With Age Comes Wisdom and Earnings on the Road to Cheyenne
Jeff Askey and Jerilyn Harmon Elite Bulls #1 are inside the top five
#4 Jeff Askey
Twenty-nine year old Jeff Askey will check into the CBR World Finals at Cheyenne Frontier Days as the oldest rookie in the CBR locker room. But bull riding analysts would argue that with that age comes wisdom and experience that the inaudible right hander keeps close to home.
Askey entered CBR competition for the first time in Huron at the season opener last August. He went 0 for 2. Not letting that discourage him he rolled into Conroe a few months later and stole the show riding three of three and taking home the Conroe Bull Mania Championship with a 91 point ride on 8 Beast of Burden. That win was significant because it propelled him into fourth place in CBR World standings against a top field of five World Champions and a younger healthier rookie that was killing the field with consistency thus far on the Road to Cheyenne.
A Pennsylvania native, Askey, a National Finals Rodeo qualifier and former College National Finals champion, now an Athens, Texas resident, spent eight years living just 30 miles from Jackson while representing UT Martin rodeo team in the bull riding category.
We would not see Askey again until January in Enid, but it was two weeks later that the Pennsylvania native bull rider saw the light, again. Riding four of four in a two day performance in Jackson, Tennessee, Askey again put on a show with two 91 point rides for the Jackson crowd. A graduate of University of Tennessee Martin, Askey was at home and the crowd embraced him as one of their own each time he pulled his rope.
Askey packed away 271.5 total points in Jackson and with his three ride win. During the course of three rounds and seventeen qualified rides, Askey challenged the roster that included two World Champions, eight red hot rookies and a seasoned bunch of CBR veterans in front of the annual sold out Jackson, Tennessee event.
“The fast pace is challenging of the three round format, you don’t get much time and as soon as you ride you have to get your rope and your mind ready for the next bull… I like it and I had three great bulls tonight and glad to get the second win on tour,” said Askey who acknowledged the loud sellout crowd was inspirational.
He would buck off in Rio Rancho one week later, but rode one of two in Bossier the next week. Appearing around town signing autographs in El Paso seems to work for Askey as for the second time he made public appearances on the same day he was competing – he rode into the final four Shoot Out round.
The rodeo schedule would curtail some of his spring CBR outs so we didn’t see him again until Fort Worth where he was one of two. In Del Rio he rode one.
The National Finals Rodeo qualifier rode in a total of nine CBR events with 11 of 20 qualified rides which kicks his average up to over 50% within CBR competition. His highest marked ride of the season was a 91.5 in El Paso on 3381 Wet Willy.
#4 CBR Bull Team Challenge Qualifier – Jerilyn Harmon’s Elite Bucking Bulls #1
The fourth place bull team owner that arrives in Cheyenne is really considered a local. Jerilyn Harmon is a Denver, Colorado resident that has one of the highest percentages of winning the $100,000 bonus check next Tuesday night at the CBR world Finals as any other stock contractor. Harmon’s Elite Bucking Bull franchise has three teams, or nine bulls, on the draw sheet at the CBR World Finals and 3 shots at the big check. A total of 24 teams will be competing, but the consistent combination of three buckers that earned money in CBR competition came from the Elite Franchise. Harmon’s three teams representing her this year on the Road to Cheyenne earned a total of $123,000 bucking while bucking their way to the CBR World Finals at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
The highest ranking team in the Harmon Elite franchise this year was Harmon’s Elite #1. They began their season with a fourth place check in Conroe with one qualified ride and a Bull of the Event award from Big Tex who was 91 rank bull scores against Tim Bingham. Jeff Askey rode Boomer for 89 on the way to his first event win and 626 Karaoke bucked off Taryl Smith.
The second team out was Jackson, Tennessee and they were first place with the same trio of Buckers, Big Tex, Karaoke, and Boomer. Two qualified rides from Boomer (91 points) and Jeff Askey and Wyatt Rogers rode bull of the year nominee Karaoke for 87.5.
A few weeks later the same three bulls were first in Hobbs with two qualified rides. Again Jeff Askey was part of the equation with 89 on Big Tex. Eli Vastbinder continued his bid for a gold buckle riding 626 Karaoke for 89 and Ty Wallace bucked off of 059, but took him to 7.34 which gave the team valuable time added to his 90 point bull score.
This Harmon team won $45,000 in their three outs and 33 total BTC points to qualify for the Finals. Managed and hauled by former pro bull rider Mike White, who is the only cowboy behind the chutes in Cheyenne that has won both the CBR World Champion bull rider title and World Champion Bull Team , this team will no doubt be a contender for the $300,000 total BTC payout and the Bloomer custom stock trailer. Luckily that trailer will have room for the American Hat Co pure beaver felt, the Juan Jose Munoz Custom Saddle, a pair of Fenoglio full quill ostrich boots, and my guess is Jerilyn would just wear the Hyo Silver buckle home!
Courtesy of CBR