Wright and Simpson Take Leads at Fort Worth’s World’s Original Indoor Rodeo®
by Johna Cravens
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
FORT WORTH, Texas (January 21, 2016) — Saturdays are a bit crazy during the World’s Original Indoor Rodeo® with three rodeo performances packed into one day. The action begins at 10 a.m. and continues at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m.
Through the first two performances, capacity crowds saw several lead changes. Jake Wright of Milford, Utah, scored 85 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk Saturday morning to take the lead in the second round. His total of 168 on two broncs gives him the early overall lead as well. He’ll have to wait until Feb. 4 to see if he qualifies for the championship finals at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
The lead in barrel racing changed hands twice. Kathy Grimes of Medical Lake, Wash., was the final cowgirl to run in the morning performance. Her time of 16.84 took the first-round lead, but was bested by two-hundredths of a second during the afternoon performance when Millsap, Texas’ Sayde Simpson stopped the clock at 16.82. More than 200 barrel racers compete in the first round which ends Jan. 31. Then the top 70 times return for the second round, with the top 10 total times making the championship round.
The only event with three rounds at Fort Worth is the bareback riding and those cowboys compete in three consecutive performances. Zack Brown is the overall leader with 227.5 points overall. The Californian scored 77.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Boss Man Saturday morning to lead the second round.
A couple of former world champions moved into second place in two events. Five-time world champion Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., wrestled his steer in 3.6 seconds Saturday morning. Three-time world champion tie-down roper Tuf Cooper of Weatherford, Texas, clocked an 8.3-second run Saturday afternoon.
The first round in both those events ends Sunday when The World’s Original Indoor Rodeo® continues with performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Fort Worth’s historic Will Rogers Coliseum.
The following are unofficial results from Saturday’s morning and afternoon performances of the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, January 21, 2017.
Second Performance
Bareback Riding: (three rides) 1, Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., 77.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Boss Man. 2, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 71. 3, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 70.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.6 seconds. 2, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 4.5. 3, Jesse Brown, Baker City, Ore., 5.0. 4, Stephen Culling, Fort St. John, B.C., 5.4.
Team Roping: (two times) 1, Dan Williams Jr., Standish, Calif., and Caleb Twisselman, Santa Margarita, 4.8 seconds. 2, Rhett Anderson, Anabella, Utah, and Robby Farias, Kilauea, Hawaii, 7.5.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 85 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk. 2, CoBurn Bradshaw, Milford, Utah, 81.5. 3, (tie) Nat Stratton, Goodwell, Okla., and Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah. 76.
Tie-Down Roping: 1. Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 9.1 seconds. 2, Clay Long, Springtown, Texas, 11.8. 3, Lee Ellsworth, Warrensburg, N.Y., 17.2. 4. Justin Brinderhoff, Corinne, Utah, 22.7.
Barrel Racing: 1, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 16.84 seconds. 2, Jaime Barrow, Snyder, Texas, 17.04. 3, Jessica Dunbar, Del Rio, Texas, 17.09. 4, (tie) Sherri Barnes, Pilot Point, Texas, and Jan Burns, Anson, Texas, 17.24.
Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Sask., 78 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Rank Hank. 2, Jordan Hansen, Okotoks, Alberta., 73.
Third Performance
Bareback Riding: 1, Rio Lee, Tucson, Ariz., 80.5 on Dakota Rodeo’s Bartender. 2, Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., 77. 3, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 74. 4, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 73.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Timmy Sparing, Helena, Mont., 5.0. 2, Payden McIntyre, Douglas, Wyo., 15.7. 3, (tie) Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, and Ross Mosher, Augusta, Mont., 15.7.
Team Roping: (one time) 1, Cole Wheeler, Flint, Texas, and Jason Johe, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 13.2 seconds.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 84 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Carney Girl. 2, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 81.5. 3, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 78.5. 4, Doug Aldridge, Carthage, Mo., 73.
Tie-Down Roping: 1. Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texas, 8.3. 2, Reese Riemer, Stinnett, Texas, 12.8. 3, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 14.6. 4, Braxton Laughlin, Westlake, La., 18.
