Game of chance turns into Smart’s money at X-Bulls Finale
After a rocky stretch in the middle of the season that had Chance Smart thinking about curtailing his 2009 schedule, he got just the surge of confidence he needed Oct. 24 in the Dodge Xtreme Bulls Finale in Indianapolis.
Smart has led the world standings since February, but lately hasn’t been quite as dominant as he had been. His competitors were closing the gap and some wondered if he might be losing momentum.
If he was, he turned it around in Indy. He rode two bulls for a combined score of 176 points and took home $15,101 to win the Indianapolis Dodge Xtreme Bulls event and the year-end title for the tour in front of a packed Pepsi Coliseum for a special FFA National Convention performance.
In the first round he posted a solid 85.5 score on Frontier Rodeo’s Kansas Stones. He looked like the Chance of February – sticky and confident. Then, in the second round he came off a bull he probably shouldn’t have.
“He slammed me hard,” Smart said. “I’ve never been unable to get to my feet and it startled me. I was seeing three bucking chutes when I got up. It just knocked me silly. I started getting sick to my stomach before I got on the final round bull, but I just got to praying and knocking that stuff away.”
The Justin SportsMedicine Team diagnosed him with a mild concussion.
More frightening, perhaps, was the fact that he would miss the final round by one place. But then an interesting twist of fate came about. Mike Moore, the man who occupied the last spot with an 86, was thrown into the chutes after his ride and tore his MCL and possibly his ACL.
He couldn’t grip with his leg and had to doctor-release from the short round, opening the door for Smart.
“I didn’t have the short round made,” Smart said. “I was the first guy on the list that didn’t have it made. Three times this year it’s been like that and somebody always doctor-releases out, but for some reason every single time I’ve been tied with somebody. To break the tie, they go to the back judge. All three times, the back judge found favor in the other guy and I didn’t make it.
“It happened to me in Bremerton and Joe Meling went in and won the event. So I was like, thank you God, I finally got in. He’s an on-time God. I got in and drew a great bull. I saw the bull on the list and I was really excited because I knew he was a good bull. I was nervous to have him. The thoughts that go through your head when you’re in the chute, knowing if you ride this bull you can win the event and the Xtreme Bulls title.”
The bull was Silverado’s Alabama. Smart had watched his good friend J.W. Harris ride the bull to a 92-point score in Omaha at the Ariat Playoffs just two weeks ago, so he knew the potential for greatness the bull held.
But the pressure was mounting. In a rank pen of bulls, no one rode. Smart was the last cowboy to ride. With just one ride he could wrap up the event title, year-end title and increase his lead in the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings.
“That bull was supposed to go right, but he didn’t,” Smart said of Alabama. “He jumped out there and went left. When it clicks it clicks and no one knows when it’s gonna click. The whole time I was just thinking, OK, it’s do-or-die time. If it’s ever time to cut the mustard it’s time to do it now.”
He did it to the tune of 90.5 points. And the icing on the cake? It was his father, Keith’s, birthday and as a birthday gift, Chance brought him to Indianapolis.
“He was here with me, I brought him up here (from Mississippi) for his birthday present and it was an honor for him to be here, to pull my bull rope and spot me on my last bull,” Smart said. “He got me in to bull riding when I was little.”
Keylon dominant in Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo
Jared Keylon’s honeymoon just got an upgrade.
The Fort Scott, Kan., bareback rider, just two weeks removed from taking his wedding vows, dominated the field at the Dodge Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo Oct. 23-25 in Kansas City to earn his biggest paycheck of the ProRodeo season.
Keylon was the model of consistency at the American Royal-sponsored event in Kemper Arena, winning the second, third and fourth rounds of the bareback riding on Beutler & Son stock, scoring 85 points each time.
He had a six point lead on Dustin Murray of Wellston, Okla., in the average standings entering the fourth round and wrapped up the title with his 85-pointer on Beutler & Son’s Star Dust. He totaled 331 points on four head.
It was the 11th PRCA title he has won or shared this year, and it allowed him to sweep both the regular season and Circuit Final championships while swelling his bank account by $5,675.
“For me, if all I ever got riding bucking horses was the respect of the riders, then I’d be pretty tickled.” Keylon told the Kansas City Star. “I’m usually satisfied if I feel like I rode well. Yeah, I was a little over-satisfied today.
“Bareback riding is always a mental deal. I want to be in the best shape I can, but it’s such a mental game that you have to be on top of it if you want to do well. I’ve had a good season, and I’ve been healthy all year, which is a big deal.”
