Sundell Wins Again

By Susan Kanode
Posted Tuesday, October 13, 2009

WACO, Texas --- Wade Sundell has become the second contestant to win two trophy buckles at the Heartland ProRodeo Championships.

Two horses from Universal Rodeo have taken Sundell to the top of the leader board. He set an Heartland record on Sunday with an 89-point ride on Whiskey, came back to the Heart O’ Texas Fair on Monday and followed it up with an 83-point effort on Tin M

Sundell is the second man to win both of his preliminary rounds of competition. The other was Bandy Murphy who won in the bull riding from the first group. These two men are the high money winners here so far having each earned $5,028.

It may not have been pretty, but Jared Smith’s 77-point ride on Pro Rodeo Inc.’s Gypsy Rose was effective. It was the high-marked ride of the night and earned the Williston, Fla., cowboy $2,514. Coming into the Heartland ProRodeo Championships, Smith was 15th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world standings and in danger of being moved out. The top 15 qualify for the upcoming Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) where world championships are decided.

Smith has earned $3,771, which should move him ahead of Jason Havens, from Prineville, Ore., who is in 14th place. Smith will advance to Thursday night’s progressive round. Jared Keylon is in 16th place but earned $1,886 here and has qualified for the progressive round. He needs to earn checks in the progressive, advance through to the finals to have any hope of qualifying for the NFR. There will be a lot of eyes watching the bareback riding here beginning on Thursday.

The third group of contestants starts here Tuesday and includes Clint Cannon who leads the Heartland Series and the world standings. Cannon has already set a new regular seasons earnings record in bareback riding and is on pace to be the high money winner in a single event during the regular season in all of the PRCA.

That record is currently held by Matt Austin who won the bull riding title in 2005. That same year, he won $228,766 prior to the NFR. Cannon has earnings of $221,314 so far this year so needs to earn about $6,500 to set the record. With the way he has been riding and the amount of prize money available here, it is a definite possibility.

Rodeo Action gets underway with the third group of contestants on Tuesday at the Heart O’ Texas Coliseum at 7 p.m. The steer roping championships will also be held on Tuesday, beginning at 8 a.m.

WACO, Texas --- The following are results after the fourth performance of the Heartland ProRodeo Championships at the Heart O’ Texas Fair Rodeo, Monday, October 12, 2009. The top four money winners advance to the progressive round, Thursday, Oct. 15th.

Bareback Riding: 1, Jared Smith, Williston, Fla., 77 points on Pro Rodeo Inc.’s Gypsy Rose, $2,514. 2, Jared Keylon, Fort Scott, Kan., 76, $1,886. 3, Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 69, $1,257. 4, Dave Worsfold, Queensland, Australia, 67, $629. (progressive round qualifiers) 1, Smith, $3,771. 2, Peebles, $3,457. 3, Worsfold, $2,829. 4, Keylon, $1,886.

Tie-Down Roping: 1 (tie), Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas; Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas; and Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga.; 8.5, $1,886 each. 4, Trent Creager, Stillwater, Okla., 8.6, $629. (progressive round qualifiers) 1, Ryan Jarrett, Summerville, Ga., $3,143. 2 (tie), Tim Pharr, Resaca, Ga., and Trent Creager, Stillwater, Okla., $2,515. 4, Moore, $1,886.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Bill Pace, Stephenville, Texas, 3.5 seconds, $2,514. 2, Ronnie Fields, Oklahoma City, 3.8, $1,886. 3, Ryan Mims, Holdenville, Okla., 4.2, $1,257. 4, Spud Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 4.7, $629. (progressive round qualifiers) 1, Pace, $4,400. 2, Mims, $3,771. 3, Fields, $1,886. 4, Jack Hodges, Stephenville, Texas, $1,257.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Wade Sundell, Boxholm, Iowa, 83 points on Universal Rodeo’s Tin Man, $2,514. 2, Tate Owens, Platteville, Colo., 78, $1,886. 3, Justin Browning, Lake Charles, La., 76, $1,257. 4, Curtis Garton, Kaitaia, New Zealand, 73, $629. (progressive round qualifiers)1, Sundell, $5,028. 2 (tie), Owens and Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., $1,886. 4, Justin Browning, $1,257.

Team Roping: 1 (tie), Justin Parish, Mineral Wells, Texas, and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan.; and Cody Graham, Everton, Mo., and Gabe Gwaltney, Carthage, Mo.; 5.0, $2,200 each. 3, Caleb Mitchell, Sealy, Texas, and Tyler McKnight, Wells, Texas, 6.8, $1,257. 4, Tyler Magnus, Hamilton, Texas, and Tommy Zuniga, Centerville, Texas, 9.6, $629. (progressive round qualifiers) 1, Mitchell and McKnight, $3,143. 2, Brook Bearden, Dublin, Texas, and Blake Elms, Cleburne, Texas, $2,514. 3 (tie), Graham and Gwaltney, and Parish and Long, $2,200.

Bull Riding: ( two qualified rides) 1, Cody RoStockyj, China Spring, Texas, 84 points on Universal Rodeo’s Bo Dog. 2, Brandon Reynolds, Pike Road, Ala., 77, $1,886. (progressive round qualifiers) 1, RoStockyj, $3,771. 2, J.W. Harris, May, Texas, $2,514. 3 (tie), Sam Wilson, East Bernard, Texas, and Reynolds, $1,886.