HARRISBURG, PA. – The First Frontier Circuit Finals got underway Jan. 14, in the Pennsylvania Farm Show Arena, with round one to a small but enthusiastic crowd.
The Circuit Finals, featuring stock from Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, N.J. and Painted Pony Rodeo, in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., brought the top finishers of the 2009 rodeo season in the northeast corner of the country together to crown champions for the year.
In round one Thursday night, in an unseasonably warm Harrisburg, brought some solid rides, ugly buck-offs and times set that the other competitors will be chasing all weekend long.
The night kicked off with bareback riders where seven of the eight riders put scores in the books. The entire event kicked off with Luis Escudero, of Vado, N.M., taking on Lady Kiport (Painted Pony) for 71 points. Ryan Stouffer, of Fredericksburg, Pa., couldn’t keep the momentum going, bucking off Idiot (Painted Pony), but the next six rider covered their broncs.
Doug Sanders, of Pilesgrove, N.J., quickly matched Escudero’s score on Kicking Bird (All American). Ronald Browning of Statesville, N.C. put up 68 on the always electric Casper (Cowtown), followed by Stefano Baldon, who was out of shape on Enterprise (All American), and put up a 58 pointer.
Terry Lee Owens, of Lexington, N.C., changed the leader board with a 73 pointer on Cookie Crisp (Painted Pony), and no one would catch him the rest of the round. Clovis Crane, who set a PRCA record last year winning the season on bulls, bareback and saddle bronc, did his best, but could only pull 69 points on Lady Luck (Cowtown). JC Smith closed out the round with 65 on Elton (Painted Pony), out of shape for about half the ride.
In steer wrestling, the steers were definitely winning for the majority of the round, as only five of 12 bulldoggers put times in the books. Local Casey Martin, of nearby Gettysburg, Pa., opened the times up with 6.2 seconds. The next bulldogger out, Tom Farrelly of Cayuga, N.Y, bumped Martin right off the leader board, with a time of 5.1 seconds.
Times kept getting shorter, as Kirk Trumpower of Mercersburg, Pa. was 4.5 seconds, and all-around powerhouse Darren Morgan, of Fort Edward, N.Y. had 4.1. The last man out of the chutes, Joe Bell, Sr., of Alloway, N.J., blew them all away with a time of 3.8 seconds. Bell tied up the season titles at both the Painted Pony and Cowtown this year, and definitely passed his skills along to his son, Joe Bell, Jr., who was a five time NFR qualifier.
Team roping was next, and the times were all over the board, as some teams needed their third loop to get a qualified time. The second team out, David Ballantyne of Elverson, Pa. and Dana Solomon of Centerville, Mass., had a good time of 10.1, but a one-leg catch tacked on five more seconds. They finished fifth in the round.
The last two teams out – Carmine Nastri of Ballston Spa, N.Y. and Lewis Rimes Jr. of York Springs, Pa. and the team of Darren Morgan and Casey Cox, both of Fort Edward, N.Y. – tied for the lead spot with matching 7.6 second times. They were followed in 3rd by Charlie Goerlach of Ballston Spa, N.Y. and Colby Wright of Odum, Ga., with an 8.7 second time. The 4th place slot was a 14.0 second time from Jimmy Healy Jr. of Lincoln University, Pa. and Jon Cordisio of Woodstown, N.J. Three other qualified times in the 19 to 22 second range also went up, as teams had to rely on that third loop.
After his fourth place in the bareback, Clovis Crane came looking for more in Saddle Bronc, and found it, winning the round with a 76 pointer on Lava Mountain (Painted Pony). David Rubel, of Grantville, Pa. followed in second, with 71 points on Snowtail (All American). Chad Alesky of Monroeton, Pa., made it to the 8-second mark exactly on Jim Bob (Painted Pony), before jumping off the horse and onto the fence, bringing cheers from the crowd. His 66-pointer put hi m third in the round. Fourth was Matthew Bartsch, of Warwick Md., who took Warbird (Cowtown) for 64 points. Joseph Phillips of Mohnton, Pa. scored 40 points on Dixie Chick (Painted Pony) with a re-ride option but, maybe with eyes to the average instead, declined and held onto his 40-pointer.
In tie down roping, the round went to Carmine Nastri, of Balston Spa, N.Y., who, after tying for the win in team roping, got the job done in 10.3 seconds. He was followed by Shawn Quinn, of Schuylerville, N.Y. at 11.9 seconds. A cluster of times came with Troy Reynolds of Hudson Falls. N.Y. at 12.2; Chris Brennan of Ashburnham, Mass at 12.8 after he needed two attempts to tie his calf; 14.4 seconds for Dustin Navarro of Quincy, Mass.; and 14.6 for Erik Hartenstein of Calverton, N.Y., who bobbled on the tie.
Then it was time for the ladies to take over the arena, as the barrel racing got underway. In the 12 trips around the cloverleaf, only one barrel came down all night, bumping the time of Jody Stockton, of Screven, Ga., to 20.6 seconds. Otherwise, Stockton would have been right in the mix with all of the other times, as everyone rode in under 16 seconds.
Top honors of the night, however, went to Eileen Hanna of Oxford, Pa. who, despite riding with a cracked rib, broke the 15-second mark, finishing at 14.82 seconds. She was followed by Kristine Roy, of Hagaman, N.Y. at the 15.08 second mark.
Third in the round was Jennifer Romriell of Broadalbin, N.Y., at 15.18, followed by Nicki Stoltzfus of McClure, Pa. at 15.21 and Jayme Edwards of Felton, Pa., who closed out the night’s barrel racing with a time of 15. 25.
As always the most popular is saved for last, and the circuit’s 12 hottest riding bull riders did their best to give the crowd its money’s worth. Some of the bulls, however, weren’t quite feeling the same way, as several chose to come to a dead stop at some point in their rides. That resulted in a run on re-ride bulls, some of which paid off and some didn’t.
The round went to JR DeMarsh Jr., of Hudson Falls, N.Y., who rode Sonny’s Money (Painted Pony) for a solid 80 points. John Leinaweaver, of Gettysburg, Pa., was right behind him with 79 points on Oscar (Cowtown).
Jason Power of Franklinville, N.J., who won the season title at Cowtown Rodeo, put up 76 points on Grumpy (Cowtown) for 3rd in the round. Frank Laughlin of Belleplain, N.J., was right behind him in 4th with 75 points on Top Gun (Cowtown). Dustin Shepard, of Lake Luzerne N.Y., who calls the Painted Pony Rodeo home, finished 5th in the round with 73 points on Fear Factor (Cowtown).
Scott Sellers, of Pequea, Pa., got a 69 pointer with a re-ride option when Golden Egg (Painted Pony) stopped for two seconds in the middle of his ride. Because Sellers was riding to win it, took the score off the board and ended up two points lower after his re-ride. Rick Pinheiro of Federalsburg, Md., got a re-ride as well, after his bull, Undertaker (Painted Pony) did the same thing, leaving Pinheiro with a 42 pointer. Pinheiro’s re-ride didn’t turn out as well, however, when he was bucked off Powerline (Painted Pony).
Round two takes place 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15 in the large arena at the Pennsylvania Farm Show grounds, with the First Frontier Circuit Finals wrapping up Saturday, Jan. 16 at 5 p.m.
