Tie-Down Roper Charlie Gibson Scores Sikeston Win
With less than two months left in the ProRodeo regular season the clock is ticking. Tie-down roper Charlie Gibson is determined to make his lifelong goal of competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo a reality, but he’s not worried about being 42nd in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Over the next seven days, he’s set to compete at multiple rodeos across the country, and he’s hitting the road with a burst of confidence thanks to winning the Sikeston (Mo.) Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, Aug. 8.
“It gets me back in the hunt this year,” Gibson said. “Now we’re heading to Sioux Falls (S.D.), Big Timber, Circle and Baker (Mont.), Eureka (Kan.), Douglas (Wyo.) and Mesquite (Texas) – all next week.”
Gibson’s not going at it alone. He has 2017 World Champion Tie-down Roper Marcos Costa as his traveling partner.
“He’s a great hauling partner and teaches you a lot,” Gibson said. “We’ve been working out a lot and his mental game is very, very, strong.”
The 2020 season has been unlike any other, and Gibson was about $20,907 shy of breaking into the Top 15 before his $4,733 Sikeston win.
“This gives me more motivation to keep going,” said Gibson, 21. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and it’s been a big stepping stone and a big boost.”
Gibson made a 7.7-second run in Sikeston on Aug. 6 and maintained the No. 1 position when the rodeo concluded Aug. 8.
“I just made a good practice-pen run, and I was aggressive toward that one,” Gibson said. “If you bobble any it’ll take you out of the money, so you need to be consistent everywhere you go.”
Gibson’s win came aboard an American Quarter Horse named M&M, a seasoned equine veteran with a background as sweet as his name. Fourteen-time NFR qualifier Blair Burk (1995-2007, 2009) and five-time NFR qualifier Adam Gray (2009, 2011-12, 2014, 2019) are among the ProRodeo athletes to have competed aboard M&M, Gibson said.
“He scores good and is very trustworthy,” Gibson said, adding that he’s been riding M&M for about two years.
The Texas cowboy placed seventh in the 2019 PRCA | Resistol Rookie Standings for tie-down roping with $14,053.
Gibson scored a couple of wins before the COVID-19 pandemic put the season on hiatus. On Feb. 15, he won the Brighton Field Day & Rodeo in Okeechobee, Fla. A week later, he won the Georgia National Rodeo in Perry.
“I placed in Kissimmee (Fla.) too and was feeling good,” Gibson said, referring to the 145th Silver Spurs Rodeo on Feb. 23. “It feels good to get this win (in Sikeston) and be back where I need to be.”
The 2020 Sikeston rodeo was one for the record book. Riggin Smith won the saddle bronc riding by breaking Sikeston’s previous record by a half-point, posting an 88.5-point ride on The Cervi Brothers’ Womanizer, Aug. 8.
Sikeston’s previous barrel racing record of 16.02 seconds was broken by the first racer out on Aug. 8. Cheyenne Wimberley made a 15.99-second run, which is about how long her record lasted, as the next barrel racer, Ryann Pedone, registered a 15.91-second run to win the event.
Other winners at the $181,489 rodeo were bareback riders Clayton Biglow (89.5 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Hangover) and Tim O’Connell (89.5 points on The Cervi Brothers’ Gander Goose); steer wrestler Kyle Irwin (3.9 seconds); team ropers Joshua Torres/Jonathan Torres and Colby Lovell/Paul Eaves (4.3 seconds each) and bull riders Daylon Swearingen (90 points on Stockyards ProRodeo’s Silver Lining) and Jeston Mead (90 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Rump Shaker).
For more coverage of the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, check out the Aug. 21 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA