Utah’s Spencer Wright Wins Two in a Row at San Antonio Rodeo
By Susan Kanode
Saddle bronc rider Spencer Wright from Milford, Utah has been at the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive nights at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo. He won the second round of Bracket 3 with an 88.5-point effort on Calgary Stampede’s Wrong Flavour. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – Spencer Wright from Milford, Utah showed San Antonio Rodeo fans that he is just as comfortable on the back of a saddle horse as a bucking horse on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Wright, the 2014 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion, has won the first two rounds of Bracket 3 at this year’s rodeo. He finished at the top on Tuesday with an 83, then came back on Wednesday night and scored 88.5. The horse that helped him have an exceptional ride was Wrong Flavour from the Calgary Stampede string of bucking horses.
Spencer is part of the legendary Wright family of bucking horse riders. They also have ranches, raise cattle and spend a lot of time riding horses that don’t buck. Those skills come in handy when it’s time to make a victory lap around the AT&T Center. Spencer is competing here alongside his nephew Rusty who won the San Antonio Rodeo championship in 2015. Rusty’s father, and Spencer’s brother Cody also won in the AT&T Center in 2007. Spencer finished just outside of the top 15 last year at 17th missing his third Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification by just two places.
He is coming off a big win at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo in Denver last month and is fifth in the world standings. He has added $5,000 in earnings to his bank account here so far and along with round 3 in the bracket, he also will advance to the semifinals based on that money. Rusty has placed on two horses but needs a good check to advance. Spencer’s brother, Alex, competed in Bracket 2 and earned a spot in the semifinals. With two more brackets and more of the family left to compete, the semifinals and finals could be filled with family members.
Haven Meged, from Miles City, Montana also made his second victory lap around the arena. He won the tie-down roping on Tuesday, then tied for the win on Wednesday. He and Matt Shiozawa, from Chubbuck, Idaho each had a time of 8.5 seconds and earned $2,250. This was Shiozawa’s first check, but it brought Meged’s earnings up to $4,750. Meged earned 11 championships in high school rodeo in his home state, then qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo for Western Oklahoma State College.
Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, offered him a scholarship, so last August he moved to Texas to start school. He has been competing at college and pro rodeos this year and is ranked 7th in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region. He is 19th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. If he continues on the path that he has started here, all of that is likely to change.
San Antonio’s Semifinals qualifiers from Bracket 3 will be determined during Thursday night’s rodeo performance. Action gets underway in the AT&T Center at 7 p.m.
The following are results after the eighth performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Bracket 3, round 2 followed by total money
Bareback Riding: 1, Pascal Isabelle, Okotoks, Alberta, 86.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Soap Bubbles, $2,500. 2, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 86, $2,000. 3, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 83.5, $1,250. 4, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 82.5, $750. (total money) 1, Aus, $3,625. 2, Breuer, $3,250. 3, Isabelle, $2,500. 4, Dent, $2,000.
Steer Wrestling: 1, (tie) Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas and Will Lummus, West Point, Miss., 3.5, $2,250. 3, Blake Mindemann, Blanchard, Okla., 3.6, $1,250. 4, Jacob Edler, State Center, Iowa, 3.7, $750. (total money) 1, Cure, $4,250. 2, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo., $2,500. 3, (tie) Lummus and Mindemann, $2,250.
Team Roping: 1, Brock Hanson, Bennett, Colo., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 4.7, $2,500. 2, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 6.2, $2,000. 3, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta and Cole Davison, Stephenville, Texas, 9.5, $1,250. 4, Nelson Wyatt, Clinton, Ala., and Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 10.3, $750. (total money) 1, Tryan and Graves, $4,500. 2, Hanson and Woodfin, $2,500. 3, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, $2,000. 4, (tie) Simpson and Davison; and Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, $1,250 each.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 88.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Wrong Flavour, $2,500. 2, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 86.5, $2,000. 3, Mitch Pollock, Winnemucca, Nev., 84, $1,250. 4, Rusty Wright, Milford, UT, 82, $750. (total money) 1, Spencer Wright, $5,000. 2, Pollock, $3,250. 3, Diaz, $2,000. 4, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, $1,250.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, (tie) Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., and Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 8.5 seconds and $2,250 each. , Cimarron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas, 8.9, $1,250. 4, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 9.0, $750. (total money) 1, Meged, $4,750. 2, Shiozawa, $2,250. 3, (tie) Smidt and Cody Craig, Wendell, Idaho, $2,000.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Jessie Telford, Caldwell, Idaho, 13.99 seconds, $2,500. 2, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 14.09, $2,000. 3, Cheyenne Wimberley, Stephenville, Texas, 14.10, $1,250. 3, Teri Bangart, Olympio, Wash., 14.13, $750. (total money) 1, (tie) Telford and Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, $2,500 each. 2, (tie) Bean; Wimberly; Bangart; and K.L. Spratt, Lysite, Wyo., $2,000 each.
Bull Riding: 1, Sage Steele Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 86.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Rum Dum, $2,500. 2, Jordan Hansen, Ponoka, Alberta, 85, $2,000. 3, Dustin Bouquet, Bourg, La., 84, $1,250. 4, Koby Radley, Montpelier, La., 75, $750. (total money) 1, Radley, $3,250. 2, Kimzey, $2,500. 3, (tie) Hansen and Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, $2,0000 each.