Henderson Wins Quarter Finals
WACO, Texas --- There wasn’t a happier cowboy than Micky Downare at the All American ProRodeo Finals presented by Pendleton Whisky on Saturday night.
Downare, from Hartsel, Colo., was one of 30 bareback riders competing in the Extraco Events Center throughout the 9-day run of the Heart O’ Texas Fair. And, he was the one who emerged through two preliminary rounds, a progressive round, quarter finals, semi-finals and the finals to win the championship. Along the way, he won $13,634 and set a new arena record.
Downare won the semi-finals round with an 84-point ride on Rafter G Rodeo’s Assault. AS the high man coming back into the finals, the horse he got on was Top Flight owned by Universal Rodeo. When the judges added up their scores, it was a 91-point effort that set the record. The previous record of 89 points had been set by Dave Worsfold, Clint Cannon and Steven Peebles.
“I wasn’t really expecting that,” Downare said of the ride. “I’d never even seen the horse before. Everybody told me he was going to do it, but not knowing a horse, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
That lack of expectation may have worked in Downare’s favor. After winning the semi-finals and knowing the title was on the line, he let it all roll for the championship. This is the first national title for Downare, but not the first big win of the year for him. He also won the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo last February which features a similar format.
“I love this format,” he said. “It’s so exciting when it all comes down to just one ride. The fans are pumped up, horses are ready and it’s a big motivator for me. I wish every big rodeo was like this.”
Another contestant that benefitted from the format here was Scott Kormos, who brought the house down when he roped and tied his calf in the finals in 7.2 to also set a new arena record. Kormos lives less than an hour away at Teague and was the big money winner at this year’s rodeo.
Kormos won the semi-finals as well and throughout the competition and won $15,488. He will be using this money and experience to prepare for his sixth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR). Kormos was riding Trevor Thiel’s horse that he will be riding at the WNFR.
The saddle bronc riding and bull riding champions also won both rounds in the Extraco Events Center on Saturday night. Cort Scheer from Elsmere, Neb., won the saddle bronc riding with an 85 on Rafter G Rodeo’s Black Bart. Tag Elliott from Thatcher, Utah, won the bull riding with an 88-point effort on Andrews Rodeo’s Red Onion.
In addition to the money that they earned, all of the champions also got saddles from Cactus Saddlery, buckles from Montana Silversmiths and a bottle of Pendleton Whisky.
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WACO, Texas --- The following are unofficial results from the ninth performance (semi-finals and championship round) of the All American ProRodeo Finals presented by Pendleton Whisky, held at the Extraco Events Center at the Heart O’ Texas Fair Rodeo, Saturday, Oct., 16, 2010.
Bareback Riding: (semi finals) 1, Micky Downare, Hartsel, Colo., 84 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Assault, $1,500. 2, Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., 81, $1,250. 3, (tie) Matt Bright, Azle, Texas, and Heath Ford, Elkhart, Texas, 79, $825 each. (finals) 1, Downare, 91* points on Lancaster Picket Rodeo’s Top Flight, $7,500. 2, Ford, 88, $5,000.
Tie-Down Roping: (semi finals) 1, Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 7.5, $1,500. 2, Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 8.0, $1,250. 3, Trevor Thiel, Greeley, Colo., 8.7, $1,000. 4, Tyson Durfey, Colbert, Wash., 9.1, $750. (finals) 1, Kormos, 7.2*, $7,500. 2, (tie) Herrin and Durfey, 7.9, $2,500.
Steer Wrestling: (semi finals) 1, Stockton Graves, Newkirk, Okla., 3.7 seconds, $1,500. 2, Tommy Cook, McAlester, Okla., 4.1, $1,250. 3, Wade Steffen, Richmond, Ill., 4.6, $1,000. 4, Rhett Kennedy, Chowchilla, Calif., 4.9, 750. (finals) 1, (tie) Tommy Cook and Wade Steffen, 4.1, $6,250 each. (Cook wins championship by virtue of tie-breaker)
Saddle Bronc Riding: (semi finals) 1, Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., 83 points on Lancaster and Picket Rodeo’s Badlands, $1,500. 2, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 81, $1,250. 3, Todd Herzog, Penhold, Alberta, 78, $1,000. 4, (tie) Cole Elshere, Faith, S.D., and Jacobs Crawley, College Station, Texas, 75, $375. (finals) 1, Scheer, 85, $7,500. 2, DeMoss, 80, $5,000.
Team Roping: (semi finals) 1, Tommy Edens, Gatesville, Texas, and Justin Hendricks, Rosenberg, Texas, 4.6* seconds, $1,500. 2, Cody Graham, Everton, Mo., and Boogie Ray, Mabank, Texas, 4.8, $1,250. 3, Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo., and Kinney Harrell, Marshall, Texas, 5.0, $1,000. 4, Casper May, Pryor, Okla., and Derrick Peterson, Stillwell, Kan., 5.2, $750. (finals) 1, May and Peterson, 5.4, $7,500. 2, Edens and Hendrick, 10.1, $5,000.
Women’s Barrel Race: (semi finals) 1, Sherrylyn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 16.09 seconds, $1,500. 2, Linda Gail Stewart, Mathews, Ala., 16.16, $1,250. 3, Kristen Williams, Carthage, Texas, 16.17, $1,000. 4, Shelley Morgan, Canton, Texas, 16.24, $750. (finals) 1, Williams, 16.03, $7,500. 2, Stewart, 16.26, $5,000.
Bull Riding: (semi finals) one ride, Tag Elliott, Thatcher, Utah, 84 points on Booker Hill, $1,500. (finals) 1, Elliott, 88 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Red Onion, $7,500. 2, Jacob O’Mara, Prairieville, La., 81, $5,000.
*Denotes new arena record.
