Cannon sets arena record with 92-point ride in RodeoHouston Shootout
HOUSTON - Clint Cannon has been saying for months that this is going to be his breakthrough year, and now it's hard for anybody to argue the point.
An arena record 92-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo's Big Tex on March 21 brought him the bareback riding title at RodeoHouston, that first big win "that has been a long time coming."
Cannon, of Waller, Texas, led the 10-man field in the Championship Round earlier in the day with a 90.5-point ride on Multi-Chem Wiseguy, another of the Classic Pro Rodeo string, and then came back to break the record of 91.5 points set last year by Steven Dent and earn $50,000 in the Championship Shootout Round.
With his earnings from the Super Series Rounds, Cannon left Reliant Stadium with checks for $59,250, breaking Josh Peek's year-old PRCA record for most money won in a regular-season rodeo and coming within $95 of his own best single-season total ($59,345 in 2007).
"This is my hometown rodeo," Cannon said. "I was born within a mile of this stadium, at Texas Women's Hospital. It's awesome just to come here. Every year I look forward to the Houston rodeo. When they announced me as a hometown boy from Waller, Texas, and I heard the crowd get so loud, I got goosebumps sitting up on top of that bucking horse.
"I was focused on what I had to do, but it took a little bit of the fear of failure out and I had to prove to everybody what I could do. It excited me so much. And setting an arena record was unbelievable. I didn't even realize what I had done when I got off the horse, and then I saw (traveling partner) Heath (Ford) running toward me and I knew, 'This is it.'"
There was special reason for Cannon to rejoice in this moment, given that he underwent a 5 1/2-hour surgical reconstruction of his shoulder last year -- torn labrum, torn rotator cuff, the full deal -- and was out of action for eight months.
He had to wait three months before he could start training and then went through five months of physical therapy, going to the house of Justin SportsMedicine physical therapist Dale Kiecke daily for rigorous workouts to regain strength and get back to doing what he loves.
"He was absolutely dedicated," Kiecke said. "He pushed himself really hard."
And Cannon was not the only local kid to make good at Reliant Stadium.
Bull rider Douglas Duncan, from nearby Alvin, Texas, delighted a contingent of 30-40 family and friends in the crowd -- including his dad Mike, who volunteers at the rodeo in the Director's Club -- by claiming the $50,000 top prize and taking over first place in the PRCA World Standings. He scored 89 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo's Sam T's Multi-Chem, the only successful ride in the Shootout Round.
"My family brought me here as a baby," Duncan said, "and I've been here every year since. To win here in my first try as a competitor is amazing."
Curtis Cassidy came within a tenth of a second of the arena record in winning the steer wrestling Shootout Round with a time of 3.3 seconds on his family's legendary horse Willy. He followed Dean Gorsuch into the arena just after the 2006 world champion had posted a 3.6-second time, the best of the rodeo to that point.
It gives Cassidy the lead in the PRCA World Standings and bragging rights in the truck for a while with travel partner Luke Branquinho, who won the 2008 world championship, riding Willy.
"I've been riding that horse since I was about 15 years old, back in 1993 or 1994," Cassidy said. "I won a couple of amateur titles on him when I was a teenager, and he's still a great horse. I don't know what more any of us can say about him."
Kelsey Parchman and Richard Durham both filed entries for RodeoHouston without partners, and Procom put them together. Worked out OK.
They got through the Championship Round with the second-best time of 5.3 seconds and then put together a workmanlike run of 7.3 seconds in the Shootout Round to claim the $50,000 check.
"We've roped together in a couple of jackpots, but this was our first rodeo," Durham said.
And apparently their last. As part of a series of upcoming changes among team roping pairs, Parchman is about to enter a partnership with Monty Joe Petska. Durham? He doesn't know who he will be roping with at his next rodeo. The win at RodeoHouston should get somebody's attention.
Stephenville, Texas, cowboy Ryan Watkins was an equally surprising winner, capturing the tie-down roping with a time of 11.4 seconds in the Shootout Round, well ahead of runner-up Brad Goodrich (19.3 seconds). The other two Shootout Round contestants, Nate Baldwin and Cade Swor did not complete their runs.
Watkins' money total of $52,500 in Houston was nearly $20,000 better than his earnings for all of 2008, the best of his six seasons in the PRCA.
"There really wasn't that much pressure (in the Shootout Round)," Watkins said. "I just knew I needed not to break the barrier. If I could do that and get the calf tied down, I'd be OK. I roped the same calf in the semifinals, and I didn't know if I could tie him real fast if I had to….but it didn't come to that."
Saddle bronc rider Bryce Miller emerged with the win in the closest competition of the Shootout Round. His 86.5 point ride on Big Bend Rodeo's Spring Planting edged Jesse Kruse by one point and Chet Johnson by 1.5 points. With total earnings of $53,500, Miller is virtually assured of his second consecutive trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and his fifth overall.
Mary Burger, of Pauls Valley, Okla., won the barrel racing with a time of 15.17 seconds.
Shootout Round
Bareback riding: 1. Clint Cannon, 92 points on Classic Pro Rodeo's Big Tex, $50,000; 2. Heath Ford, 86.5, $14,000; 3. Will Lowe, 85, $5,000; 4. Kelly Timberman, 83, $2,500.
