World Champion Tie-Down Roper Successful at San Antonio Rodeo
By Susan Kanode
Tie-down roper Tyson Durfey entered the San Antonio Rodeo semifinals in the middle of the pack on Tuesday night. He changed all of that with this 7.7-second run which added $5,000 to his earnings. He is now second in the overall standings and will advance to Saturday night’s championship finals. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Greg Westfall.
SAN ANTONIO – The tie-down roping at the 2019 San Antonio Rodeo has seen some young guns taking victory laps and advancing to the semifinals which includes the best of rodeo.
One of those young guns, 20-year-old Haven Meged from Miles City, Mont., was the first contestant to rope in Semifinals 1. He qualified for the semifinals with $6,000 in earnings and with his previous success, he was expected to do well again. And he did, stopping the clock in 7.7 seconds. Now all he had to do was sit back and watch the nine remaining ropers to see where the chips fell.
Meged held his lead through the ninth roper, Tyson Durfey. Durfey, the 2016 world champion calmly backed his horse “Mitch” into the box, nodded his head and took care of business. He stopped the clock in 7.6 seconds to win the first round of the semifinals. He qualified with $3,000, added $5,000 to that for his win in the AT&T Center on Tuesday night and now is looking good to advance to Saturday night’s finals. Durfey is second in the overall money standings with $8,000. Meged leads with $10,000.
Durfey has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo 11 times, won titles at rodeos all across North America, but he is still waiting to collect the coveted San Antonio Rodeo championship buckle. He currently leads the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. Everything he earns here will count towards the standings and help him support his growing family. He and wife Shea have a daughter and are expecting a new baby next month.
In really tough barrel racing competition, a former collegiate all-around champion rose to the top. Nikki Hansen twice won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association all-around cowgirl title before making her name known in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. She qualified for the NFR in 2012. Since then, she has gotten married, had a daughter and been working her way towards another trip to Las Vegas.
Last year she finished 22nd in the world standings, good enough for a qualification to the San Antonio Rodeo. Riding her palomino gelding “Sky” she squeaked into the semifinals with $1,500 in earnings. When she and Sky rode into the AT&T Center on Tuesday, they were on fire. They had a time of 14.07 seconds to take the victory lap for the round win and added $5,000 to their earnings. Hansen is now looking good for a qualification to Saturday night’s championship finals.
Semifinals 1 will continue on Wednesday night beginning at 7 p.m. At the end of that performance the top five money earners in each of the events will reserve their spot in Saturday’s finals.
The following are results after the 16th performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.
Semifinals 1, Round 1, followed by total money
Bareback Riding: 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 90 points on Calgary Stampede’s Zulu Warrior, $5,000. 2, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 85, $4,000. 3, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 83, $2,500. 4, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 82, $1,500. (total money) 1, Larsen, $10,500. 2, Breuer, $9,750. 3, Hooper, $5,916. 4, Peebles, $4,667.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 3.7 seconds, $5,000. 2, Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 4.1, $4,000. 3, Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 4.4, $2,500. 4, Blake Mindemann, Blanchard, Okla., 4.5, $1,500. (total money) 1, Cassidy, $8,635. 2, Knowles, $7,250. 3, (tie) Mindemann and Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La., $5,000 each.
Team Roping: 1, (tie) Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo.; and Charly Crawford, Prineville, Ore., and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas; 4.5 seconds and $4,500 each. 3, (tie) Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Joseph Harrison, Overbrook, Okla.; Joshua and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla.; Spencer Mitchell, Orange Cove, Calif., and Cody Doescher, Webbers Falls, Okla., $1,333. (total money) 1, (tie) Brown and Eaves; and Crawford and Smith, $7,750 each. 3, Masters and Harrison, $6,333. 4, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., $5,750.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 89 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Greeley Hat Works Ricky Bobby, $5,000. 2, Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 85, $4,000. 3, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 84, $2,500. 4, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texsa, 83.5, $1,500. (total money) 1, Harter, $10,500. 2, Hay, $10,000. 3, Wright, $8,250. 4, Diaz, $6,000.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Tyson Durfey, Brock, Texas, 7.6 seconds, $5,000. 2, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 7.7, $4,000. 3, Seth Cooke, Milsap, Texas, 8.8, $2,500. 4, (tie) Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., and Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 8.9, $750 each. (total money) 1, Meged, $10,000. 2, Durfey, $8,000. 3, Cooke, $7,000. 4, Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, $4,750.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Nikki Hansen, Dickinson, N.D., 14.07 seconds, $5,000. 2, Dona Kay Rule, Minco, Okla., 14.10, $4,000. 3, Callahan Crossley, Hermiston, Ore., 14.12, $2,500. 4, Lacinda Rose, Willard, Mo., 14.14, $1,500. (total money) 1, Crossley, $7,740. 2, Rule, $7,250. 3, Hansen, $6,500. 4, Rose, $5,125.
Bull Riding: 1, Joseph McConnel, Bloomfield, N.M., 87 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Undetermined, $5,000. 2, Stetson Wright, Beaver, Utah, 85.5, $4,000. 3, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 83, $2,500. 4, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 81.5, $1,500. (total money) 1, Wright, $12,500. 2, McConnel, $10,500. 3, Jarboe, $5,250. 4, Dalan Duncan, Ballard, Utah, $4,500.