Harrisburg, Pa. – The First Frontier Circuit Finals, in the Farm Show Arena here, took another step toward naming new champions as Friday night brought a rowdy crowd to cheer on the riders in all seven evens.
The riders won more than they lost, with some impressive times and scores being put up on the board for the round.
In bareback, Sylvain Meunier, of Quebec, Canada looked poised to win the round when he put a 72 point ride on the board. Luis Escudero, of El Paso, Tx, stood in second with a 69, but decided to go for the win, taking the points off to accept his reride option.
The gamble paid off, as Escudero took a wild ride and was rewarded with a 73 pointer from the judges.
Also posting scores were Jason Martin, Pittsgrove, NJ, who put up 67 points in his effort to hold onto the point lead for the season.
Bulldogger Kirk Trumpower, of Clear Spring, Md., set the crowd on fire when he threw his steer in 3.9 seconds. The score was enough to take the round, with several other impressive times not far behind him. Taking second was the 4.6 second time put up by Wayne Van, Mannington, NJ, followed by 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 second times by Greg Bennett (Lake Luzerne, NY), Heath Kroll (Pedricktown, NJ), and Tyler Miller (McClure, Pa.) who won the first round on Thursday .
Steer wrestlers also posting times in Friday’s round were Joe Bell Sr. (6.1s); Chad Stoltzfus (6.2 sec), Wayne Stoltzfus (6.6 secs); Bill Pfeifer (9.6 secs); Junior Allo (9.6 secs); and David Robinson (13.1 secs).
In team roping, four teams fell victim to time penalties, either for one-leg catches or barrier infractions.
Darren Morgan (Fort Edward, NY) and Mike Charles (Auburn, Pa.) had the fastest clean run with a 6.4 second time.
Second went to Chuck Smith (Townsend, Del.) and Joe Williams (Green Lane, Pa.) with a 6.5 second time and Todd Baldwin (Joppa, Md.) and Jon Cordisio (Woodstown, NJ) put up a clean run with a 7.6 second time to take third in the round. Bucky Nastri and J. Cook matched the actual fastest time of 6.4 seconds, but the official time was 11.4 seconds, which included a five second penalty.
David Rubel of Grantville, Pa. took the round in saddle bronc with a 69 point ride. Tim Sloan, Whitehall, MT, who won the first round n Thursday, took second with 68 points. Third went to Larry Johnson, of Gettysburg, Pa. with a 67. Dennis Rossignol, Catonsville, Md., finished fourth with 59 points.
Broken barriers wiped out several good times in tie down roping, but Chris Brennan of Ashburnham, Mass, made a clean 9.6 second run to take the round. Zach Kilgus, Mt Morris, Pa., finished second with 11.0 seconds in his effort to win two rounds in a row. Chuck Smith, Townsend, Del., put up an 11.6 second time, followed by Cory Clement with 11.8. J.R. Myers posted a 14.4 second finish, despite taking a tumble in the round.
Bull riders managed to cover only 3 of ten bulls, with Brandon Manning, of Birdsboro, Pa., taking the round with a 75. Tyler Miller managed to work both end of the arena, with a 67 point ride, to follow up his solid bulldogging time earlier in the night. Third on bulls went to Randy Ridgely, of Wyoming, Del., who scored a 65 pointer and declined the reride option.
Round three wraps up the First Frontier circuit finals in the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg on Saturday evening.
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