SAN ANTONIO ---The Wild Card performance at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo was aptly named as contestants had one last chance to qualify for Saturday’s final round.
Fred Whitfield from Hockley, Texas, took advantage of an opportunity in tie-down roping. He stopped the clock in 7.9 seconds to win first place and $2,074. That gave him a total of $5,445 and he is now the second man in the race for the San Antonio championship. Whitfield has won this rodeo six times and hopes to make it a seventh. Cade Swor, from Chico, Texas, would like to keep Whitfield from doing that. Swor has earnings of $5,963.
There is a three-way tie for first place in bareback riding, so that event will be especially exciting to watch. Tilden Hooper, from Carthage, Texas, Davey Shields, from DeWinton, Alberta and Royce Ford from Briggsdale, Colo., all have earnings of $6,223. Ford won the Wild Card event with an 87-point effort on Kenny Rodeo’s horse named Brother to move to the top of the leader board.
Saddle bronc riding had a tough pen of horses and when it was all said and done, only two of the riders had scores. Justin Arnold, from Santa Margarita, Calif., had a 76-point effort on Kesler Championship’s Safe Haven. Isaac Diaz from Stephenville, Texas, was right behind him at 75. Anthony Bello, from Oakley, Utah had a 71 with the option of a re-ride. Since cowboys are known to always ride for first, and Bello is no exception, he took the re-ride. That cancelled out his 71 and when he was bucked off before the eight seconds, he left the AT&T Center with a no-score and did not advance to the finals.
Arnold and Diaz will be among Saturday night’s bronc riders. Arnold is in third place behind former world champion Chad Ferley from Oelrichs, S.D., and Steven Dent from Mullen, Neb.
There were three qualified rides in bull riding with all of the successful riders advancing to the finals. Dave Samsel from Haslet, Texas, had an 88-point ride on DH&T Rodeo’s Foghorn. Casey Baize from San Angelo had an 84 and Colin McTaggart, from Las Vegas, Nev., had a 76. Bobby Welsh, from Gillette, Wyo., has dominated the bull riding here and leads with over $7,000 in total earnings.
Friday night’s performance saw a huge donation to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund that helps injured rodeo contestants. The San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo hosted a Cowboy Golf Classic and they raised $50,000 for the fund. Administrator Cindy Schonholtz was on hand for the presentation and said it is the largest donation ever made by a committee.
Action at the AT&T Center gets underway on Saturday with the second Xtreme Bulls event at 1 p.m. The final performance of the rodeo will begin at 7:30 p.m.
SAN ANTONIO RESULTS - The following are unofficial results from the Wild Card performance at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, Friday, February 20, 2009. Complete results are available at www.sarodeo.com.
18th Performance, Wild Card ---
Bareback Riding: 1, Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 87 points on Kenny Rodeo Company’s Brother, $2,074. 2, Jared Smith, Snyder, Texas, 85, $1,556. 3, Joe Gunderson, Agar, S.D., 84, $1,037. 4, Cimmaron Gerke, Brighton, Colo., 83, $519.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., 3.4 seconds, $2,074. 2, Rhett Kennedy, Chowchilla, Calif., $1,556. 3 (tie), Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore.; Stan Branco, Chochilla, Calif.; and Jule Hazen, Protection, Kan., $519 each.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 7.9 seconds, $2,074. 2, Michael Otero, Foley, Ala., 8.4, $1,556. 3, Brady Brock, Justin, Texas, 8.6, $1,037. 4, Ricky Canton, Navasota, Texas, 8.7, $519.
Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Brad Culpepper, Ashburn, Ga., 5.1, $2,074 each. 2, (tie), Luke Brown, Santo, Texas, and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas; and Shane Philipp, Washington, Texas, and Arky Rogers, Lake City, Fla.; 5.7, $1,296 each. 4, Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Monty Joe Petska, Turlock, Calif., 5.9, $519.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (two qualified rides) 1, Justin Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., 76 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Bookmark, $2,074. 2, Isaac Diaz, Stephenville, Texas, 75, $1556.
Barrel Racing: 1,Cassie Mosley, Farwell, Texas, 13.93 seconds, $2,074. 2,Cindy Wheeler, Fredricksburg, Texas, 13.94 $1,556. 3, Deb Renger, Okotoks, Alberta, 14.02, $1,037. 4, Layna Kight, Wills Point, Texas, 14.05, $519.
Bull Riding: (three qualified rides) 1, Dave Samsel, Haslet, Texas, 88 points on DH&T Rodeo’s Foghorn $2,074. 2, Casey Baize, San Angelo, Texas, 84. 3, Colin McTaggart, Las Vegas, Nev., 76. $1,037.
Contestants advancing to finals---
Bareback Riding: 1, Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., $6,223. 2 (tie), Jared Smith, Snyder, Texas, and Joe Gunderson, Agar, S.D., $3,889. 4, Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., $3,371.
Steer Wrestling: 1 (tie), Shawn Greenfield, Lakeview, Ore., and Rhett Kennedy, Chowchilla, Calif., $3,630. 3 (tie), Darrell Petry, Beaumont, Texas, and Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., $3,111.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, $5,445. 2 (tie), Michael Otero, Foley, Ala; Ricky Canton, Navasota, Texas; and Cimmaron Boardman, Stephenville, Texas, $3,630.
Team Roping: 1, Luke Brown, Santo, Texas, and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, $4,926. 2, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Brad Culpepper, Ashburn, Ga.; and Jake Barnes, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Monty Joe Petska, Turlock, Calif., $4,148. 4, Shane Philipp, Washington, Texas, and Arky Rogers, Lake City, Fla., $3,889.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Justin Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., $5,617. 2, Isaac Diaz, Stephenville, Texas, $3,543. 3, Tyler Corrington, Guymon, Okla., $3,111. 4, Wes Burns, Stephenville, Texas, $2,593.
Barrel Racing: 1, Cassie Mosley, Farwell, Texas, $5,445. 2, Deb Renger, Okotoks, Alberta, $5,185. 3, Mattie little, Ardmore, Okla., $4,148. 4, Cindy Wheeler, Fredericksburg, Texas, $3,630.
Bull Riding: 1 (tie), Dave Samsel, Haslet, Texas, and Casey Baize, San Angelo, Texas, $4,667. 3 (tie), Colin McTaggart, Las Vegas, Nev., and Jarrod Ford, Greeley, Colo., $3,111.
