DAYTON, Iowa – When Bo Casper sat down on the back of Outcast Fletch, the Fort Scott, Kan.,
cowboy took a deep breath and said a prayer.
“I was really nervous,” said Casper, the top-ranked bareback rider in the Great Lakes Circuit,
made up of rodeos and contestants in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and
Wisconsin. “I get nervous on every buckin’ horse I get on, but I was definitely scared. When things get
like that, I lean on my faith.”
Call it divine intervention if you want, but Casper corralled that nervous energy and matched
moves with the big, white bucking horse for 83 points Saturday night to take the second-round lead at
the Dayton Championship Rodeo.
“That horse was definitely a handful,” Casper said.
The Dayton rodeo is two go-rounds for each cowboy, so Casper rode two tough Cervi Rodeo
horses Saturday night. In the opening round, he and MultiChem Baby Doll worked together for 82
points, and the former circuit champion carries an 11-point lead in the two-ride aggregate with 165
points.
“The first one was just a real good horse,” Casper said. “I’ve been on that horse for or five times,
and he’s been to the NFR. The second one was sure a bucker, the ones guys don’t want to get on.”
Being versatile worked out for the Arkansas-raised cowboy, who has been oh-so-close to
qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo but hasn’t quite earned the trip to Las Vegas – the
top 15 contestants in each event at the end of the rodeo season qualify for ProRodeo’s championship.
“I use the circuit rodeos as a foundation to qualify for the NFR,” he said. “But if I can win the
year-end title in the circuit, that would be great.”
While Dayton is an important Great Lakes Circuit event, it’s a place that Casper calls home for a
night each Labor Day weekend.
“I love this rodeo, because there are so many fans on that hill, and they’re amazing,” he
said. “They’re loud and fun.”
Dayton Championship Rodeo
Dayton, Iowa
Sept. 3-6
Second performance
Bareback riding: FIRST ROUND: 1. Bo Casper, 82; 2. Bee Jay Scott, 76; 3. Kyle Brennecke, 75; 4. Tanner Aus, 74. SECOND ROUND: 1. Casper, 83; 2. Aus, 80; 3. Brennecke and Scott, 76. AVERAGE: 1. Casper, 165 on two; 2. Aus, 154; 3. Scott, 152; 4. Brennecke, 151.
Steer wrestling: FIRST ROUND (complete): 1. Ryan Melby and Noel Strahan, 4.6 seconds, $759; 3. Ty Standley, 4.7, $434; 4. Matt Koch and Ryan Olson, 5.5, $108. SECOND ROUND (leaders): 1. Standley, 4.6; 2. Olson, 4.9; 3. Garrett Nokes, 5.2; 4. Jeremy Wagner, 5.5. AVERAGE (leaders): 1. Standley, 9.3 seconds on two; 2. Olson, 10.4; 3. Wagner, 12.4; 4. Koch, 19.5.
Team roping: FIRST ROUND (complete): 1. Shaw Loiseau/Chad Day, 6.3 seconds, $792 each; 2. Mel Potter/Garrison Dixon, 6.8, $584; 3. Dustin Chohon/J.W. Beck and Kadin Boardman/Jason Stroup, 7.1, $397 each. SECOND ROUND (leaders): 1. Loiseau/Day, 6.1; 2. Michael Gilman/J.L. Johnson, 11.4. AVERAGE (leaders): 1. Loiseau/Day, 12.4 seconds on two; 2. Gilman/Johnson, 18.9; 3. Potter/Dixon, 6.8 on one; 4. Boardman/Stroup and Chohon/Beck, 7.1.
Saddle bronc riding: FIRST ROUND : 1. Troy Crowser, 79 points; 2. Tyrel Larsen, 78; 3. Justin Hegwer, 64. SECOND ROUND: 1. Crowser and Clayton Zibell, 79; 3. Larson, 73; 4. Cody Burkholder, 68. AVERAGE: 1. Crowser, 158 points on two rides; 2. Larson, 151; 3. Zibell, 79; 4. Burkholder, 68.
Tie-down roping: FIRST ROUND (complete): 1. Dusty Forre, 9.2 seconds, $887; 2. Wade Werkheiser, 9.7, $665; 3. Blake Ash, 9.8, $443; 4. Steve Kuntz, 9.9, $222. SECOND ROUND (leaders): 1. Rex Treeby, 9.3; 2. Nathan Ponder, 9.4; 3. Bill Huber, 9.8; 4. Shane Wesley, 10.5. AVERAGE (leaders): 1. Treeby, 19.3; 2. Huber, 22.8; 3. Kuntz, 23.0; 4. Gregg Ash, 28.4.
Barrel racing: 1. Jennilee Thompson, 16.32 seconds; 2. Briana Reynolds, 16.36; 3. Julie Erkamaa, 16.39; 4. Carina Morris, 16.53; 5. Nicki Cracknell, 16.54.
Bull riding: FIRST ROUND : 1. Will Landon Crain, 78 points; no other qualified rides. SECOND ROUND: 1. Jake Weber, 69; no other qualified rides. AVERAGE: 1. Crain, 78; 2. Weber, 69.
