Kastner Claims Gold Medal at Days of ’47 Rodeo; Whitehorse Helps His Push to World Finals
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – Trevor Kastner used an 87.25-point ride on Bad Beagle Wednesday night to take home the gold medal and $63,400, at the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo.
The No. 2-ranked rider in the PRCA is only the sixth rider in 44 attempts to reach the 8-second mark on Bad Beagle.
Kastner earned 170 points toward the PBR world standings, but is competing on the PRCA circuit and making a run at Sage Kimzey in the 2019 PRCA title race.
“Shoot, that is a good bull,” Kastner told Steve Kenyon of 8secondsradio.com. “I actually got on him at Logandale earlier this year and he threw me off. It was great to get him rode.
“I like the tournament style. You get your first one rode and advance. It is a clean slate, and you do good on the next one.”
Kastner’s winnings in Salt Lake City do not count toward the PRCA standings.
The 31-year-old was one of only two riders that picked up a qualified ride during a tough night of bull riding during the Gold Medal Round of the WCRA event.
Bouxdreaux Campbell rode Ain’t Easy Being Me for 83.25 points to earn the silver medal, while the other eight riders – Jess Lockwood, Cody Teel, Claudio Montanha Jr., Keyshawn Whitehorse, Cooper Davis, Marcos Gloria, Stetson Lawrence and Brennon Eldred – all bucked off.
You have to wonder if fatigue may have been a factor for some of the riders that competed at Last Cowboy Standing in Cheyenne on Tuesday night before making the return trek to Salt Lake City.
Whitehorse won the bronze medal via posting the highest-scored ride (90.75 points on Deaconator) during the Semi-Final performances.
Crazy Wolfy bucked Whitehorse off in 7.2 seconds in the Gold Medal Round.
Days of ’47 could go a long way toward helping Whitehorse make the 2019 PBR World Finals (Nov. 6-10 in Las Vegas).
Whitehorse earned a total of 105 points toward the world standings at Days of ’47 to move from No. 31 in the world standings to No. 27.
If you take away those 105 points, Whitehorse would be sitting at No. 32 in the world standings and be only 82.5 points ahead of the cutline.
Instead, Whitehorse is 125 points ahead of No. 36 Cody Heffernan with two weeks until the Unleash The Beast resumes on Aug. 10 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 2018 Rookie of the Year took some time off this summer to recharge the mental batteries for the stretch run to the Finals.
“My focus has been on God,” Whitehorse said during Last Cowboy Standing. “During the season, I lost track of myself and I recollected. Bismarck was one of those events. I told myself whether I did good or not, I would take some time off. I did decent there (2-for-2). I took some time off. I worked out at the house. Got my mind right. Got into a routine and just really enjoying life and being thankful for everything I have.”
Jess Lockwood’s 89-point ride on Hou’s Counting during the Semi-Finals wound up netting him 45 world points to cut world leader Chase Outlaw’s lead to 622.5.
Meanwhile, No. 6 Cooper Davis (25 world points) and No. 5 Cody Teel (10 points) also gained a bit of ground through their Semi-Finals rides.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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