this rodeo. I don’t ever plan to miss this rodeo. I will be here every year. I come to this rodeo with a lot of confidence and it dang sure showed over here. This was my biggest win of the year, and a very good win for me.”
A year ago, Leonard won the average at the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo with a time of 26.6 seconds on three head.
“My goal was to win first two years in a row here,” Leonard said. “It was a great thing to do again because it’s not easy roping against the guys who are out here.”
In 2015, Leonard was consistent and fast at Casper. He tied Ryan Jarrett for sixth in the first round with a 10.1-second run and tied Clint Nyegaard for seventh in the second round with a 9.5 run. His time of 19.6 seconds left him first in the average and he stayed there with his 9.2-second run, which was tops in the short round. Leonard was the last competitor to go in the finals.
“I just wanted to make my run and not beat myself, and I made a solid run,” Leonard said. “I had to be 9.9 seconds or faster to win the average, and I just made my run and got the job done.”
Leonard also was quick to praise his horse, Jen, who is 8 years old.
“I had three good runs and my little mare worked her butt off,” Leonard said. “I can’t complain – I had three really solid runs and kept control the whole time. I rode Jen all last year and she’s really starting to get the feel of things and she’s really starting to work good, and it looks like she’s going to be around for a long time if I can keep her healthy.”
Leonard wasn’t in the top 50 in the July 6 Windham Weaponry High Performance PRCA World Standings, but that may change after he collected a $6,097 check in Casper. Last season, Leonard placed a career-best 27th in the standings with $42,103.
“I really don’t pay attention to the standings a whole lot,” Leonard said. “I just focus on my runs.”
Other winners at the $263,497 rodeo, were all-around cowboy Garrett Henry ($2,058, steer wrestling and team roping), bareback rider Jake Brown (164 points on two head), steer wrestler Tommy Cook (15.3 seconds on three head), team ropers David Key and Martin Lucero (18.8 seconds on three head), saddle bronc rider Sterling Crawley (169 points on two head), barrel racer Cassidy Kruse (34.28 seconds on two runs), bull rider Bobby Welsh (173 points on two head).
Courtesy of PRCA