Two Buckles are Twice as Nice at Fort Worth Rodeo
by Susan Kanode
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
FORT WORTH, Texas – When the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo started on Jan. 20, there were 1163 contestants hoping to leave here with a legendary championship.
The field was narrowed down to the top 12 in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing and bull riding who competed in the Will Rogers Coliseum on Saturday night. Champions in each of the events were crowned based on their total times or scores. When it over, both the bareback riding and saddle bronc riding champions earned consecutive championships.
The odds of winning a championship here are high. It might be easier to be struck by lightning than to win consecutive titles. Just ask Tim O’Connell, from Zwingle, Iowa and Jake Wright, from Milford, Utah. O’Connell won the bareback riding last year and again this year. Wright did the same in the saddle bronc riding.
O’Connell used his win here last year to help him qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and win a world championship. He is planning on the same thing happening this year. His total score of 336 points on four horses won $11,966.
“After winning the world last year, I had to reevaluate my goals,” he said. “Because that was such a big deal and a lifelong goal, I was questioning what I was going to do next. I talked to my mentors and my new goal is to win six world titles.”
There are two men in the history of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that have won five bareback riding world championships. O’Connell’s goal is to become the first to win six. If he keeps riding like he did here, he is well on his way to number two.
“I really enjoy this rodeo, even though it’s not an easy one to win,” he added. “It’s full of tradition and you can’t help thinking about the guys that rode here before you. I stand behind the chutes and watch the grand entry. It’s cool to see the six flags of Texas out there and this is the only rodeo I go to that everyone recites the Pledge of Allegiance. I think that’s awesome.”
Jake Wright won the saddle bronc riding with a total score of 255.5 points on three rides. He also used the money he won here last year to help him qualify for the 2016 NFR. He is hoping that rings true again this year. He added $13,998 to his checking account here.
Tuf Cooper, who lives just west of here at Weatherford, became the first member of the famous roping clan to earn a Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo title. He has had the fast time of the rodeo and finished second twice. His father Roy Cooper also had the same result. On Saturday night, Tuf came into the finals in the lead and then clocked the fast time of the night at 8.7 seconds. His total time of 27.2 seconds got him the championship and earned him $17,187. He was the biggest money winner of the rodeo.
Other winners here include, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., steer wrestling; Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Arizona and Cory Petska, Marana, Arizona, team roping; Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, barrel racing, and Dave Mason, Burnet, Texas, bull riding.
Bareback Riding – Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 336 points, $11,966
Steer Wrestling – Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, California, 12.2 seconds, $15,267
Team Roping – Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Arizona
and Cory Petska, Marana, Arizona, 16.0 seconds, $12,493 each
Saddle Bronc Riding – Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 255 points, $13,998
Tie-Down Roping – Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texas, 27.2 seconds, $17,187
Barrel Racing – Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 49.61 seconds, $16,123
Bull Riding – Dave Mason, Burnet, Texas, 235.5 points, $11,693
The following are unofficial final results from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Bareback Riding: Final Round – 1, (tie) Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter; Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Notch, and Clint Laye, Pocatello, Idaho, on Four Star Rodeo’s Short Fuse, 87 points, $1,267 each. 4, (tie) Kenny Haworth, Orofino, Idaho, and Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 84.5, $475. 6, Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., 83.5, $250. (total on four) 1, Tim O’Connell, 336 points, $6,485. 2, Clint Laye, 333.5, $4971. 3, Chad Rutherford, 330.5, $3674. 4, Tyler Nelson, $2,377. 5, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 324, $1,513. 6, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 323, $1,081, 7, Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., 319.5, $865. Mason Clements, Santaquin, Utah, 318.5, $648.
Steer Wrestling: Final Round — 1, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.9 seconds, $1,967. 2, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 4.2, $1,710. 3, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 4.3, $1,453. 4, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.6, $1,197. 5. Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., 5.9, $941. 6, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 6.0, $684. 7, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 6.4, $427. 8, Cody Harmon, Dublin, Texas, 7.6, $171. (total on three) 1, Luke Branquinho, 12.2 seconds, $8,409. 2, Rowdy Parrott, 12.9, $7,312. 3, Ryle Smith, 13.7, $6,215. 4, Ty Erickson, 15.1, $5,119. 5, Wade Sumpter, 15.7, $4, 022. 6, Jason Thomas, 15.9, $2,925. 7, Tanner Brunner, 16.5, $1,828. 8, Cody Harmon, 17.1, $731.
