Wrangler NFR berth no guarantee of success in Dodge Mountain States Circuit Finals
DENVER -- Having earned a berth in the 50th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was no guarantee of success at the Nov. 21-22 Dodge Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco
Crusher Rental PRCA World Standings leader Wade Sumpter would be the first to testify to that. The Fowler, Colo. cowboy finished a distant third in the steer wrestling compeitition at the National Western Events arena with a three-head average time of 25.3 seconds. Kyle Hughes of Olney Springs, Colo., won the first two rounds and the average with a time of 13.8 seconds. Kyle Callaway of Gillette, Wyo., was second in 19.9 seconds
Wrangler NFR team roping qualifier Garrett Tonozzi, of Fruita, Colo., paired with past WNFR qualifier Jhett Johnson and came up empty. No money, no title. Tonozzi and Johnson had a time of 30.2 seconds on their first two head and failed to produce a time in the third round. Ty Blasingame of Olney Springs, Colo., and J.W. Borrego of Pueblo West, Colo., won the three head average with a time of 15.6 seconds, beating Adam Worthen of Black Forest, Colo., and C.L. Morgan of Avondale, Colo., by 1.6 seconds.
In the bull riding, neither of the competition's two WNFR qualifiers made it to the victory stand. Bobby Welsh of Gillette, Wyo., won the third round and finished third overall while Seth Glause won the first round but was bucked off before the eight-second whistle in his other two tries. Clayton Savage of Cheyenne, Wyo., placed in all three rounds to easily win the three-head average with 242 points, 13 better than runner-up Cameron Castleberry of Gillette, Wyo.
The one exception to this discouraging weekend of preparation for competing on the big stage in Las Vegas was to come in the bareback riding. Cimmaron Gerke, of Brighton, Colo., had 245 points on three head to win the championship buckle and he was followed by fellow Wrangler NFR qualifier Tim Shirley with 239 points. Past WNFR qualifier Heath Ford was fourth (233), just a point behind Casey Colletti.
The other champions at the National Western Events arena were: saddle bronc rider Jake Griffin of Powell, Wyo. (239 points on three head), tie-down roper Wes Borders of Arriba, Colo. (28.0 seconds on three head) and barrel racer Shali Lord of Lamar, Colo. (51.16 seconds on three runs).
It left Colorado with a 5-titles-to-2 edge for bragging rights with its Mountain States Circuit partner Wyoming.
Brazile poised to become career earnings record holder in Las Vegas
Trevor Brazile seems to have a knack for coming up with something special for his closing act at the Thomas & Mack Center each year.
A year ago it was the first Triple Crown in 24 years, winning gold buckles in the steer roping, tie-down roping and all-around.
As the only competitor qualified in more than one event for this year's 50th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Brazile is almost certain to become the fourth man to win six or more all-around gold buckles, but he is also in position to make another sort of history Dec. 4-13 in Las Vegas.
He needs $50,045 to surpass Joe Beaver as the ProRodeo career earnings leader and $121,560 to become the sport's first $3 million cowboy.
A year ago he took home $139,704, competing in the tie-down roping and team roping.
And Brazile is not the only Wrangler NFR competitor on the verge of reaching a monetary milestone. Team roper Speed Williams is $30,053 away from becoming the 15th PRCA contestant to reach $2 million in career earnings and his fellow header Jake Barnes is within $80,798.
* There was some last minute shifting in the team roping pairs for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the biggest of which involved the breakup of the Travis Tryan/Walt Woodard team. Tryan, second in the Crusher Rental PRCA World Standings for headers, will compete in Las Vegas with Cory Petska while Woodard will team with Jake Stanley.
Header Luke Brown, the first resident of South Carolina to qualify for the Wrangler NFR since steer wrestler Charles Thompson in 1977, will rope with Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev. Corkill had great success with Chad Masters for much of the season before the dramatic change of partners that affected five of the top teams in late summer. Corkill worked with Brandon Beers over the last weeks of the season, but Beers did not qualify for Las Vegas. Brown's partner Monty Joe Petska also failed to make the top 15 in the heeler standings, bringing Brown and Corkill together out of simple necessity.
"I don't know all the background to what happened," Stanley said. "I can just tell you that I'm really happy with the way it turned out for me … to go to my first National Finals with the defending world champion heeler is a great thing. I couldn't be happier."
* I'll take geography for $500, Alex: If current leader Chance Smart ends up winning the gold buckle, he will be the first native of Mississippi to win the bull riding world championship. Likewise, if Wade Sumpter holds on to his lead in the steer wrestling he will become the first Colorado resident to win that world championship….Fellow Coloradan Josh Peek is seeking to become the first man from his state to win the tie-down roping world championship since Dave Brock in 1978 while also ending Texas' 14-year hold on that event. The last non-Texan to win the gold buckle in tie-down roping was Herbert Theriot of Wiggins, Miss., in 1994. … Bareback rider Steven Dent is on track to become the first Nebraska world champion in his event since Jim Houston in 1964 and 1965.
Deke Latham Memorial Rodeo goes on hiatus
The Deke Latham Memorial Rodeo in Kaycee, Wyo., five times nominated as the PRCA Small Rodeo of the Year, is shutting down, at least for the short term.
"We've been struggling the last four or five years," Joyce Reculusa, Latham's mother, told the Casper (Wyo.) Tribune. "With the amount of work we put into putting the rodeo together and the number of cowboys we are getting here, it just didn't make sense to keep it going."
It was an especially difficult decision for Reculusa because "The Deke," as it is often called, was created to honor her son less than a year after he was killed in an automobile accident at age 21 and to keep his memory alive.
Deke Latham was the all-around and bull riding champion at the 1986 College National Finals Rodeo while finishing second in the saddle bronc riding, competing for Panhandle State University of Goodwell, Okla.
"(The rodeo) was a neat way to keep Deke's memory going," said Craig Latham, Deke's younger brother and the coach at Panhandle State, "but I realize how hard it is to put on a ProRodeo for two days. I really liked coming home for it. I know it is going to be hard not to have one."
Nothing has been decided yet, but there is a chance that there may be a one-day , bronc-riding-only event which will bear Deke's name.
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
Dec. 4 2008 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Las Vegas, Nev., begins
Jan. 1 Dodge Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo, Waco, Texas, begins
Jan. 2 Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo, Odessa, Texas., begins
Jan. 2 Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo, Okeechobee, Fla. begins
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