Cody Harmon Ties Oakley City Record to Take Lead
Steer wrestler Cody Harmon tied the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo record with a 3.3-second run to take the lead in Oakley City, Utah.
He’ll have to wait to see if his time remains the fastest when the rodeo concludes Saturday night.
“It felt like it was a terrible run, but I tried to react as fast as I could and it knocked the air out of me,” Harmon laughed. “I don’t know which day it was. We’ve been traveling so much that all the days have been running together.”
Harmon, 28, tied Dean Gorsuch, who set the record in 2006, but cowboys looking to break their record and pick up valuable ProRodeo Tour points will have the chance to do so tonight and during the final round July 4.
Fans can catch the action on the PRCA on the Cowboy Channel Plus App tonight and tomorrow at 9 p.m. (ET) or catch up with the rodeo on demand.
As of Friday morning, Oakley City’s competition was hot on Harmon’s heels with Walt Arnold 0.1 seconds behind and a four-way tie for third place at 3.6 seconds.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Texas cowboy set a record at a major ProRodeo competition. Harmon set the record at the Lea County PRCA Rodeo in Lovington, N.M., in August with a 3.1-second run.
“I rodeoed last year enough that it was my breakout year,” Harmon said.
He’s on his way to topping his personal best, sitting at 44th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $7,990. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is his goal, and he’s chosen a solid crew of bulldoggers to travel with: Jacob Talley, Will Lummus, Justin Shaffer and Sam Dixon.
“Our whole rig is doing well,” Harmon said, adding that Lummus is leading the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz.
With Las Vegas as the goal, Harmon and his crew are hitting the rodeo road hard during the Fourth of July run with Oakley City, Prescott, the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede; Mandan (N.D.) Rodeo Days; the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fouche, S.D.; the Sitting Bull Stampede in Mobridge, S.D.; and the Killdeer (N.D.) Mountain Roundup PRCA Rodeo on their schedule.
“I’m looking forward to that one-header (in Cody), you can’t hold back with 160 guys there,” Harmon said. “When there’s that many entered, everyone is going for first. Heck, I think there’s three-tenths of a second separating me and sixth place in Oakley City.”
Rodeo runs in the Harmon family. He and his brothers grew up with rodeo since their dad, Bucky, was a multi-event PRCA competitor from 1989-2019.
Cody Harmon filled his permit at his first ProRodeo competition one month after his 18th birthday in December 2009. Since his rookie year in 2010, he’s won $51,435, with his best season coming in 2012 when he won $13,815.
“I took some time off and had rodeoed off and on for the last five years,” Harmon said. “I finally got myself far enough ahead to fund myself to get started and then I got picked up by Wrangler this summer.
“It’s a big confidence boost, and the recognition is the biggest thing,” Harmon said, adding that his wife of six years, Billie, has been his biggest advocate. “She’s given me pointers on my horsemanship and just keeping my head up on runs when I break the barrier – just keep at it and not back off.”
Courtesy of PRCA