(By Susan Kanode/National Western Stock Show)
DENVER – The National Western Stock Show Rodeo came to a close in the Denver Coliseum on Sunday with eight new event champions crowned.
Three of those champions left with over $10,000 in earnings. The big money winner was Zeke Thurston, from Big Valley, Alberta, who won the saddle bronc riding with a total score of 255.5 points. He came into Sunday’s U.S. Bank Pro Rodeo Finals with a six-point advantage, then rode Burch Rodeo’s Iron Maiden for an 85.5-point score on Sunday to take the championship.
Reigning world champion steer wrestler Tyler Pearson kept his momentum going in Denver this week as well. Pearson, from Louisville, Mississippi, won the gold buckle as the world’s best last December in Las Vegas. Pearson came into the finals on Sunday in second place. Riding his world champion horse Scooter, he had the fastest time of the whole rodeo when he stopped the clock in 3.4 seconds. That gave him a total of 11.6 seconds and the title here. He earned $10,331.
“Winning the world championship has been a goal of mine for a long time, so having won it has almost taken some pressure off my back,” Pearson said. “I don’t want to stop at just one gold buckle. Now, I know I can do this. It’s confidence and it’s nice to keep it going here at Denver.”
Shane Hanchey was the only repeat champion in Denver and he hopes that this one starts his year just like the last one did. Hanchey, from Sulphur, La., won the tie-down roping here in 2013. He went on to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo that year and left with his first gold buckle.
Riding his horse “Bam Bam,” he roped and tied three calves here in 23.0 seconds. He earned $10,583. Hanchey competed at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo earlier this week where he won the first round. He was headed back south hoping that momentum from Denver’s rodeo will see him win another prestigious buckle there.
Colorado native Christine Laughlin won the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel race after with a total time of 46.24 seconds. Laughlin, qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2014. The $8,756 she won here could help her get back to Las Vegas again. Laughlin was riding a nine-year-old sorrel mare, Jess Undeniable to capture her first win at the rodeo.
Other Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association champions here were Aaron Tsinigine, from Tuba City, Ariz., and Kyle Lockett from Visalia, Calif., in the team roping, Chase Dougherty, from Canby, Ore., in the bull riding and Caleb Bennett from Tremonton, Utah in the bareback riding.
Bennett came into the finals in the lead and was able to hold onto first place. He rode three horses for 256.5 points to win $9,764. Tsinigine and Lockett roped three steers in 11.6 seconds and each won $7,125. Dougherty, who is in college at Montana State University, rode three bulls for 252.5 points and won $8,262. He is also competing in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association where he is at the top of the standings in the bull riding for the Big Sky Region.
Plans are already underway for the 2019 National Western Stock Show, which will be held Jan. 12 – 27.
Bareback Riding – Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, 256.5 points, $9,764
Steer Wrestling – Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 11.6, $10,331
Team Roping – Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz., and
Kyle Lockett, Visalia, Calif., 11.6 seconds, $7,125
Saddle Bronc Riding – Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 255.5 points, $10,934
Tie-Down Roping – Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 23.0 seconds. $10,583
Barrel Racing – Christine Laughlin, Pueblo, Colo., 46.24 seconds, $8,756
Bull Riding – Chase Dougherty, Canby, Ore., 252.5 points, $8,262
Unofficial final results:
Bareback Riding: (final round) 1, (tie) Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix William Wallace and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., on Calgary Stampede’s Zastron Acres, 88 points and $1,450 each. 3, Luke Creasy, Hobbs, N.M., 86, $900. 4, Caleb Bennett, Tremnton, Utah, 84.5, $600. 5, (tie) Jake Brown, Cleveland, Texas; Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev.; and Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore.; 83.5, $200 each. (total on three) 1, Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, 256.5, $4,852. 2, Clayton Bigalow, Clements, Calif., 255.5, $3,721. 3, Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., 254.5, $2,749. 4, Luke Creasy, Hobbs, N.M., $1,779. 5, (tie) Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., and Nate S McFadden, Elsmere, Neb., $970 each. 7, (tie) Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, $566 each.
Steer Wrestling: (final round) 1, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 3.4 seconds, $1,450. 2, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 4.0, $1,200. 3, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 4.1, $950. 4, Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 4.2, $700. 5, Chance E. Howard, Cedarville, Ark., 4.8, $450. 6, Cody Pratt, Pueblo, Colo., 4.9, $250. (total on three) 1, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 11.6, $5,781. 2, Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 12.5, $5,027. 3, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 12.9, $4,273. 4, Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 13.6, $3,519. 5, Cody Pratt, Pueblo, Colo., 13.8, $2,765. 6, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 13.9, $2,010. 7, Chance E. Howard, Cedarville, Ark., 14.1, $1,257. 8, Newt Novich, Twin Bridges, Mont., 14.6, $503.