Steer wrestling: 1. Curtis Cassidy, 3.3 seconds, $50,000; 2. Dean Gorsuch, 3.6, $14,000; 3. Stockton Graves, 13.1, $5,000; 4. Luke Branquinho, 13.6, $2,500.
Team roping: 1. Kelsey Parchman/Richard Durham, 7.3 seconds, $50,000 each; 2. Keven Daniel/Martin Lucero, 20.0, $14,000; 3. (tie) Travis Tryan/Cesar de la Cruz and Chance Kelton/Rich Skelton, NT, $3,750 each.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Bryce Miller, 86.5 points on Big Bend Rodeo's Spring Planting, $50,000; 2. Jesse Kruse, 85.5, $14,000; 3. Chet Johnson, 85, $5,000; 4. Wade Sundell, 80.5, $2,500.
Tie-down roping: 1. Ryan Watkins, 11.4 seconds, $50,000; 2. Brad Goodrich, 19.3, $14,000; 3. (tie) Nate Baldwin and Cade Swor, NT, $3,750 each.
Barrel racing: 1. Mary Burger, 15.17 seconds, $50,000; 2. Sheena Robbins, 15.42, $14,000; 3. Jill Moody, 15.52, $5,000; 4. Lindsay Sears, 20.39, $2,500.
Bull riding: 1. Douglas Duncan, 89 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo's Sam T's Multi-Chem, $50,000; 2. (tie) J.W. Harris, Cory Melton and Marcus Michaelis, NS, $7,167 each
Schumacher bounces back with big win at Houston Xtreme Bulls Tour stop
HOUSTON - B.J. Schumacher didn't take long to bounce back from the disappointment of watching the March 21 Shootout Round in RodeoHouston from the sidelines.
Just 24 hours later, the 2006 World Champion was out on the dirt of Reliant Stadium overcoming an all-star cast of 26 competitors to claim the Houston Xtreme Bulls Tour stop, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
After an opening round 90-point ride put him in first place, the 26-year-old Schumacher was the last to ride in the short round, atop the Cervi & Guidry bull Hot Diggity Damn. Schumacher held on for eight seconds and earned a score of 92 points, leaving Houston with $24,446.
He rode that same bull to become the 2008 RodeoHouston Super Series Champion and as announcer Boyd Polhamus was to note, “He [Schumacher] has to like this bull in this building.”
After getting bucked off in the RodeoHouston BP Super Series Semifinal II last week, Schumacher was given a chance to come back and try once more in the Wild Card Round for a title before he left Houston, but he was bucked off again.
“My last rides (in the BP Super Series) weren’t good,” he said. “They were good bulls; I just messed them up, but maybe it’s a good thing I did, because it really motivated me to do well today. I got my try back (in the Xtreme Bulls).”
Jesse Bail of Camp Crook, S.D. was second with 173.5 points on two head and earned $18,697. Douglas Duncan, from nearby Alvin, was the only other contestant to complete both rides (for 165.5 points), and he added $9,668 to the $55,000 he won as champion of RodeoHouston. Duncan, the 2008 PRCA Bull Riding Rookie of the Year, now leads the world standings with $108,689 and the Xtreme Bull Tour standings with $32,439.
Injuries sideline trip of top PRCA cowboys
Bull rider Stormy Wing, who was the only competitor to emerge from the RodeoHouston Super Series competition with maximum earnings of $10,000, suffered a ruptured biceps in his left arm in the semifinals and will be meeting this week with Dr. Tandy Freeman in Dallas to discuss surgery. The Dalhart, Texas, cowboy may miss up to six months of competition.
Nebraskan Todd Suhn, the leader in the PRCA Steer Wrestling World Standings, suffered a fractured left wrist in the semifinals at Houston and is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks.
Veteran bull rider Mike Moore is scheduled to undergo hip surgery on March 25 in Houston, with the operation to be performed by Dr. Mark Adickes, a former offensive lineman in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins.
Steer wrestling filling up the highlight reel at Rodeo Austin
The steer wrestling final is shaping up as something special at Rodeo Austin (Texas), the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Gold Rodeo presented by Justin Boots.
With five more days before the field is set for the big March 28 finale, there have been 13 cowboys with sub-4.0-second times.
Matt Reeves' lightning-fast 3.2-second run during slack on March 22 leads the way, but Dane Hanna has a 3.4-second run on the books and Dean Gorsuch a 3.5.
JoJo LeMond/Randon Adams have the fastest team-roping time thus far (3.9 seconds), and Houston Hutto has the quickest run among tie-down ropers (7.4 seconds).
The high marks in the roughstock competition through the first week of the rodeo, one of the 20 richest PRCA events, belong to bull riders Souli Shanklin and Luke Haught (88 points), bareback rider Steven Peebles (86) and saddle bronc rider Bradley Harter (86).
Upcoming PRCA Rodeos
March 23 Rodeo Austin (Texas), Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Gold Rodeo presented by Justin Boots, continues through March 28
March 26 Laughlin River Stampede, Lauglin, Nev., begins
March 26 Young County Rodeo, Graham, Texas, begins
March 26 Nacogdoches Pro Rodeo, Nacogdoches, Texas, begins
March 27 Walker County Fair Association Rodeo, Huntsville, Texas, begins
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