WACO, Texas - Being crowned an inaugural Heartland ProRodeo Series champion on Oct. 11 at the Heart O' Texas Fair Complex will be an honor, indeed. But some cowboys, like Texas tie-down roper Scott Kormos, got an extra perk at the nine-performance competition. With a second-place finish Friday night, Kormos' $6,816 in prize money from Waco should move him into the Top 15 in the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings and unofficially qualify him for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 4-13, in Las Vegas.
"It feels like the weight of the world is off my shoulders," said Kormos, who became a father for the first time on Sept. 4. "I've been trying so hard all year and had to stay home a few weeks at the end of August and first of September while my wife had our baby.
"Just to get a chance to come to a rodeo like this -- as good as it is -- and have a chance, and to have everything work out the way it did is a blessing."
Kormos finished second with a time of 8.4 seconds and won the round on Oct. 9 with a time of 8.3 seconds to push his unofficial earnings to $64,280 for the season. Kormos' friend and fellow tie-down roper Cimarron Boardman of Stephenville, Texas, was also vying for the 15th and final tie-down roping spot in the Wrangler NFR as the cowboys worked their way up the world standings in Waco. Boardman needed to win the eighth round and sweep the two rounds on the rodeo's final day on Oct. 11 to make the jump, but he came up short after a sixth-place finish in round eight.
"I gave him a high five in the arena after he threw his hat (on Oct. 9)," said Boardman of Kormos, whom he has known for about eight years. "He was excited and he had a right to be. I was excited for him, too. I know how hard we work to do it."
Boardman has won nearly $2,600 in Waco, but had to win money Oct. 10 to keep his Wrangler NFR hopes alive. However, he said he was able to keep the outcome in perspective in a sport with so many ups and downs.
"I just do what I can do," Boardman said, "and if it works it works, and if not, I should have roped better somewhere else. You can't bring it down to the final rodeo, we've been to about 70 rodeos this year."
It will be Kormos' fourth trip to rodeo's Super Bowl. He also qualified for the Finals in 2004 and from 2006-07. Kormos has been riding Flip, an 11-year-old gelding owned by Justin and Paige Maass, at this year's Heartland ProRodeo Championships. Flip was the 2007 AQHA/PRCA tie-down roping horse of the year.
In other events, bareback rider Matt Bright of Loudon, Tenn, scored 84 points on Carr Pro Rodeo's Real Deal to grab the top spot and a first-place check worth $2,596. Athens, Texas, cowboy Kody Curry finished first in the tie-down roping in 7.6 seconds. Steer wrestling went to Joey Bell Jr. in 4.0 seconds, and all four bulldoggers who earned checks stopped the clock in less than 5.0 seconds.
Marty Hebb of Eagle Butte, S.D., was the top saddle bronc rider of the night after scoring 79 points on Classic Pro Rodeo's Hang 'em High, while the team roping went to Nick Sartain of Yukon, Okla., and Mickey Gomez of Holland, Texas, in 5.1 seconds. Bull rider Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., won the night's competition with an 85-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo's Chicken Hawk. He was one of only four cowboys to post qualified rides in the 10-man eighth round.
The $482,500 Heartland ProRodeo Championships, held Oct. 3-11, is the culminating event for the inaugural Heartland ProRodeo Series, which consists of PRCA rodeos with prize money of less than $30,000. Contestants earned points in the Series all year in hopes of qualifying for the nine-day culminating event.
Top eight contestants (or teams in team roping) who advanced to Saturday's championship round
Bareback riding: Matt Bright, Silas Richards, Wes Stevenson, Dave Worsfold, Dennis Foyil, Jessy Davis, Tim Shirley, Caleb Bennett.
Tie-down roping: Fred Whitfield, Stran Smith, Cimarron Boardman, Matt Kenney, Kody Curry, Justin Maass, Doug Pharr, Scott Kormos.
Steer wrestling: Rodney Burks, Joey Bell Jr., Kyle Whitaker, Chad Van Campen, Zack Cobb, Gary Daniel, Cale Emmett, Spud Duvall.
Saddle bronc riding: Brody Bolton, Kobyn Williams, Lyle Wellling, Jake Griffin, Marty Hebb, Curtis Garton, Leland Wood, Clayton Zibell.
Team roping: Bubba Bohac/Twister Cain, Nick Sartain/Mickey Gomez, Justin Lovell/Colby Lovell, Casey Gattis/Seth Smithson, Robert Pixley/Tyler McKnight, Caleb Mitchell/Kipp Harrell, Chance Kelton/Boogie Ray, Joel Bach/Wes Goodrich.
Bull riding: Logan Allen, Bandy Murphy, Jay Morrow, Clay Lewis, Josh Barentine, Bobby Welsh, Tylor Wojciechowski, J.W. Harris.
Results from the Heartland semifinals - the eighth performance held Oct. 10, 2008
Bareback riding - 1. Matt Bright, 84 points on Carr Pro Rodeo's Real Deal, $2,596; 2. (tie) Dave Worsfold and Silas Richards, 82, $1,623 each; 4. Tim Shirley and Dennis Foyil, 81, $325 each.
Tie-down roping - 1. Kody Curry, 7.6 seconds, $2,596; 2. Scott Kormos, 8.4, $1,947; 3. Fred Whitfield, 8.5, $1,298; 4. Matt Kenney, 8.6, $649.
Steer wrestling - 1. Joey Bell Jr., 4.0 seconds, $2,596; 2. (tie) Gary Daniel and Spud Duvall, 4.2, $1,623 each; 4. Caleb Emmett, 4.7, $649.
Saddle bronc riding - 1. Marty Hebb, 79 points on Classic Pro Rodeo's Hang 'em High, $2,596; 2. Leland Wood, 78, $1,947; 3. (tie) Lyle Welling and Clayton Zibell, 77, $974 each.
Team roping - 1. Nick Sartain/Mickey Gomez, 5.1 seconds, $2,596 each; 2. Joel Bach/Wes Goodrich, 5.5, $1,947; 3. Caleb Mitchell/Kipp Harrell, 5.7, $1,298; 4. Bubba Bohac/Twister Cain, 5.8, $649.
Bull riding - 1. Bandy Murphy, 85 points on Classic Pro Rodeo's Chicken Hawk, $2,596; 2. Bobby Welsh, 83, $1,947; 3. Logan Allen, 81, $1,298; 4. J.W. Harris, 74, $649.
The PRCA, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., is the largest and oldest rodeo-sanctioning body in the world. The recognized leader in professional rodeo, the PRCA is committed to maintaining the highest standards.
The PRCA, a membership-based organization, sanctions more than 650 rodeos annually, which draws 24 million attendees. The PRCA showcases the world’s best cowboys in premier events through the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour and its subsequent Ariat Playoffs series events, Dodge Xtreme Bulls, the PRCA’s world-championship bull riding tour; and the world-renowned Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Action from PRCA-sanctioned rodeos and its premier events appears on Fox Sports, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
Each year, PRCA-sanctioned rodeos raise more than $26 million for local and national charities.
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