Team Roping: (final round) 1, Jeff Johnston, Thedford, Neb., and Ty Talsma, Avon, S.D., 5.5 seconds, $1,421 each. 2, Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz., and Kyle Lockett, Visalia, Calif., 5.7, $1,176. 3, Shay Carroll, Hico, Texas, and Cody Pearson, Tucson, Ariz., 6.0, $931. 4, Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C., and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kans., 6.1, $686. 5, Clayton Van Aken, Descanso, Calif., and Richard Durham, Henrietta, Texas, 10.4, $441. 6, Joshua and Johnathan Torres, Ocala, Florida, 10.8, $245. (total on three) 1, Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz., and Kyle Lockett, Visalia, Calif., 16.2, $5,949 each. 2, Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C., and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kans., 16.3, $5,173. 3, Shay Carroll, Hico, Texas, and Cody Pearson, Tucson, Ariz., 17.0, $4,397. 4, Jeff Johnston, Thedford, Neb., and Ty Talsma, Avon, S.D., 18.9, $3,621. 5, Joshua and Johnathan Torres, Ocala, Florida, 21.4, $2,845. 6, Clayton Van Aken, Descanso, Calif., and Richard Durham, Henrietta, Texas, 21.9, $2,069. 7, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 23.8, $1,293. 8, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 26.9, $517.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (final round) 1, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 88 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Rodeo Houston’s Two Cool, $1,650. 2, Cort Scheer, Douglas, Wyo., 87.5, $1,250. 3, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 85.5, $900. 4, Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah, 85, $600. 5, Chanse Darling, Hyattville, Wyo., 84, $350. 6, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 78, $250. (total on three) 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 255.5, $5,668. 2, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, and Cort Scheer, Douglas Wyo., 249.5, $3,778 each. 4, Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah, 246, $2,078. 5, Chanse Darling, Hyattville, Wyo., 244.5, $1,322. 6, Isacc Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 242, $945. 7, Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 237, $756. 8, (on two) Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 163.5, $567.
Tie-Down Roping: (final round) 1, Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 7.4 seconds, $1,450. 2, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 7.8, $1,200. 3, (tie) Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., and Ryan Thibodeaux, Stephenville, Texas, 7.9, $825. 5, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 8.3, $450. 6, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kans., 8.5, $250. (total on three) 1, Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 23 seconds, $5,781. 2, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 24.1, $5,027. 3, Ryan Thibodeaux, Stephenville, Texas, 24.3, $4,273. 4, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 24.7, $3,519. 5, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 24.9, $2,765. 6, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kans., 25.5, $2,011. 7, John Douch, Huntsville, Texas, 25.6, $1,257. 8, Ace Sloan, Cuero, Texas, 26.4, $502.
Women’s Barrel Race: (final round) 1, Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 15.32 seconds, $2,557. 2, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 15.34, $1,917. 3, Christine Laughlin, Pueblo, Colo., 15.35, $1,278. 4, Wendy McKee, Craig, Colo., 15.37, $639. (total on three) 1, Christine Laughlin, Pueblo, Colo., 46.24 seconds, $5177. 2, Kylie Weast, Comanche, Okla., 46.26, $4,437. 3, Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 46.28, $3, 698. 4, Taci Bettis, Round Top, Texas, 46.29, $3,205. 5, Wendy McKee, Craig, Colo., 46.33, $2,465. 6, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 46.41, $1,972. 7, Haley Wolfe, Flora Vista, N.M., 46.45, $1,479. 8, (tie) Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, and Tammy Fischer, Ledbetter, Texas, 46.51, $863 each. 10, Lori Todd, Willcox, Ariz., 46.56, $493.
Bull Riding: (final round – three rides) 1, Reid Barker, Comfort, Texas, 91 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Slim Kitty, $1,650. 2, Chase Dougherty, Canby, Ore., 88, $1,250. 3, Brody Yeary, Brock, Texas, 86, $900. 4, Eli Vastbinder, Athens, Texas, 84, $600. 5, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 78, $350. 6, (tie) Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, and Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 74, $125 each. (total on three) 1, Chase Dougherty, Canby, Ore., 252.5 seconds, $5,878. 2, Brody Yeary, Brock, Texas, 250.5, $4,506. 3, Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 234.5, $3,330. 4, (tie) Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 233.5, $1, 763 each. 6, Eli Vastbinder, Athens, Texas 215, $979. (on two) 7, Reid Barker, Comfort, Texas, 176.5, $783. 8, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., 173.5, $588.
