Kirby moves to tie in saddle bronc riding
PRETTY PRAIRIE, Kan. -- It may be getting a little crowded at the top, but saddle bronc rider Jesse James Kirby doesn’t seem to mind.
Kirby, Dodge City, matched up with Beutler and Son’s horse Come Together, a former Wrangler National Finals Rodeo horse. Come together bucked hard and Kirby spurred in near-perfect sync to have the top ride of the evening on Friday at 80 points.
“It was a pretty nice horse to have,” said Kirby. “It’s the kind of horse everyone would like to get on.”
Kirby, the defending Prairie Circuit saddle bronc riding champion, moved into a three-way tie for first. On Thursday evening, Travis Sheets, Hyannis, Neb., and Merritt Smith, Gillette, Wyo., had matching 80-point rides. His earnings at Pretty Prairie will help his cause for a repeat circuit title, but with one more night of competition remaining, it still remains up in the air how the final outcome will be.
“It should still put me in the money,” he said.
Kirby, who was born and raised in Dodge City, competed on the rodeo teams at Vernon College and Tarleton State University, both in Texas, before returning to his hometown.
For the first two nights of competition at Pretty Prairie, only one rider was able to make the eight-second whistle both nights. Friday night was no different, but it did result in a leader board change. Austin Ambrose, Fletcher, Okla., put together an 83-point ride aboard Ryder Mania to take the lead in the bull riding.
“That bull usually goes to the right, and when he left, it kinda surprised me,“ he said of his Friday night performance. But he adjusted well to each turn to impress the judges and the Pretty Prairie crowd.
Ambrose, who had been injured earlier in the season, is now ranked second in the Prairie Circuit, but the last two nights may put him atop of those standings. On the previous night, Ambrose put together a 93-point ride in Manhattan, making him the leader of two rodeos in progress. He returns to action in Hardtner on Saturday.
Jeremy Mouton , Scott, La., was the top bareback rider for the evening, posting 82 points aboard Red Eye. That puts him into a tie for second overall. Matt Crumpler, Stephenville, Texas, is currently winning with 83.
Rachelle Holt, Gruver, Texas, had the fastest run for the evening in the barrel racing with a 17.32 clocking. That puts her second overall behind Diane Martin of Ulysses.
While the roughstock events and the barrel racing are just done in one round, the tie-down roping, steer wrestling and team roping will consist of two go-rounds.
After finishing out of the money in round one, 12-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Charles Pogue, Ringling, Okla., and partner Jett Hillman, Jones, Okla., put together a 5.8 second run on Friday, giving them almost a two-second lead over their closest competitor in round two.
Binger, Okla., cowboy Colby Dorsey had an outstanding night in the tie-down roping with an 8.8 run to overtake Dustin Raupe, Douglass, who had been leading with a run of 10.2.
Ryan Swayze, Freedom, Okla., had the quickest run of the night in the steer wresling, downing his steer in 4.7. That puts him in second place in the second go-round. Kyle Irwin, Altus, Okla., leads the round with a 4.4 clocking.
