Brackets Come to Close at FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament

By: Susan Kanode

FORT WORTH, Texas — Tuesday night was the final opportunity for rodeo contestants to advance out of the brackets at the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament.

Contestants have not only been trying to win one of four daily paychecks, they have been working hard at those money earnings to advance to the Wild Card or Semi-finals rounds. One of those contestants who was successful in Bracket 7 was breakaway roper Hali Williams from Comanche, Texas.

Williams finished 28th in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association breakaway roping world standings in 2022. She is looking for her first Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping qualification and is currently at the top of the world standings.

In round 1 of bracket 7, she placed fourth earning $440. She rode into the box -confident and ready to rope – in round 1 and stopped the clock in 2.0 seconds. That was good enough for first place. She finished second in the bracket with $2,200 and is headed to the Semi-finals. Joey Williams (no relation) from Volberg, Montana, is at the top with $2,420.

If Hali Williams continues her success in Dickies Arena, she will do something that her legendary father has never done, win a buckle from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. One of his eight gold buckles made an appearance in Dickies Arena Tuesday, strapped to his daughter’s belt. Most of her dad’s success came roping with Rich Skelton, from Llano, Texas, whose daughter also competed here.

Rainey Skelton competed in Bracket 4 in the barrel racing and has qualified for Wednesday night’s wild card round. If she finishes among the top two in that round, she will also be competing for a buckle in Dickies Arena.

The tie-down roping in Bracket 7 was dominated by another world standings leader, Riley Webb who lives near Denton, Texas. Webb has spent quite a bit of time at the Will Rogers complex this week. He also competed in the tie-down roping at the Timed Event Challenge emerging as the champion on his great horse ML Smart Jewels. That added $4,323 to his checking account from the horse show.

Then he won round 1 of Bracket 7 and tied for first in round 2 with Chance Oftedahl of Pemberton, Minnesota. Webb roped and tied calves in 8.3 and 8.4 seconds respectively to win $3,300 here so far. He competed here in 2022 as one of the qualifiers, but this year his presence was based on his success last year. He competed at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this past December and finished the season in 10th place. After that experience, he is ready to be back in Las Vegas next December and make another run for a world championship.

The wild card portion of the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament will begin at Dickies Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. The top two contestants in each event from that round will move on to one of the semifinals on Thursday and Friday.

---

FORT WORTH, Texas – The following are unofficial results from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s Pro Rodeo Tournament after Bracket 7, January 31, 2023.

(Qualifiers are based on tie-breaker rules.)

Bracket 7, Round 2

Bareback riding: 1, R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 87 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Minnie Pearl, $1760. 2, (tie) Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., and Mike Solberg, Sunnynook, Alberta, 84.5, $1,100 each. 4, Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah, 83, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Biglow, $2,860, and Landingham, $1,760. Wild card qualifier: Gauge McBride, Kearney, Neb., $1,320.

Steer wrestling: 1, Kyler Dick, Oakley, Utah, 3.5 seconds, $1,760. 2, Will Lummus, Byhalia, Miss., 3.8, $1,320. 3, Bridger Anderson, Carrington, N.D., 4.1, $880. 4, Rowdy Parrott, Manou, La., 4.2, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Lummus, $3,080, and Anderson, $2,200. Wild Card Qualifier: Dick, $1,760.

Breakaway roping: 1, Hali Williams, Comanche, Texas, 2.0 seconds, $1,760. 2, Macy Young, Wittman, Ariz., 2.1, $1,320. 3, (tie) Joey Williams, Volberg, Mont., and Josie Conner, Iowa, La., 2.2, $660.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Joey Williams, $2,420, and Hali Williams, $2,200. Wild Card Qualifier: Jill Tanner, Monument, N.M., $1,320.

Saddle bronc riding: 1, Leon Fountain, Socorro, N.M., 88 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Pearl, $1,760. 2, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 87.5, $1,320. 3, Statler Wright, Beaver, Utah, 86.5, $880. 4, Parker Kempfer, Deer Park, Fla., $440 each.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Stetson Wright, $3,080, and Fountain, $2,200. Wild Card qualifier: Kempfer, $1,320.

Tie-down roping: 1, (tie) Riley Webb, Denton, Texas, and Chance Oftedahl, Pemberton, Minn., 8.4 seconds, $ each. 3, Glenn Jackson, Okmulgee, Okla., 9.2, $880. 4, 10.4, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 10.7, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Webb, $3,300, and Pratt, $1,760. Wild Card qualifier: Jackson, $1,760.

Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, 4.0, $1,760 each. 2, Tanner Tomlinson, Angleton, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 4.2, $1,320 each. 3, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 4.9, $880 each. 4, Coy Rahlmann, Ellsinore, Mo., and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 5.6, $440 each.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Tomlinson and Smith, $2,640 each, and Rahlmann and Torres, $2,200. Wild Card qualifier: Driggers and Nogueira, $1,760 each.

Barrel Racing: 1, Sarah Rose Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 16.34 seconds, $1,760. 2, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.39, $1,320. 3, Jimmie Smith-Tew, McDade, Texas, 16.51, $880. 4, Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Fla., 16.63, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Johnson and Waguespack, $1,760 each. Wild Card qualifier: Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, $1,760.

Bull Riding: 1, Maverick Potter, Waxahatchie, Texas, 89 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Little Hoot, $1,760. 2, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 88, $1,320. 3, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 85, $880. 4, Tyler Bingham, Howell, Utah, 83, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Potter, $3,227, and Wright, $2,347. Wild card qualifier: Ky Hamilton, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, $1,907.