San Antonio Qualifier Offers Cowboys New Opportunity
Five-time World Champion Steer Wrestler Luke Branquinho has nothing to prove in rodeo.
However, the California cowboy isn’t ready to stop competing, so he’s looking forward to the Stockyards Shootout at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, Jan. 21-24. The Shootout is a qualifying event for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which begins Feb. 12.
Branquinho, whose five world championships (2004, 2008, 2011-12 and 2014) are second only to steer wrestler Homer Pettigrew’s six in PRCA history, is trying to qualify for San Antonio after being hampered last season by a right knee injury that he suffered in 2019.
“Anytime you give guys who have been hurt or young kids an opportunity like this is great,” said Branquinho, 40. “The top four guys (in each event from the Shootout) get to go to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and have a chance for the championship there. Last year it was different, and I’m glad they are testing out new waters and giving guys this opportunity.”
Branquinho is joined in the Shootout field by 2004 Tie-down Roping World Champion Monty Lewis.
While Branquinho and Lewis bring a wealth of experience and world titles to the Shootout, tie-down roper J.T. Adamson is a relative newbie. The 22-year-old bought his PRCA card in December 2019 and is vying for his first appearance in San Antonio.
“This is awesome to get to go to this Shootout, especially for young guys who don’t usually get the opportunity to rope for that kind of money early in the year,” Adamson said. “That’s where a lot of guys get their jump (in the world standings).”
Adamson is up in Fort Worth on Jan. 21.
“I’m not nervous, I just have to be ready to go,” said Adamson, 22. “It would be ideal if I could qualify for San Antonio. I have a little money won right now, but if a guy can slip in there to San Antonio and capitalize on that opportunity, especially with some uncertainty about the season (because of the COVID-19 pandemic) that rodeo is going to be huge.”
Adamson, who is 18th in the Jan. 19 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $4,530, recently graduated from West Texas A&M University in Canyon with a degree in ag business.
“We have a family ranch at home (in Cody, Neb.), a fifth-generation, so eventually I’ll go back and do that, but here for a while I’m going to chase the dream,” Adamson said.
The San Antonio qualifier will air on The Cowboy Channel and will stream on the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App at 8:30 p.m. (ET), Jan. 21-23, and at 3 p.m. (ET), Jan. 24.
There will be 24 contestants competing in each event – bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and team roping. The top three finishers from the first three performances will advance to the nine-man semifinals Jan. 24.
The top four finishers in the semifinals will compete in a four-man shootout, with each of the shootout qualifiers advancing to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
Tickets for the Stockyards Shootout are available and begin at $35, with Gold Buckle, Silver Spur and VIP seats also available. For ticket information, visit cowtowncoliseum.com, the Cowtown Coliseum Box Office or call 1.888.cowtown.
“It is dang sure a little different, but obviously any time you have an opportunity to at no-matter-what age or where you have been in rodeo or what level you have been at it is a weird feeling, but you just have to bear down and take advantage of this opportunity,” said Branquinho, who is going full time in 2021. “This is in my blood to make the (NFR) and keep going.”
Branquinho is up in Fort Worth on Jan. 23. He will be riding Scooter, the 2017 and 2018 PRCA steer wrestling horse of the year. Scooter was second in the 2019 horse of the year voting.
Scooter is owned by steer wrestlers Tyler Pearson and Kyle Irwin. Pearson, the 2017 PRCA Steer Wrestling World Champion, will be hazing for Branquinho in Fort Worth.
“I’ve won a lot on Scooter, so it’s a good feeling to ride him, especially to have Tyler on the other side,” Branquinho said. “I’m looking forward to this opportunity and taking advantage of it.”
Courtesy of PRCA