Champions Crowned at San Antonio Rodeo
By Susan Kanode
Mason Clements of Draper, Utah rode Frontier Rodeo’s horse Gunfire for 91 points and the bareback championship at the 2020 San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Scott Foley
SAN ANTONIO – When the San Antonio Rodeo started on Feb. 6, contestants were hoping that on Feb. 22 they would get to ride around the arena in the back of a pickup as the newly-crowned champion.
On Saturday night, that became a reality for eight of them that came from across the nation to compete in the AT&T Center. Each of the champions got their titles based on earnings here and those earnings topped $20,000 in each of the standard rodeo events. A year ago, the San Antonio Rodeo used a draft system to let the bareback, saddle bronc and bull riders pick the animals they would ride in the Championship Finals rather than the standard random draw.
That system was in place again and it worked very well for Mason Clements of Draper, Utah. Clements was the second bareback rider to pick a horse from the list and he knew exactly which horse he wanted. He chose Frontier Rodeo’s Gunfire, a horse that fellow Utah bareback rider Caleb Bennett set an arena record on in Cody, Wyoming last summer. Bennett was 93.5 points on Gunfire then, so Clements knew he could be a lot of points on the buckskin gelding here.
Clements finished at the top of the leaderboard by two points with a 91. He was two points ahead of Mandan, North Dakota’s Ty Breuer and Zwingle, Iowa’s Tim O’Connell who each scored 89. Clements earned $15,000 for the effort and the San Antonio Rodeo championship with $24,750. Prior to San Antonio’s rodeo, he was in the top 15 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The money he won here will give him a big boost in the standings.
A year ago, he didn’t get to compete here after having knee surgery. His season got a late start and he finished 16th in the world standings missing qualifying for his third Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by one spot. He is determined to be there next December and if he continues to ride like he did here, there could very well be a world championship in his future.
Tie-down roper Shad Mayfield competed in the AT&T Center for the second time in his young career this year. Mayfield was in high school while competing here a year ago. This year is sole focus is on roping and that showed with a big win. He had the fastest time of the rodeo at 6.9 seconds. Mayfield from Clovis, N.M., added $24,500 to his earnings and is making his way to his second NFR next December.
Tyler Waguespack, from Gonzales, La., won the steer wrestling here a year ago and with a 3.8-second run got the title again this year. He had total earnings of $23,250. There was a tie at the top of the leaderboard in the team roping. Dustin Egusquiza from Marianna, Florida and Travis Graves, from Jay, Oklahoma as well as Matt Sherwood, from Pima, Arizona and Trey Yates from Pueblo, Colorado each had 4.0 second runs. Their Saturday night efforts were worth $13,500, however, Egusquiza and Graves had the highest total earnings at $24,000 for the coveted San Antonio Rodeo championship buckles.
Brody Cress of Hillsdale, Wyoming was the big money winner at this year’s San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo. Cress earned $24,750 throughout the rodeo to get his first saddle bronc riding championship in the AT&T Center. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Scott Foley.
Brody Cress, of Hillsdale, Wyo., used a last chance opportunity at the Wildcard Round on Friday night to advance to the finals. He chose the Cervi Championship Rodeo horse named Womanizer and the match up was outstanding. Cress, who is working on his master’s degree at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, got a 90.5-on the ride, earned $15,000 and got the championship with total earnings of $24,750.
Two Texans had the fast time in barrel racing on Saturday night. Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi from Lampasas, and Jill Wilson from Snyder both stopped the clock in 14.02 seconds. While they each won $13,500, Tonozzi got the win with total money of $23,500. Her earnings surpassed Wilson’s by a mere $250.
There were three bull riders that made it to eight seconds. Denton Fugate, from Niangua, Missouri had the high score of 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s bull Make My Day. Trevor Kastner, from Roff, Oklahoma, had an 88 and Dustin Boquet of Bourg, Louisiana had an 85. Fugate’s Saturday night ride saw him collecting $16,500 and gave him total earnings of $23,000.
Plans are underway for the 2021 San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo which will once again feature the best that pro rodeo has to offer.
The following are unofficial results from the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year. Complete results are at www.sarodeo.com.
Final round winners followed by total money –
Bareback Riding: 1, Mason Clements, Draper, Utah, 91 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, $15,000. 2, (tie) Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 89 points and $9,750 each. 4, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 88.5, $4,500. (total money) 1, Clements, $23,500. 2, O’Connell, $19,875. 3, Breuer, $17,250. 4, Berry, $13,000.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 3.8 seconds, $15,000. 2, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 4.1, $12,000. 3, Jace Melvin, Fort Pierre, S.D., 4.2, $7,500. 4, (tie) Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., and Bridger Anderson, Carrington, N.D., 4.3 and $2,250 each. (total money) 1, Waguespack, $23,250. 2, Cassidy, $21,375. 3, Melvin, $12,500. 4, Brunner, $11,750.
Team Roping: 1, (tie) Dustin Egusquiza, Marianna, Fla., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla.; and Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo.; 4.0 and $13,500 each. 3, Charly Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, and Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M., 4.9, $7,500. 4, Jeff Flenniken, Caldwell, Idaho, and Tyler Worley, Berryville, Ark., 5.5, $4,500. (total money) 1, Egusquiza and Graves, $24,000. 2, Sherwood and Yates, $20,500. 3, Crawford and Medlin, $15,375. 4, Flenniken and Worley, $11,000.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyoming, 90.5 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Womanizer, $15,000. 2, (tie) Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, and Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, S.D., 88 and $9,750 each. 4, Wyatt Casper, Pampa, Texas, 87.5, $4,500. (total money) 1, Cress, $24,750. 2, Boore, $21,000. 3, Garrett, $17,167. 4, Casper, $16,250.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 6.9 seconds, $15,000. 2, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 7.5 seconds, $12,000. 3, Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas, 7.7, $7,500. 4, Cody Huber, Albia, Iowa, 8.0, $4,500. (total money) 1, Mayfield, $24,500. 2, Moore, $19,250. 3, Brown, $13,125. 4, Huber, $14,0000.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, (tie) Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, and Jill Wilson, Snyder, Texas, 14.02, $13,500 each. 3, Jimmie Smith, MCDade, Texas, 14.04, $7,500. 4, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 14.09, $4,500. (total money) 1, Tonozzi, $23,500. 2, Wilson, $23,250. 3, Smith, $14,375. 4, Grimes, $13,000.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Denton Fugate, Niangua, Mo., 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Make My Day, $16,500. 2, Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla., 88, $13,500. 3, Dustin Boquet, Bourg, La., 85, $9,000. (total money) 1, Fugate, $23,000. 2, Kastner, $21,250. 3, Boquet, $18,750. 4, Piva, $16,222.