HELENA — On a celebratory night at the Last Chance Stampede where everyone was excited to return to the newly minted "Cool Alley" Arena at the Lewis and Clark County fairgrounds, five Montanans led the way.
Corvallis' Caleb Bennett opened the night with a stellar 84.5 point ride in bareback riding and will hope to hold that top spot alongside Texas' Tilden Hooper.
Logan John Beattie got things started for steer wrestling and, like Bennett, did not disappoint. The Helena native recorded the fastest time on the day with 5.0 seconds flat. Jesse Brown from Oregon was just a hair slower at 5.3 seconds, good for second place.
Just two teams of ropers qualified on night one in team roping, with Great Falls' Shawn Bessette and Augusta's Matt Robertson holding the top spot through night one with a near stellar time of 6.2 seconds. That time would not hold however as the calf slipped a hind leg from the hold for a five-second penalty to bring the Montana duo's time to a total of 1`1.2 seconds.
Ben Anderson, a Canadian from Alberta, rode with a vengeance in the saddle bronc recording a score of 87 points to take the top spot after night one. Travis Nelson of Broadus is the lone Montanan in the money right now tied for fourth with a score of 74 points.
Caleb Berquist, a member of the Montana State rodeo squad, takes a slim hold over the top spot in tie-down roping through one-day sheet. The Washington native led the way with 7.8 seconds, followed closely by Texas' Ace Slone with a time of 7.9 seconds.
While Gardiner's Shai McDonald was fast clambering about the barrel racing course with a time of 17.97 seconds, Tennesee's Carly Taylor was just a bit faster. Taylor, the 2019 rookie of the year, recorded a time of 17.82 seconds to take the top spot.
Just one man was able to conquer the rank bulls at the Stampede on Thursday night, that man was Valier's Cole Wagner. Wagner, with five second-place finishes and one win under his belt already this year, conquered Big Colt for an 85.5 point ride to wrap up a busy Thursday evening.
The Last Chance Stampede will run slack Thursday night and continue into round two on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
FULL RESULTS FROM NIGHT ONE
Bareback riding
T1. Caleb Bennett, Corvallis, Mont. 84.5 points on C5 Rodeo Co.’s Sunday Sinner
T1. Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas 84.5 points on C5 Rodeo Co.’s Black Moon;
3. Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah 82.5
Steer wrestling
1. Logan John Beattie, Helena, Mont. 5.0 seconds
2. Jesse Brown, Baker City, Ore. 5.3
3. Scott Guenther, Provost, Alb. 5.7
4. Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alb. 6.0
Team roping
1. Shawn Bessette, Great Falls, Mont./Matt Robertson, Augusta, Mont. 11.2 seconds
2. Grady Quam, Huntley, Mont./Tyce McLeod, Waldeck, Sask. 12.6.
Saddle bronc riding
1. Ben Anderson, Rocky Mountain House, Alb. 87 points on C5 Rodeo’s Trump Card
2. Logan Hay, Wildwood, Alb. 85.5
3. Mitch Pollock, Winnemucca, Nev. 80
4. (tie) Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alb. and Travis Nelson, Broadus, Mont. 74 each
Tie-down roping
1. Caleb Berquist, LaCrosse, Wash. 7.8 seconds
2. Ace Slone, Cuero, Texas 7.9
3. Josh Graff, Olive, Mont. 8.8
4. Caleb McMillan, Soap Lake, Wash. 11.9
Barrel racing
1. Carly Taylor, Andersonville, Tenn. 17.82 seconds
2. Shai McDonald, Gardiner, Mont. 17.97
3. Abigail Knight, Charlo, Mont. 18.04
4. Erin Williams, Alzada, Mont. 18.15
Bull riding
1. Cole Wagner, Valier, Mont. 85.5 points on C5 Rodeo's Big Colt.
