Reiner, Minton Dominate Bracket 1 at Fort Worth Rodeo

By: Johna Cravens

FORT WORTH, Texas – Bareback rider Cole Reiner and tie-down roper Brush Minton dominated their events in Bracket 1 of the 15-day, $1.2 million Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo (FWSSR) ProRodeo Tournament at Dickies Arena. The 24-year-old cowboys work opposite ends of the arena but accomplished similar feats.

Reiner, the three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) qualifier from Buffalo, Wyoming, won the Friday night round of his event with an 86.5-point ride on Brookman Rodeo’s Joe Dirt. Since the top two money earners in each bracket advance to the semi-finals, Reiner was happy to bank $1,760 on Friday. On Saturday night he matched up with Brookman Rodeos’ horse SOS for a score of 90 points and another round win, moving on to the semi-finals which are scheduled for February 2-3.

Minton, an all-around hand from Witter Springs, Calif., who also competes in steer wrestling and team roping, won the first round of tie-down roping with a time of 8.2 seconds. He was the second roper to compete and banked $1,760. On Saturday he had the advantage in money won coming into round 2. He was the next-to-last roper and made an 8.4-second run. That tied with Caldwell, Idaho’s Bo Pickett for first place in the second round and advanced Minton to the semi-finals. Minton is currently ranked 9th in the 2023 early-season world standings, his best start of his professional career.

The FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament features 56 competitors (56 teams in team roping) in each event, divided into seven brackets of eight.

Contestants in each bracket compete in two rounds of back-to-back action. The top two money earners per bracket in each event advance to one of two semi-finals while the third highest money winner advances to the wild card round. Those finishing lower than third go to the non-qualifier pool. The highest remaining money earner in each event in the non-qualifier pool after all brackets are completed advances to the wild card round.

The top two in the wild card round advance to the semifinals and the top four from each semifinal advance to the finals on February 4.

A highlight of Saturday night’s round was breakaway roper Ashley Goforth of nearby Azle. She was the first cowgirl of the tournament to turn in a time of less than two seconds when she won the round with a time of 1.9. In the first round she caught her calf in 2.0 seconds but earned a 10-second penalty for failing to give the calf the full required head start. That bumped her time to 12.0 seconds, but still tied for fourth place in the round. She advanced to the semi-finals as did Lynn Smith of Elfrida, Arizona.

Stevi Hillman of Weatherford is always a contender in the barrel racing in Fort Worth. The seven-time NFR qualifier is known for her talent with young horses, and she is proving it again in 2023. She is riding a six-year-old mare RV Brijett that has made less than half a dozen runs at a professional rodeo. Brijett and Stevi finished fourth in the first round after a wider than optimal turn at the first barrel. They ironed out the problem on Saturday and won the round by nearly three-tenths of a second despite having the last run on the ground. The win qualified her for the wild card round as first-round winner Cheyenne Wimberley of Stephenville and Emily Beisel of Weatherford, Oklahoma, who finished second in both rounds of the bracket, advanced to the semi-finals.

The FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament continues at 2 p.m. Sunday with a new group of contestants competing in Bracket 2 at Dickies Arena.

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FORT WORTH, Texas – The following are unofficial results from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s Pro Rodeo Tournament, January 21, 2023.

(Qualifiers are based on tie-breaker rules.)

Bracket 1, Round 2

Bareback riding: 1, Cole Reiner, Buffalo, Wyo., 90 points on Brookman Rodeos’ SOS, $1,720. 2, Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, 88, $1,320. 3, (tie) Ty Pope, Marshall, Mo., Bronc Marriott, Woods Cross, Utah, and Ty Fast Taypotat, Nanton, Alberta, Canada, $440 each.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Reiner, $3,520, and Lamb, $2,640. Wild card qualifier: Taypotat, $1,100.

Steer wrestling: 1, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 3.5 seconds, $1,760. 2, Payden McIntyre, Douglas, Wyo., 3.8, $1,320. 3, Gavin Soileau, Bunkie, La., 4.3, $880. 4, Ryan Shuckburgh, Innisfail, Alberta, Canada, 4.5, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Irwin, $1,760 and Walt Arnold, Coleman, Texas, $1,540. Wild Card Qualifier, Ty Allred, Tooele, Utah, $1,540.

Breakaway roping: 1, Ashley Goforth, Azle, Texas, 1.9 seconds, $1,760. 2, (tie) Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., and Mollie Bassett, Vinita, Okla., 2.0, $1,100 each. 4, Lynn Smith, Elfrida, Ariz., 2.8, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Smith, $2,200, and Goforth, $1,980. Wild Card qualifier: Johnson, $1,320.

Saddle bronc riding: 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 89 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Three Belles, $1,760. 2,Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, 88, $1,320. 3, Cort Sheer, Elsmere, Neb., 85, $880. 4, Will Reynolds, Sydney, Australia, 83.5, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Hay, $3,080, and Thurston, $2,420. Wild Card qualifier: Sheer, $2,200.

Tie-down roping: 1, (tie) Brush Minton, Witter Springs, Calif., and Bo Pickett, Caldwell, Idaho, 8.4 seconds, $1,540 each. 3, John Douch, Huntsville, Texas, 8.8, $880. 4, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.9, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Minton, $3300, and Pickett, $2,420. Wild Card qualifier: Douch, $2,200.

Team Roping: 1, Ty Arnold, Midway, Texas, and Kaden Michael Profili, Jacksonville, Texas, 4.8 seconds, $1,760 each. 2, Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas, 6.1, $1,320 each. 3, Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 8.1, $880 each. 4, Jaxson Tucker, Statesville, N.C., and Wyatt Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 14.5, $440 each.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Wyatt and Tryan, $2,640 each; and Ward and Hawkins, $2,200. Wild Card qualifier: Arnold and Profili, $1,760.

Barrel Racing: 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 16.59 seconds, $1,760. 2, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 16.86, $1,760. 2, 16.44, $1,320. 3, Sadie Wolaver, Weatherford, Okla., $880. 4, Cheyenne Wimberley, Stephenville, Texas, 21.67, $440.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Beisel, $2,640, and Wimberley, $2,200. Wild card qualifier: Hillman, $2,200.

Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, T Parker, Winnie, Texas, 85 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Peaky Binder, $2,420. 2, Jordan Wacey Spears, Redding, Calif., 84, $1,980.

Semi-finals qualifiers: Parker, $2,420, and Spears, $1,980. Wild Card qualifier: Jordan Hansen, Amisk, Alberta, Canada, $1,907.