SAN ANTONIO - The first group of contestants at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo got off to a rousing start on Friday night.
This year’s rodeo features a new bracketed format where contestants get paid every night. Leading off the competition was Tilden Hooper, a bareback rider from Carthage, Texas. Hooper is coming off of his first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and is hoping to make the trip back to Las Vegas next December for Rodeo’s championship event.
He rode the Beutler and Son horse named Regulator for 86 points to win the bareback riding. It was worth $2,074. Scores were tight as the next three men all received 83-point markings. Clint Cannon, from Waller, Texas, Heath Ford, from Greeley, Colo., and Wyatt Hancock from Taylor, Ariz., each received $1,037.
Team roping saw two men from Georgia set the pace and a new AT&T Center record on their way to the first-place check of $2,074. Kaleb Driggers from Albany, Ga., and Brad Culpepper, from Ashburn, Ga., roped their steer in 4.0 seconds. The previous record of 4.1 was set in 2006 by Charley Crawford from Prineville, Ore., and Richard Durham, from Morgan Mill, Texas.
Two world champions tied for the tie-down roping win. Cody Ohl, from Hico, Texas, has five gold buckles and Monty Lewis from Hereford, Texas has one. They each stopped the clock in 8.0 seconds and won $1,815.
All of these contestants have their second round competition on Saturday at 1 p.m. and their third at 7:30 p.m. The top four money winners from this bracket will advance to the Semi-Finals, so every dollar that they win in the preliminary rounds is important in their quest to win a San Antonio championship buckle.
There are two performances on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 1 and 7:30 p.m.
SAN ANTONIO RESULTS - The following are results from the first performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, Feb. 6, 2009.
Bareback Riding: 1, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 86 points on Beutler and Son’s Regulator, $2,074. 2 (tie) Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas; Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo.; and Wyatt Hancock, Taylor, Ariz., 83, $1,038 each.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Beau Franazen, Sidney, Mont., 3.8 seconds, $2,074. 2 (tie), Rodney Burks, Benton, Ark., and Ken Lewis, La Junta, Colo., 3.9, $1,293 each. 4, Darrell Petry, Beaumont, Texas, 4.1, $519.
Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Brad Culpepper, Ashburn, Ga., 4.0, 2,074 each. 2, David Key, Caldwell, Texas, and Marty Becker, Edmonton, Alberta, 6.1, $1,556. 3, Brady Tryan, Huntley, Mont., and Jesse Echtler, Huntsville, Texas, 6.4, $1,037. 4, Jake Kropik, Midway, Texas, and Dee Rampy, Bertram, Texas, 7.3, $519.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, J.R. Berg, Marwayne, Alberta, 84 points on Beutler and Son’s Red Man, $2,074. 2, Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 81, $1,556. 3, Kobyn Williams, De Berry, Texas, 80, $1,037. 4 (tie), Tyrell Smith, Vaughn, Mont., and Wes Burns, Stephenville, Texas, 79, $259.
Tie-Down Roping: 1 (tie), Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, and Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 8.0 seconds, $1,815 each. 3 (tie), Houston Hutto, Del Rio, Texas, and Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 8.1, $778.
Barrel Racing: 1, Mattie Little, Ardmore, Okla., 14.25, $2,074. 2, Kelly Maben, Spur, Texas, 14.27, $1,556. 3 (tie), Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., and Nancy Hunter, Neola, Utah, 14.28, $778.
Bull Riding: 1, Fred Boettcher, Rice Lake, Wis., 86 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Rompus, $2,074. 2, Joe Meling, Hermiston, Ore., 84, $1,556. 3, Cody Hancock, Taylor, Ariz., 83, $1,037. 4, Dave Samsel, Haslet, Texas, 81, $518.
