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Reeves Moves to Top of Steer Wrestling Standings at Fort Worth Rodeo

by Susan Kanode
for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

matt reeves

FORT WORTH, Texas — Matt Reeves grew up coming to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo and in fact, even showed pigs here as a youngster.

Now, he is strictly a rodeo competitor and is in position to win a steer wrestling championship at this year’s rodeo. Reeves tied for second place in the first round with a 4.2-second run earning $4,730. He ran his second steer on Wednesday afternoon and stopped the clock in 4.7 seconds. While this won’t get him a check in the round, it put him in command of the overall leaderboard with a total time of 8.9 seconds. He is over a half-second ahead of Brother Loud from Kaufman, Texas, who was 9.6 on two runs.

Reeves is a native Texan. He now lives in Cross Plains and grew up in Pampa. Stock shows were a big part of his world before he started competing in rodeos. Money from raising and showing animals helped him earn his animal science degree from Texas A & M University. Now he is an accomplished steer wrestler with five Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifications to his credit.

The last time he made the trip to Las Vegas to compete at rodeo’s championships was in 2013 when he left as the reserve champion. That was also the year he won the title at another legendary rodeo, Wyoming’s Cheyenne Frontier Days.

He’s had success in the Will Rogers Coliseum before, finishing in second place in 2008. And, he’s hungry for the championship.

“I don’t think there is anyone that has grown up in Texas that doesn’t want to win this rodeo,” he said. “I need a big win and this one would really mean a lot to me.”

Reeves spent much of last year on the injured-reserve list. In October of 2014, he made a trip to Philadelphia for surgery to repair a sports hernia, reattach a torn hip labrum and fix other damage done from a cracked pelvis.

He had been playing with pain and when Dr. Tandy Freeman, director of the Justin Sportsmedicine Team advised him to have surgery. Reeves did just that. Dr. William Myers is a specialist that has helped many rodeo athletes. That also helped Reeves make the decision.

They had considered two surgeries, but Reeves is diabetic and uses an insulin pump, so they didn’t want to take any chances with anesthesia, and did it all at once. He went through weeks of rehabilitation and was soon back riding a horse and started running steers the end of February.

Reeves admits that he might have come back too soon and it wasn’t until June that he started collecting any checks. But all that steer wrestling did more than help him, it was good for a young horse that he had been riding named Nacho. Nacho worked flawlessly at Fort Worth as did Reeves’ hazing horse Beamer.

“That horse has come a long way and it’s been a process getting him there,” he added. “I think a good steer wrestling horse has to be really gritty – they have to run as hard as they can and not stop even when you get off. He’s pretty gritty.”

A life-changing event for Reeves happened just last November when his wife Savanah gave birth to their son Carson Jace. They were all part of the Matt Reeves fan club here on Wednesday.

“People tell you how having a child changes everything,” he said. “Well, it does. It’s everything they tried to tell me and then some.”

The World’s Original Indoor Rodeo continues Thursday with performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. in Fort Worth’s historic Will Rogers Coliseum.

The following are unofficial results from Wednesday’s performances of the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, February 3, 2016.

Twenty-second Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 83.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Moonlight. 2, Heath Ford, Slocum, Texas, 77.5. 3, Colt Kitaif, Tylertown, Miss., 75.5. 4, Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., 70.

Steer Wrestling: 1, (tie) Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, and Shayde Etherton, Borden, Ind., 4.7 seconds. 3, Mose Fleming, Kissimmee, Fla., 5.5 seconds. 4, Terry Keith Meadows, Georgetown, Texas, 5.9.

Team Roping: 1, (tie) David Motes, Tolar, Texas, and Justin Copp, Justin, Texas, and Dylan Gordon, Comance, Okla., and Austin Rogers, Crescent, Okla., 5.3 seconds. 3, Blake Hirdes, Turlock, Calif., and Joseph Shawnego, Oakdale, Calif., 5.9. 4, Eric Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 6.1.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah, 80.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Little Cat. 2, Joe Lufkin, Sallisaw, Okla., 77.5. 3, Kaden Deal, Dupree, S.D., 76.5. 4, Kash Deal, Dupree, S.D., 64.5.

Tie-Down Roping: (three times) 1, Chase Richter, Weatherford, Texas, 9.4 seconds. 2, John Wall, Brenham, Texas, 21.4. 3, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 30.2.

