(Editor's note: FWSSR release)
FORT WORTH — Arena records were posted in four of eight events as the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo drew to a rousing conclusion on Saturday night in Texas.
The bareback championship went to the winningest bareback rider in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) history, Kaycee Feild from Genola, Utah. Feild rode Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Stevie Nicks for 93 points. That one ride netted him $20,000 and brought his total earnings in Fort Worth this year to $26,360. This is the fourth time that the reigning world champion has won this legendary rodeo. The win puts him well on his way to his 14th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualification where he could win his seventh gold buckle that goes to the world’s best.
Another reigning world champion, saddle bronc rider Stetson Wright, got the win with a record-setting ride of 91.5-points. His father, Cody Wright had held the record previously at 91 points. That was set in the Will Rogers Coliseum in 2011 and got the elder Wright the win. Stetson Wright is the third member of his famous saddle bronc riding family to earn the buckle here. His father won it three times, and his uncle Jake Wright got the championship in 2017. Stetson also rides bulls and is a three-time all-around world champion. He earned $25,880 in Dickies Arena.
Wenda Johnson of Pawhuska, Oklahoma has set the barrel racing on fire here this week. It started in her qualification rounds when she set a record at 16.17 seconds. She blew that away on Saturday night when she and Macgyver Moonflash, an eight-year-old bay gelding, stopped the clock in 16.08 seconds. Johnson has qualified for the NFR the past two years by choosing the rodeos that she goes to carefully and not going to as many as expected. She also has a full-time job as a nurse practitioner. The $24,520 that she won here will give her a big boost and put her on the way to a third NFR qualification.
Tristan Martin from Sulphur, Louisiana won the steer wrestling with a 3.9-second run. The former high school and college rodeo champion qualified for his first NFR last December and is now working towards his first gold buckle in the professional ranks. Prior to Fort Worth’s rodeo he was third in the world standings. The $24,260 he got in Dickies Arena could move him up to the top spot.
This is the second year that the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament has featured breakaway roping and the winner just lives about an hour away at Dublin. Kelsey Domer stopped the clock in 1.8 seconds to get her first buckle in Dickies Arena. She earned a total of $26,800.
Tie-down roper Bryson Sechrist got the biggest win of his career here on Saturday night. Sechrist of Apache, Oklahoma stopped the clock in 7.2 seconds to win $23,760. Reigning world champion team ropers Kaleb Driggers from Hoboken, Georgia and Junior Nogueira, from Presidente Prude, Brazil were at the top of the leaderboard with a 4.2-second run. They each took home $25,093.
The FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament was the first rodeo of the year for seven-time world champion Sage Kimzey from Salado, Texas. The new father made good on a promise to be his best for his family and rode all of his bulls. His Saturday night ride of 91.5 points on 4L-Diamond S Rodeo’s Space Unicorn got him his first Fort Worth championship and $29,827.
Sissy Winn of Chapman Ranch, Texas was the first barrel racer down the alley during the championship finals of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s (FWSSR) ProRodeo Tournament.
Although Winn and her horse Chewingthehotwire (Chewy) missed a top-four finish and the accompanying paycheck, she earned $5,000 in bonus money for winning the Jerry Ann Taylor Best-Dressed Cowgirl Award.
She also received a trophy bracelet from the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame and the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Winn was the final barrel racer in Friday night’s Semi-final B, tying Waco’s Stephanie Fryar for fourth with a time of 16.54. A tie-breaker rule meant Winn advanced to Saturday night’s championship round.
Once she knew she would be in the finals, she and her mother Melissa went to work on an outfit.
“My mom and I stayed up all night to finish this,” Winn said. They embellished clothes from Rock and Roll Cowgirl, adding gold and multicolored sequins in swirling patterns. She said that she truly enjoyed learning to sew with her mom.
Pam Minick of Fort Worth, a National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame board member and honoree and former WPRA vice president, said the award is to encourage women in professional rodeo to continue the tradition of wearing colorful western attire in the rodeo arena.
The award is named for Taylor, a Hall of Fame honoree who was known for her flamboyant style. She was a trick rider and trick roper who entered the hall in 1986 and died in 2012.
2022 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Champions
Bareback Riding – Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah, 93 points, $20,000 (total $26,360)
Steer Wrestling – Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 3.9 seconds, $20,000 (total $24,260)
Breakaway Roping – Kelsie Domer, Dublin, Texas, 1.8 seconds, $20,000 (total $26,800)
Saddle Bronc Riding – Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 91.5 points, $20,000 (total $25,880)
Tie-Down Roping – Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 7.2 seconds, $20,000 (total $23,760)
Team Roping – Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil
4.2 seconds, $20,000 (total $25,093)
Barrel Racing – Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.08 seconds, $20,000 (total $24,520)
Bull Riding – Sage Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 91.5 points, $20,000 (total $29,927)
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The following are unofficial results from the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament’s Championship Round at the 125th edition of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Saturday, February 5, 2022.
Bareback Riding: 1, Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah, 93 points on Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Stevie Nicks, $20,000. 2, (tie) Chad Rutherford, Hillsboro, Texas, and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 89, $10,000 each. 3, Cole Franks, Clarendon, Texas, 88.5, $4,000.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 3.9 seconds, $20,000. 2, Payden McIntyre, Douglas, Wyo., 4.0, $12,000. 3, Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 5.2, $8,000. 4, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 5.9, $4,000.
Breakaway Roping: 1, Kelsie Domer, Dublin, Texas, 1.8 seconds, $20,000. 2, (tie) Taylor Engesser, Spearfish, S.D., and Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., 1.9, $10,000 each. 3, Shelby Boisjoli, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 2.1, $4,000.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 91.5 points on Macza Pro Rodeo’s OLS Tubs Get Smart, $20,000. 2, (tie) Tegan Smith, Winterset, Iowa, and Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., 87, $10,000 each. 3, Sterling Crawley, Huntsville, Texas, 85.5, $4,000.
Tie Down Roping: 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 7.2 seconds, $20,000. 2, Quade Hiatt, Canyon, Texas, 7.5, $12,000. 3, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 8.4, $8,000. 4, Charlie Gibson, Midland, Texas, 8.5, $4,000.
Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, 4.2 seconds, $20,000 each. 2, Jake Orman, Prairie City, Miss., and Brye Crites, Welch, Okla., 4.4, $12,000. 3, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, Alberta, 4.6, $8,000. 4, Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan.,4.9, $4,000.
Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.08 seconds, $20,000. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.24, $12,000. 3, Jordan Briggs, Tolar, Texas, 16.30, $8,000. 4, Ivy Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 16.38, $4,000.
Bull Riding: 1, Sage Steele Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 91.5 points on 4L-Diamond S Rodeo’s Space Unicorn, $20,000. 2, Scottie Knapp, Moriarty, N.M., 90, $12,000. 3, Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 85, $8,000.
