Dean Thompson Comes Up Clutch with Pendleton, Ore. Win
The reality of what happened in Pendleton, Ore., still hasn’t fully set in for Dean Thompson.
The Altamont, Utah, bareback rider admits that the days leading up to his first ride at the Pendleton Round-Up were a little uneasy. With rodeo’s regular season coming to a close, Thompson found himself in an unenviable position, sitting 14th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings, barely hanging on to one of the final 15 spots that qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December.
As he sorted through congratulatory text messages on Saturday night, Thompson told a friend that this was “the best day of my life,” and it’s easy to see why.
“I rolled in there not in real good shape, just hanging on, hanging on by a thread to that Finals cut-off,” Thompson said. “It was pretty well picture perfect. Things just worked out. I can’t really get a grasp on winning Pendleton yet.”
Fueled by an 87-point ride in the first-round, Thompson rode for a respectable 84.5 points in Saturday’s short-go to post 171.5 points on two-head, edging Jess Pope by a half-point to win the average title.
In all, the Pendleton visit was worth more than $13,000 to Thompson as his earnings eclipsed the $100,000 mark for the season.
Getting to this point has been anything but easy. The second-year pro has been a bit streaky since a good run in early August moved him into the Top 15. After earning more than $10,000 between three rodeos over the Aug. 15-19 span, Thompson had an equal amount of no scores (6) to money-earning rides (7) over the next several weeks, falling down to a dangerous spot in the standings.
In one weekend, all of that changed.
Thompson’s first ride at Pendleton didn’t go as planned, but the judges awarded him a re-ride. The mulligan changed everything as his next effort on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Great Nation led to the top score for the round. During Saturday’s finals, he finished at 84.5 points to place third in the round, giving him just enough to edge Jess Pope for sole possession of the average’s top spot.
While many cowboys remained in Pendleton to unwind, Thompson was already on the highway headed to Albuquerque for Sunday’s final performance of the New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo.
Though there aren’t many big rodeos left in the season, and the CINCH Playoffs in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the end of September could reshape the standings once again with more than $1.1 million in prizes up for grabs.
Between now and then, Thompson knows he still has work to do to make sure his spot in the NFR field is secure. But after Pendleton, it’s a moment that feels closer than ever.
“I don’t know if it’ll really hit until I get back there behind those chutes in Vegas,” Thompson said. “For years now, every time I roll through that town with them bright lights, I just think, ‘Man, someday I’ll get there. I’ll get behind those yellow bucking chutes.’ To be right there, on the verge of it this year, it’s kind of a tough one to put into words.”
Other winners at the $618,506 rodeo were all-around cowboy Stetson Wright ($17,567, saddle bronc riding and bull riding); steer wrestler Cameron Morman (18.4 seconds on three head); team ropers Derrick Begay/Colter Todd (17.6 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Layton Green (173.5 points on two head); barrel racer Stevi Hillman (56.90 seconds on two runs); breakaway roper Joey Williams (6.5 seconds on two head); steer roper Pake Sorey (40.2 seconds on three head); and bull rider Stetson Wright (177 points on two head).
Courtesy of PRCA