Barrel Racing: 1, Sadye Simpson, Millsap, Texas, 16.82 seconds. 2, Liz Herrin, Big Spring, Texas, 16.9.3. 3, Lacy Kimball, Millsap, Texas, 17.09. 4, Anessa Self, Sanger, Texas, 17.28.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1. Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., 77 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Shifty. 2, Chris Bechthold, Balko, Okla., 74.5. 3, Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, 74.
Current Leaders
Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 80 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Blessed Assurance. 2, (tie) Jamie Howlett, Snyder, Texas, and Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 77. 4, Devan Reilly, Sheridan, Wyo., 75. 5, Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta, 71. 6, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 63. (second round) (three rides) 1, Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., 77.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Boss Man. 2, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 71. 3, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 70. (third round) 1, Rio Lee, Tucson, Ariz., 80.5 on Dakota Rodeo’s Bartender. 2, Zack Brown, Red Bluff, Calif., 77. 3, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 74. 4, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 73. (total on three) 1. Brown, 227.5 points. 2, Kizer, 223. 3, O’Connell, 220.5, 4, Lee, 151.5 (on two) 5, Ethan Andrepont, DeRidder, La., 66 (on one).
Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Shane Hadley, Stephenville, Texas, 3.4 seconds. 2, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.6. 3, (tie) Sam Powers, Sonora, Texas, and Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Ca., 3.8. 5, (tie) Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., and Sean Mulligan, Coleman, Okla., 4.0.
Team Roping: (first round) 1, Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and Brady Norman, 5.1 seconds. 2, Brett Stuart, Bridgeport, Texas, and Wesley Moss, Paradise, Texas, 6.0. 3, J.D. Yates and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 7.5. 4, Ty Daniel Haller, Decatur, Texas, and Krece D. Harris, Boyd, Texas, 8.3. (second round – two times) 1, Dan Williams Jr., Standish, Calif., and Caleb Twisselman, Santa Margarita, 4.8 seconds. 2, Rhett Anderson, Anabella, Utah, and Robby Farias, Kilauea, Hawaii, 7.5. (total on two) 1, Williams Jr. and Twisselman, 4.8 (on one). 2. Cooper and Norman, 5.1. 3, Stuart and Moss, 6.1. 4, (tie) J.D. and Trey Yates and Anderson and Farias, 7.5.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Watson, Hudsons Hope, B.C., 87 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Money Maker. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 84. 3, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 83. 4, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 82. 5, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 81.5. 6. Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 78.5. (second round) 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 85 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Cat Walk. 2, CoBurn Bradshaw, Milford, Utah, 81.5. 3, (tie) Nat Stratton, Goodwell, Okla., and Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah. 76. (total on two) 1. Jake Wright, 168. 2, Bradshaw, 163.5. 3, Watson, 161. 4, Jesse Wright, 153.5. 5, Dalton Davis, Holcomb, Kan., 145.5. 6, Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 129.5.
Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, J.C. Malone, Plain City, Utah, 8.1 seconds. 2, Tuf Cooper, Weatherford, Texas, 8.3. 3, Ace Sloan, Cuero, Texas, 8.4. 4, Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 8.5. 5, (tie) Justin Smith, Leesville, La., and Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 8.6.
Barrel Racing: (first round) 1, Sadye Simpson, Millsap, Texas, 16.82. 2, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 16.84. 3, Liz Herrin, Big Spring, Texas, 16.93. 4, Jaime Barrow, Snyder, Texas, 17.04. 5, (tie) Jessica Dunbar, Del Rio, Texas, and Lacy Kimball, Millsap, Texas, 17.09
Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ricky Hallam, Norco, Calif., 77 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Shifty. 2, Chris Bechthold, Balko, Okla., 74.5. 3, Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, 74., 4, Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, 73.5. 5, Dakota Cator, Spearman, Texas, 69. (second round) (two rides) 1, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Sask., 78 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Rank Hank. 2, Jordan Hansen, Okotoks, Alberta., 73. (total on two) 1. Parsonage, 78 (on one). 2, Hallam, 77. 3, Bechthold, 74.5. 4, Sammons, 74. 5, Smith, 73.5. 6, Hansen, 73.