Barrel Racing: 1, Ashley Day, Volburg, Mont., 16.72 seconds. 2, Carman Pozzobon, Savana, British Columbia, 16.86. 3, Callhan Crossley, Hermiston, Ore., 16.97. 4, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 16.98.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Chase Robbins, Marsing, Idaho, 81.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Bug Eyes.

Twenty-third Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Teddy Athan, Livermore, Calif., 83 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Happy Trails. 2, (tie) Heath Ford, Slocum, Texas, and Trenten Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., 74. 4, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 73.

Steer Wrestling: (two times) 1, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif., 4.9 seconds. 2, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif, 5.4.

Team Roping: 1, Rob Webb, Wendell, Idaho, and Asher Freeman, Spring Creek, Nev., 5.6. 2, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Jake Corkhill, Fallon, Nev., 11.0. 3, Austin D. Robertson, Weatherford, Texas, and Jake Cobb, Decatur, Texas, 15.5. 4, Zane Dishion, Bishop, Calif., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 20.1.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, James Greeson, Okeechobee, Fla., 76 points on United Pro Rodeo’s H73. 2, Andrew Harris, Stillwater, Okla., 74. 3, Sam Harper, Paradise Valley, Nev., 71. 4, Mitch Pollack, Winnemucca, Nev., 61.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 8.9 seconds. 2, Justin Maas, Giddings, Texas, 10.6. 3, Cy Eames, Gooding, Idaho, 11.4. 4, Clint Carpenter, Wewoka, Okla., 23.0.

Barrel Racing: 1, (tie) Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, and Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 16.90 seconds. 3, Kimmi Byler, Bellville, Texas, 16.97. 4, Tiffany Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 17.06.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Pistol Robinson, Coolidge, Texas, 74 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Despicable Me.

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 86 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Gypsy Rose. 2, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 83.5. 3, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 83. 4, Mason Clements, Sandy, Utah, 82.5. 5, (tie) Ty Fast Taypotat, Regina, Sask., and Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 82. (second round leaders) 1, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 87 points on Four Star Rodeo’s Rusty Slim. 2, (tie) Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, and Caleb Bennett, Tremeton, Utah, 86, 4, Richmond Champion, 84.5. 5, Jake Brown, 84. 6, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 83.5. (third round leaders) 1, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 84.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Bunny Girl. 2, Chad Rutherford, 83.5. 3, Orin Larsen, 83. 4, Evan Jayne, 82.5. 5, Mason Clements, 80. 6, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 79.5. (total on three) 1, Richmond Champion, 247 points. 2, Orin Larsen, 246.5. 3, Caleb Bennett, 245. 4, Winn Ratliff, 242.5. 5, Mason Clements, 241.5. 6, Evan Jayne, 236.5. 7, Clint Laye, Pocatello, Idaho, 232. 8, (tie) Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., and Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 231. 10, Devan Reilly, Sheridan, Wyo., 230.

Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev., 4.0 seconds. 2, Chance Campbell, Sinton, Texas, 4.2. 3, (tie) Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., and J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 4.3. 5, (tie) Cole Fulton, Miller, S.D., and Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.4. 7, (tie) Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M.; Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 4.5. (total on two) 1, Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, 8.9 seconds. 2, Brother Loud, Kaufman, Texas, 9.6. 3, Jake Rinehart, 9.8 seconds. 4, Joe Buffington, Wheatland, Wyo., 10.1. 5, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 10.2. 6, (tie) Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, and Ty Erickson, 10.4. 8, Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M., 10.8. 9, Timmy Sparing, Helena, Mont., 10.9. 10, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 11.2.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, (tie) Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, and B.J. Dugger, Three Rivers, Texas; Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta, and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., and Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.5 seconds. 4, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Scottsdale, Ariz., 4.6. 5, (tie) Nathan McWhorter, Telephone, Texas; Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas, and Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas, and JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas, and Jim Ross Cooper, Stephenville, Texas, 4.7. (second round) 1, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 3.9 seconds. 2, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Cole Davison, Roosevelt, Utah, 4.0. 3, (tie) Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Quinn Kesler, Holden, Utah, and Bull Austin, East Bernard, Texas, and Dee Rampey, Bertram, Texas, 4.2. 5, Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo., and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 4.5. 6, (tie) Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan.; Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla.; Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Dugan Kelly, Paso Robles, Calif., and Rowdy Rieken, Arp, Texas, and Justin Price, La Veta, Colo., 4.6. (total on two) 1, Clay Smith and Paul Eaves, 9.4 seconds. 2, Chad Masters and Travis Graves, 9.8. 3, Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas, and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 9.9. 4, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 10.1. 5, Dylan Gordon, Comanche, Okla., and Austin Rogers, Crescent, Okla., 10.4. 6, Matt Sherwood and Quinn Kesler 10.5. 7, Coleman Proctor and Buddy Hawkins II, 10.6. 8, Colt Fisher, Sulphur, La., and Corey Hendrick, Huntsville, Texas, 10.7. 9, Casey Gattis, Junction, Texas, and Kirt Jones, Hobbs, N.M., 10.8. 10, Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas, 10.9.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 84 points on Western Rodeo’s Jet Liner. 2, Troy Crowser, Whitewood, S.D., 83.5. 3, Joe Harper, Paradise Valley, Nev., 82.5. 4, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 82. 5, Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, 81.5 6, (tie) Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, and Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 81. (second round) 1, Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., 83.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Covergirl. 2, Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 83. 3, (tie) Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, and Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 82.5. 5, (tie) Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas; Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., Dalton Davis, Holcomb, Kan., and Cooper DeWitt, Rio Rico, Ariz., 82. 9, (tie) Troy Crowser, Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, and Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah, 159.5. (total on two) 1, Jake Wright, 168.5. 2, Cort Scheer, 164. 3, Taos Muncy, 163.5. 4, (tie) Joey Sonnier III and Dalton Davis, 162. 6, Alex Wright, 161. 7, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 160.5. 8, Sam Spreadborough, 160.

