FOURTH ROUND FULL OF ACTION AT THE 2006 WNFR

By Darell Hartlen
Posted Monday, December 4, 2006

There was a flurry of activity in the saddle bronc riding this evening at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, held in Las Vegas, Nev., which technically isn’t over yet.
Glen O'Neill (Didsbury, Alta.) was originally slated to ride Rafter G Rodeo Co.'s Annie Oakley, but was awarded the option of a re-ride after the flank fell off.
He was then pitted against Harry Vold’s Enrique, which resulted in another option when the horse didn’t perform at full capacity.
Unfortunately for O’Neill, there weren’t enough spares ready, so he’ll take his shot tomorrow, as well as riding the horse he gets assigned for the fifth performance.
Rod Hay (Wildwood, Alta.) was 82 points on Sankey Rodeo Co.'s Barn Dance.
Hay admitted that he got into trouble early in the ride and it took just about all he had to make the eight-second whistle.
“I would have really liked to have rode that horse better,” said Hay. “He got a little rein from me right there (in the beginning), and when he gets some rein, he gets really strong.”
His right foot almost popped right out of the stirrup.
“I just tried to lift on my rein and go at him as good as I could, but that stirrup got a little shaky, it was right on the end of my foot. But, it’s Vegas and I was going to go for it and it worked out. You just don’t hold back here, you go for it. If it shoots off, it shoots off.”
Luckily, it didn’t.
He’s fourth place at this point, pending O’Neill’s re-ride tomorrow.
Jeff Willert (Belvidere, S.D.) was 80 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Order Alley.
Another South Dakotan, Bryce Miller (Buffalo, S.D.) was onboard Franklin Rodeo's Leaning Tower for 77 points.
There were three more Canadian horses out in the bareback riding this evening.
Kelly Timberman (Mills, Wyo.) was 79 points on Calgary Stampede’s 1,100 lb. brown mare, Knife Money.
Kesler Championship Rodeo's Alley Ways, the four-time Canadian and one-time world champion horse, matched up with Chad Klein (Stephenville, Tex.) for a total of 77 points.
Wes Stevenson (Kaufman, Tex.) wrangled 76 points out of Calgary Stampede's French Wake, the same horse that Cimmaron Gerke (Brighton, Colo.) won the third round of this year’s Canadian Finals Rodeo on.
Lee Graves (Calgary, Alta.) twisted his steer in 4.2 seconds, splitting sixth place three ways with Jason Miller (Lance Creek, Wyo.) and Gabe Ledoux (Kaplan, La.). They each took home $861.
Being the fourth man out tonight, Graves’ time had him splitting first place with Miller, the first man out. But, Graves knew that it was too early to celebrate. All he could do was wait and see where the chips would fall.
“When you’re 3.6 or 3.7 seconds here,” explained the reigning world champion, “then you know they have to come get you, but being 4.2 you don’t know. You just have to sit there and watch how it plays out.”
Graves has made $11,973 so far in Las Vegas, sits fifth place in the aggregate race and sixth in the world standings.
Barrel racer Lindsay Sears (Nanton, Alta.) continued her unfortunate streak of bad luck, knocking her fourth barrel in as many nights. She was 14th this evening.
Notables: Jason and Randon Adams, the brothers from Logandale, Nev. who made their first appearance at the Canadian Finals Rodeo last month, won the team roping this evening with a 4.2-second run, picking up their first paycheque of the week.
Will Lowe (Canyon, Tex.) extended his lead in the bareback event by winning his second round in two days. He’s made $48,065 in Las Vegas and $199,989 in 2006.
Bulldogger Stockton Graves (Newkirk, Okla.) won the fourth round with a 3.3-second run.
In the tie-down roping, Cody Ohl (Hico, Tex.), Cade Swor (Winnie, Tex.) and Jerome Schneeberger (Ponca City, Okla.) split first place three ways with matching 7.4-second runs. Ohl retained the lead in the world standings with $196,814.
Brandie Halls (Carpenter, Wyo.) won the barrel racing after running a 13.77 pattern.
Tomorrow night will be the third annual Tough Enough To Wear Pink night in support of breast cancer.
Only two bull riders rode their bulls tonight, twice as many as last evening. Wesley Silcox (Payson, Utah) was 90.5 points on Growney Brothers’ Golden Ghost.
Complete results and world standings are available at www.prorodeo.com.