(National Western Stock Show release)
DENVER – Rodeo fans have anticipated the first Thursday of the National Western Stock Show Rodeo for years.
For the past several years, that is when the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association events started. This year’s first performance of the rodeo did not disappoint.
The very first ride out of the bucking chutes was the one of the highest scores of the night. Kash Wilson, from Gooding, Idaho scored 84.5 points on Cervi Brothers’ Rodeo Houston’s Lunatic Fletch to take the lead in the bareback riding. Wilson and bull rider Stetson Wright, of Beaver, Utah, had the highest marked rides of all the competitors in the Denver Coliseum on Thursday.
Five-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, Ty Erickson, from Helena, Mont., is at the top of the steer wrestling leaderboard with a 3.6-second run. Erickson was riding two-time AQHA/PRCA steer wrestling horse of the year, Canted Plan, “Scooter.” Three of the fastest four times were made aboard Scooter. Tyler Pearson, the 2017 world champion from Louisville, Miss., and Kyle Irwin from Robertsdale, Alabama also rode Scooter. Pearson is second in the first round at 4.0 and Irwin is fourth with a 4.3.
Tie-down roper Adam Gray, from Seymour, Texas certainly knows how to win here and is doing it again. Gray won titles here in 2007 and again in 2015. He took command of the leaderboard with a 7.7 second run, over a second faster than the man in second place, Brody Stallard, from Fort Sumner, New Mexico who had a 9.1.
Friday will see two rodeo performances playing out in the Denver Coliseum. All of Thursday night’s competitors will make their second appearance at the matinee beginning at 1:30. Then a new set of contestants will compete in the first round at the evening performance starting at 7:30.
First performance results:
Bareback Riding: 1, Kash Wilson, Gooding, Idaho, 84.5 points on Cervi Brothers’ Rodeo Houston’s Lunatic Fletch. 2, (tie) Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta, and Cole Reiner, Kaycee, Wyo., 83.5. 4, Blake Smith, Zap, N.D., 77.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 3.6 seconds. 2, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 4.0. 3, Levi Rudd, Chelsea, Okla., 4.2. 4, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 4.3.
Team Roping: 1, Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, 4.1 seconds. 2, Spencer Mitchell, Orange Cove, Calif., and Cody Doescher, Webbers Falls, Okla., 4.2. 3, Paul Beckett, Laramie, Wyo., and T.W. Wilson, Limon, Colo., 5.3. 4, (tie) Lee Keihne, Lemitar, N.M., and Trevor Schnaufer, Pueblo, Colo.; and Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 5.6.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Wyatt Casper, Pampa, Texas, 82 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Cherokee Moon. 2, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 81.5. 3, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 81. 4, Tate Owens, Colbert, Wash., 77.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 7.7 seconds. 2, Brody Stallard, Fort Sumner, N.M., 9.1. 3, Tyler Forsberg, Fillmore, Calif., 9.2. 4, Landyn Duncan, Weatherford, Texas, 9.7.
Barrel Racing: 1, Jennifer Sharp, Montgomery, Texas, 15.26. 2, Sarah McCormick, Karnack, Texas, 15.65. 3, Sydni Blanchard, Pueblo, Colo., 15.71. 4, Ilyssa Glass, Tatum, N.M., 15.93.
Bull Riding: (only three rides) 1, Stetson Wright, Beaver, Utah, 84.5 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Crossfire Cowboy. 2, Jordan Hansen, Ponoka, Alberta, 83.5. 3, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 77.5.