Tie-Down Roping: (second round) 1, Garrett Hale, Snyder, Texas, 8.1 seconds. 2, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 8.3. 3, Cheyenne Harper, Iowa, La., 8.4. 4, Ike Fontenot, Ville Platte, La., 8.5. 5, (tie) Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., and Clayton Collmorgan, Lufkin, Texas, 8.6. (total on two) 1, Jordan Ketscher, 17.0. 2, Justin Macha, 17.8. 3, (tie) Ryle Smith and Reese Reimer, Stinnett, Texas, 18.1. 5, Jerrad Hofstetter, Shallow Water, Texas, 18.2. 6, Bradley Bynum, 18.4. 7, (tie) Clint Singleton, Comfort, Texas; Cody McCartney, Ottawa Lake, Mich., and Ryan Watkins, Morgan Mill, Texas, 18.5. 10, Bryson Sechrist, 18.7.

Barrel Racing: (first round winners) 1, Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, 16.58 seconds, $5,145. 2, (tie) Kelly Tovar, Rockdale, Texas, and Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas, 16.60, $4,043 each. 4, Danyelle Campbell, Millsap, Texas, 16.62, $3,185. 5, Shelly Anzick, Shepherd, Mont., 16.69, $2,450. 6, Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 16.71, $1,960. 7, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 16.73, $1,470. 8, (tie) Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, and Clay Sewalt, Del Rio, Texas, 16.75, $857.50 each. 10, Ashlie Withrow, Henryetta, Okla., $490. (second round leaders) 1, Ashley Day, Volburg, Mont., 16.72 seconds. 2, Carman Pozzobon, Savana, British Columbia, 16.86. 3, Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, and Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 16.90. 5, Callahan Crossley, Hermiston, Ore., 16.97. 6, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 16.98. (total on two) 1, Dena Kirkpatrick, 33.70 seconds. 2, (tie) Ashley Day and Callahan Crossley, 33.77. 4, Romany Gordon, 33.81. 5, Carman Pozzobon, 33.95. 6, Megan Mariluch, 34.03.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Trent Jacobson, Irwin, Idaho, 88 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Amplified Howdy. 2, Clayton Savage, Yoder, Wyo., 87.5. 3, (tie) Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo.; Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., and Kody DeShon, Helena, Mont., 85.5. 6, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 84.5. (second round) 1, (tie) Tate Stratton, Kellyville, Okla., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Thunderstruck; Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., on Rafter G’s Raptor, and Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, on Four Star Rodeo’s No Dice, 85.5. 3, Ednei Caminhas, Denton, Texas, 85. 4, Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 84.5. 5, (tie) Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas; Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, and Luke Haught, Weatherford, Texas, 83. (total on two) 1, Ednei Caminhas, 168.5 points. 2, Trevor Kastner, 164. 3, (tie) Tyler Bingham and Kody DeShon, 161. 5, Jordan Sammons, 159.5. 6, Riker Carter, Stone, Idaho, 159. 7, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 158. 8, Sage Kimzey, 156. 9, Chase Robbins, Marsing, Idaho, 154. 10, Dakota Buttar, Kindersley, Sask., 153.

Courtesy of PRCA

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