Team Roping: Final Round – 1, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 5.2 seconds, $1,610 each. 2, Chad Masters, Lipan, Texas, and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 5.4, $1,332 each. 3, Blake Teixeria, Tres Pinos, Calif., York Gill, Stephenville, Texas, 5.6, $1,055 each. 4, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 6.3, $500 each. 6, Chase Wiley, Charlotte, Texas, Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas, 6.5, $278 each. (total on three) 1, Erich Rogers and Cory Petska, 16.0 seconds, $7,530 each. 2, Blake Teixeira and York Gill, 16.3, $6,548 each. 3, Chad Masters and Travis Graves, 16.5, $5,566 each. 4, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Brazil, 16.7, $4,585 each. 5, Cody Snow and Wesley Thorp, 17.4, $3,601 each. 6, Chase Wiley, Charlotte, Texas, and Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas, $2,619 each. 7, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 10.5 (on two), $1,637 each. 8, Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont., and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 10.6, $655 each.
Saddle Bronc Riding: Final Performance – 1, (tie) Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., on Dakota Rodeo’s Bridal Shower and Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, on J Bar J Rodeo’s Special Time, 87.5 points, $1,450 each. 3, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 86.5, $900, 4, (tie) Tyrell J. Smith, Sand Coulee, Mont.; CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, and Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 83, $400 each. (total on three) 1, Jake Wright, 255.5, $7,479. 2, Cody DeMoss, 254, $5,734. 3, Zeke Thurston, 247, $4,238. 4, CoBurn Bradshaw, 246.5, $2,742. 5, Jacobs Crawley, 245.5, $1,745. 6, Tyrell J. Smith, 242, $1,246. 7, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 241, $998. 8, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 235, $748.
Tie-Down Roping: Final Round – 1, Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texas, 8.7 seconds, $2,093. 2, Todd Brown, Lamar, Colo., 9.0, $1,820. 3, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 9.1, $1,547. 4, Clint Akins, Sanger, Texas, 9.4, $1,274. 5, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 9.8, $1,001. 6, Seth Crain, Yancey, Texas, 9.9, $455. 7, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 10.0, $455. 8, Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas, 10.3, $182. (total on three) 1, Tuf Cooper, 27.2, $9,555. 2, Clint Akins, 28.4, $8,308. 3, Caleb Smidt, 28.6, $7,062. 4, (tie) Todd Brown, Bryson Sechrist, and Stetson Vest, 29.5, $4,570 each. 7, Justin Smith, Leesville, La., 30.1, $2,077. 8, Seth Crain, Yancey, Texas, 30.3, $831.
Barrel Racing: Final Round – 1, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 16.45 seconds, $3,778, 2, Brooke Rix, Skidmore, Texas, 16.57, $2,833, 3, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 16.58, $1,889. 4, Fallon Taylor, Collinsville, Texas, 16.62, $944. (total on three) 1, Fallon Taylor, 49.61, $7,650. 2, Kathy Grimes, 49.83, $6557. 3, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 49.92. 4, Cayla Small, Burneyville, Okla., 49.95, $4,736. 5, Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas, 50.0, $3,643. 6, Brooke Rix, 50.13, $2,914. 7, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 50.19, $2,186. 9, Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, Ore., 50.22, $1,093. 10, Kelly Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 50.39, $729.
Bull Riding: Final Round — (two rides) 1, Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, 86 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Mean Face, $2,700. 2, Dave Mason, Burnet, Texas, 84.5, $2,300. (total on three) 1, Dave Mason, 235.5, $8,720. 2, Dustin Bowen, 173.5 (on two), $6,685. 3, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 167, $4,941. 4, Eliot Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 166.5, $3,197. 5, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 158.5, $2,035. 6, Koby Radley, Holden, La., 156, $1,453. 7, (tie) Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., and Nic Lica, Garden City, Mich., 151, $1,017 each.