Linderman Award candidate Trell Etbauer won the Prairie Circuit all-around title for the third time in four years. The other average winners in Kansas City were bull riders Noah Ray Schmidt of Kechi, Kan., and Jesse Jackson of Weatherford, Okla.; tie-down roper Jeff Miller of Blue Mound, Kan.; saddle bronc rider Cort Scheer of Elsmere, Neb.; team ropers Justin Turner of Vinita, Okla. and Darrel Radacy of Lookebe, Okla.; steer wrestler Ronnie Fields of Oklahoma City and barrel racer Mary Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla.
Allen finds top form in Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo
This hasn’t been one of Rusty Allen’s better seasons and his performance in the Oct. 23-25 Dodge Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo in Ogden, Utah, may prove to be just the lift he needs to get back on track.
Allen, just 14th in the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings, won two of three rounds in the saddle bronc riding and finished second in the other to run away with the average title in the Golden Spike Events Center.
His 251 points on three head was 18 points better than runner-up Levi Berry and earned him $4,649.
All of this was accomplished against a field that included Cody Wright, the leader in the Crusher Rentals World Standings, and Anthony Bello who is fourth in the world standings. Allen was a distant third behind those two in the Wilderness Circuit standings during the regular season.
Reigning Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo champion Matt Shiozawa of Chubbuck, Idaho assured himself of a return trip to Pocatello next April by edging fellow Idahoan Nate Baldwin in the tie-down roping by a tenth of a second. Shiozawa had a three-head time of 24.0 seconds.
Other event winners at the Wilderness Circuit Finals were bareback rider Josi Young of Kimberly, Idado; steer wrestler Clay Lloyd of Dingle, Idaho; team ropers Brian Winn of Annabella, Utah and Brian Roundy of Richfield, Utah; barrel racer Terri Wood Gates of West Jordan, Utah; and bull rider Shawn Proctor of Tooele, Utah.
Dallas saddle bronc riding field gets shakeup
Eight-time Canadian champion Rod Hay is one of three saddle bronc riders qualified for the Nov. 7-9 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship in Dallas who have withdrawn in order to compete at the Canadian Finals Rodeo that same weekend.
Hay, Chet Johnson and Cody Taton are being replaced in the field at the American Airlines Center – the last event of 2008 before the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – by Bobby Griswold, Jesse Bail and Jess Martin.
For Hay, a resident of Wildwood, Alberta, it was a matter of preference and national pride. The Canadian Finals is his favorite rodeo, and only once has he bypassed it to appear in a competing rodeo. This is his 18th CFR.
Johnson and Taton both have already reached the limit of 70 PRCA rodeos that can be counted toward the Crusher Rentals PRCA World Standings and could not help their position by competing in Dallas. They opted for the $1.196 million Canadian Finals over the $550,000 ProRodeo Tour Championships.
It was the same for Donalda, Alberta, steer wrestler Curtis Cassidy. With no way to help his standing at Dallas, Cassidy also opted for his national championship rodeo and the bigger purse at Edmonton, Alberta.
Two Canadian champions went the other way. Marty Becker, of Edmonton, is competing in Dallas to give himself a chance to qualify for the Wrangler NFR in team roping. He is 17th in the world among heelers, a little more than $2,000 out of the 15th and final spot at Las Vegas. Barrel racer Lindsay Sears, of Nanton, Alberta, is leading the world standings and opted for Dallas to put herself in the strongest position to win her first world championship this December.
Tickets on sale for NFSR
Tickets for the 50th National Finals Steer Roping, which will be held Nov. 14-15 in Hobbs, N.M., are currently on sale. Call 800.952.2210 or visit www.nationalfinalssteerroping.com for tickets and information. Tickets are $65 for VIP seating, which includes access to the hospitality room before and after the event, $20 for lower-level reserved seating and $15 for upper-level seating. General admission tickets are $10. The VIP tickets give pass holders the opportunity to meet the contestants, enjoy outstanding food and hear the Dennis Snyder Band in one of the Lea County Event Center Banquet rooms.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Nov. 1 A Tribute to Chris LeDoux (Casper, Wyo.)
Next Up
Nov. 7 Adirondack Stampede Charity (Glenn Falls, N.Y.) begins
Nov. 7 2008 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Championship, Ariat Playoffs, Dallas round begins
Nov. 8 2009 Heartland ProRodeo Series: Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo (Brawley, Calif.) begins
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