SAN ANTONIO - With a new format and a final performance that saw first place winners getting checks for $12,445 each, San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo competitors were going for broke.
Twelve contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, and bull riding advanced to the Final performance in the AT&T Center on Saturday night. The top four in each event earned checks and that was added to their previous earnings to determine the champions.
The result was a champion in each event that earned over $15,000. Joey Bell, from Athens, Texas, was the high money earner of the rodeo. Bell won the steer wrestling title with a total of $19,445. He had the fast time of the night when he brought his steer to the ground in 3.6 seconds. The money will give Bell a huge boost in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings and give him a chance to return to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) next December after a two-year hiatus. Bell has made the trip to Las Vegas in December to compete at rodeo’s championship event four times.
His horse Big Iron was given the animal athlete award in steer wrestling, so in addition to his earnings, he also got a $1,500 bonus for that and an $8,000 gas card courtesy of Ocean Spray.
“I can’t begin to tell you how great this is,” Bell said. “San Antonio has great hospitality, they pay our (entry) fees and then to get bonuses like this, it’s awesome.”
In bareback riding, it was Colorado’s Heath Ford, who emerged at the top of the pack. Ford had an outstanding 91 point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo’s horse Wise Guy to win the final round. He won $17,630 here and will also be making a bid for an NFR qualification this year. Ford has been there twice, but took a break from competition and has been coaching high school wrestling in his home town.
“It was a great break for me,” he said. “I’m now in the best shape I’ve been in for a while, I lost weight and I feel great. It’s made me excited to get on bareback horses again.”
It was a good day to be named Heith, no matter what the spelling. Heith DeMoss from Heflin, La., tied for first place in the final round of saddle bronc riding with J.J. Elshere from Quinn, S.D. DeMoss won the title because of his money coming in to the finals, so earned the championship with a total of $16,334. He finished the 2008 season in 21st place, missing the NFR after having been there in 2007.
Spud Jones, from Tohatchi, N.M., is the only champion here that competed in Las Vegas at the NFR last year. Jones tied for first place in the finals with reigning world champion bull rider J.W. Harris from May, Texas. They had scores of 90 points to earn $10,889. As in the saddle bronc riding, Jones had won the most money prior to the final round so earned the championship with his total money of $15,037. Harris won a total of $14,260.
This year’s rodeo paid over $1 million to contestants in prize money. In addition, each champion got a $8,000 gas card, the timed events from Ocean Spray and the rough stock events from McCormick. Animal athletes were also selected in each event and their owners got a $1,500 bonus.
San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo Champions
Bareback Riding, Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., $17,630
Steer Wrestling, Joey Bell, Athens, Texas, $19,445
Tie-Down Roping, Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, $17,371
Team Roping, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga.,/Brad Culpepper, Ashburn, Ga., $16,593 each
Saddle Bronc Riding, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., $16,334
Barrel Racing, Mattie Little, Ardmore, Okla., $16,593
Bull Riding, Spud Jones, Tohatchi, NM., $15,037
SAN ANTONIO RESULTS - The following are unofficial results from the Final performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009. Complete results are available at www.sarodeo.com.
19th Performance, Finals ---
Bareback Riding: (final round) 1, Heath Ford, Greeley, Colo., 92 points on Classic Pro Rodeo’s Wise Guy, $12,445. 2, Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 88, $9,334. 3, D.V. Fennell, Neosho, Mo., 87, $6,223. 4, Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla., 86, $3,111. (championship money) 1, Ford, $17,630. 2, Mote, $12,704. 3, Fennell, $11,408. 4, McDaniel, $7,778.
Steer Wrestling: (final round) 1, Joey Bell, Athens, Texas, 3.6 seconds, $12,445. 2, Darrell Petry, Beaumont, Texas, 3.9, $9,334. 3, Casey Martin, Sulphur, La., 4.0, $6,223. 4, Tanner Milan, 4.1, $3,111. (championship money) 1, Bell, $19,445. 2, Petry, $12,445. 3, Martin, $10,371. 4, Milan, $6,741.
Tie-Down Roping: (final round) 1, Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 7.9 seconds, $12,445. 2, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 8.1, $9,334. 3 (tie) Ricky Canton, Navasota, Texas, and Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, 8.2, $4,667 each. (championship money) 1, Lewis, $17,371. 2, Moore, $12,964. 3, Gray, $9,075. 4, Canton, $8,297.
Team Roping: (final round) 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Brad Culpepper, Ashburn, Ga., 4.2, $12,445 each. 2, Shane Philipp, Washington, Texas, and Arky Rogers, Lake City, Fla., 4.9, $9,334. 3 (tie), Luke Brown, Santo, Texas, and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, and Nick Sartain, Yukon, Okla., and Kollin Von Ahn, Durant, Okla., 5.1, $4,667 each. (championship money) 1, Driggers and Culpepper, $16,593. 2, Phillipp and Rogers, $13,223. 3, Sartain and Von Ahn, $11,409. 4, Brown and Motes, $9,593.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (final round) 1 (tie), Heith DeMoss, on Frontier Rodeo’s Little Kitty and J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D., on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Sandcastle, 88 points, $10,889 each. 3, Isaac Diaz, Stephenville, Texas, 87, $6,223. 4, Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 86, $3,111. (championship money) 1, DeMoss, $16,334. 2, Elshere, $14,260. 3, Ferley, $10,630. 4, Diaz, $9,766.
Barrel Racing: (final round) 1, Mattie Little, Ardmore, Okla., 13.90 seconds, $12,445. 2, Danyelle Campbell, Beaumont, Calif., 13.94, $9,334. 3 (tie), Brenda Mays, Terrebone, Ore., and Megan McLeod, Star, Idaho, 14.01, $4,667 each. (championship money) 1, Little, $15,693. 2, Campbell, $13,482. 3, McLeod, $8,815. 4, Mays, $8,297.
Bull Riding: (three qualified rides) 1 (tie), Spud Jones, Tohatchi, NM., on Andrews Rodeo’s Reece’s Pieces and J.W. Harris, May, Texas, on DH&T Rodeo’s Recoil, 90 points, $10,889 each. 3, Cody Whitney, Asher, Okla., 82, $6223. (championship money) 1, Jones, $15,037. 2, Harris, $14,260. 3, Whitney, $9,852. 4, Bobby Welsh, $7,000.
