Matt Reeves Claims First Pecos Title
By Ryan Martinez
PECOS, Texas – As the busy season of ProRodeo heats up, steer wrestler Matt Reeves watched online Saturday night to see if the work he’d put in in the previous rounds of the West of the Pecos (Texas) Rodeo was enough to win.
With a two-head average of 7.9 seconds, Reeves won at Pecos for the first time since joining the PRCA in 2003.
“That’s great,” said Reeves, who also won the first and second rounds. “You don’t get an opportunity to do what I did there. So I had a really good series where everything went well.
“I’ve won second at least twice, but it feels good to have finally won it the way I did. I’ve never won without a split, so I know this was special.”
Riding on 11-year-old Roy and with Kodie Jang hazing on Beemer (15), Reeves posted a first-round time of 4.0 seconds on Thursday morning and then a 3.9 later that day in the second round, earning a total of $5,316. He also picked up valuable ProRodeo Tour points.
“When you’re that fast, you know something good is going to come of it,” Reeves said of having to wait two days to find out if his time would hold up.
Reeves’ father-in-law, Sam Koenig, won the same event at the Pecos rodeo in 1983.
“This rodeo is a big deal, and I’ve been here a lot with Sam so it’s a fun win,” Reeves said.
West of the Pecos is the second win for Reeves this year after taking first at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo in Odessa, Texas. Entering the weekend, Reeves was sitting in 30th place in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $24,956.
“It’s a long season, but you just keep chipping away at it,” Reeves said. “This is gonna help.”
Reeves last qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2016.
“I just have to keep getting good starts and flat falls,” Reeves said. “I need to have a good couple of rodeos, and there’s plenty left to do that.”
Reeves was in Greeley, Colo., for the Greeley Stampede, which is just a part of the long stretch of rodeos through the month of July.
“I like July,” Reeves said. “We get to run steers every day.”
Tegan Smith won the saddle bronc riding and set the Pecos rodeo record in the process with an 88.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Hometown Girl. Smith beat the previous record by half a point. Cody DeMoss set the record in 2008, while Jace Garrett (2010), Cody Wright (2013), Steven Dent and Isaac Diaz (both 2015), and Joe Lufkin (2016) had equaled DeMoss.
Other winners from the $178,882 rodeo were all-around cowboy Tanner Green ($2,578 in tie-down roping and team roping; bareback rider Shane O’Connell (88 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Good Times Charlie); team ropers Jeff Flenniken/Tyler Worley (14.7 seconds on two head); tie-down roper Reese Riemer (17.9 seconds on two head); barrel racer Jill Wilson (17.64 seconds); steer roper Trevor Brazile (43.8 seconds on three head); bull riders Cole Melancon (87.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Legacy) and Daylon Swearingen (87.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Legacy).
For more coverage of the West of the Pecos Rodeo, check out the July 12 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA