Cold weather suits Montana bull rider just fine at Okeechobee Xtreme Bulls
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – When the 40 cowboys who entered the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour event, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, called PROCOM to enter, they probably had visions of swaying palm trees and sunny skies in their heads.
Instead, central Florida on Jan. 10 greeted them with 30-degree temperatures and wind chills below freezing. For some cowboys from traditionally cold-weather states like Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, it was likely warmer at home than on the Seminole Reservation.
Nonetheless, they came to ride, and Tyler Johnston from Bridger, Mont., topped them all with 172 points on two head and won $13,513.
“I always do well in the winter,” Johnston said, “and it’s always good to get off to a good start.”
Johnston, 25, shared first place in both rounds. He had an 85-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Money Maker to tie for the lead in the first round with Jason Beck and then had an 87-pointer on Frontier’s Motown to tie Marcus Michaelis for the high score in the finals.
It was enough to hold off Beck and Michaelis by a single point and assure Johnston of the biggest win of his five-year PRCA career.
“I knew a couple of the short-round bulls, like Leprechaun or California Dreamin’, and if I had to pick, I would have picked one of those two,” Johnston said. “But my bull was just as good as those two, if not better. I got a little ahead of him at the end just waiting on the whistle. It turned out to be just what I needed.”
It is a lot of miles down the road before Outher, 32, will know whether this past weekend in the Waco Coliseum presages a much-desired comeback to the top rank of the sport. But it will do for now.
Outhier won the first round with an 85-point ride on Silverado Rodeo Company’s Betty Bucks, finished second to Wrangler NFR qualifier Isaac Diaz in round two and then tied for fourth in the final round.
It all added up to 244 points and a one-point margin over Diaz for the title, assuring Outhier of his third trip to the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, this April. Texas year-end champion Bradley Harter will join him there.
Outhier has struggled to regain form since a succession of severe injuries wiped out his entire 2005 season. He considers saddle bronc riding his strongest event – he also competes in tie-down roping, team roping, and starting this season, steer roping – and he has finished within the top 35 in the world standings in saddle bronc riding only once in the last four years.
He was 19th in the final saddle bronc riding world standings in 2007, but slipped to 39th the following year and was 37th in 2009.
After back-to-back wins at the Mesquite (Texas) Winter Classic, Dec. 29-30, and the Dodge Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo, Outhier is feeling encouraged.
“I’m real tickled,” Outhier said. “I drew some good horses and beat a couple of tough guys just back from the NFR (Diaz and Harter). It was nice to be able to step up my performance to match theirs. Maybe it means I can have another good year.
“In PRCA rodeos, the draw is a big part of how you do. You have to draw good horses, and when you do, you can’t mess them up. I messed up a few chances last year, and it hurt how I finished in the standings. I’ll be out there all season trying to build on this (winning streak) and get back to the National Finals.”
In Country Television is available through DISH Network (Channel 230) and DirecTV (Channel 344). The show also will include excerpts from the film ProRodeo Livestock and have footage about the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and Binion’s legacy.
The sale featured 276 animals, including 137 bucking bulls and 67 bucking horses. The auction sales, which included a rifle, pistol, hunting trip and other items, totaled nearly $740,000. It is an increase of about $200,000 from the 2008 sale.
Related Links
- In Country Television - www.incountrytelevision.com
- ProRodeo Hall of Fame - www.prorodeohalloffame.com/joomla
- Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund - www.prorodeo.com/justin_cowboy.aspx?xu=3
- United Organizations of the Horse - www.unitedorgsofthehorse.org
- Unwanted Horse Coalition - www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org
- Benny Binion’s World Famous Horse & Bull Sale -
Upcoming Rodeos
Jan. 11 SandHills Stock Show & Rodeo, Odessa, Texas, in progress
Jan. 11 National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, Denver, in progress
Jan. 14 Dodge First Frontier Circuit Finals Rodeo, Harrisburg, Pa., begins
Jan. 14 Mid Winter Fair & Rodeo, Lafayette, La., begins
Jan. 15 Dodge Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo, Great Falls, Mont., begins
Jan. 15 Amicus Club PRCA Rodeo, Alexandria, La., begins
Jan. 19 Fort Worth Division II Qualifying Event
