HARRISBURG, PA. – The First Frontier Circuit Finals are in full swing at the Pennsylvania Farm Show arena, with round two going into the history books on Friday, Jan. 15, 2010.
The round started off with bareback riders, with four of the eight riders putting scores on the board. Round two went to Doug Sanders, of Pilesgrove, N.J., who rode “Northbend” (Painted Pony) for 76 points. He was followed by Ronald Browning, of Statesville, N.C., with 74 points on Misfit (Painted Pony). Third in the round was round-one winner Terry Lee Owens, of Lexington, N.C., riding Big Mac (Painted Pony) for 72 points, with three-event competitor Clovis Crane of Lebanon, Pa. taking fourth for 71 points on Simon Sez (Painted Pony).
Heading into Saturday’s final round, Sanders leads the average with 147, followed by Owens at 145 and Crane at 140.
In Steer Wrestling, it was definitely a night for the steers, as only four of 12 competitors took down their animals.
Greg Bennett of Lake Luzerne, N.Y., the 2007 national steer wrestling champion, took the round at 4.5 seconds. Kirk Trumpower of Mercersburg, Pa. was right behind Bennett at 4.9 seconds. Joe Bell Sr., of Alloway, N.J., who won round one on Thursday, kept his streak going by taking down his steer in 5.1 seconds, while Joe Brown of Oxford, Pa., got his first time of the weekend, at 15.6 seconds, which included a 10-second penalty for a broken barrier.
Fighting to staying in the average after his 4.1 second time Thursday, Darren Morgan of Fort Edward, N.Y. saw his steer veer off, so Morgan regrouped and took a second shot at him, finishing at 23.5 seconds. Only Morgan, Bell and Trumpower have put up times in both rounds, with Bell in the lead after Friday’s 5.1 and Thursday’s blistering 3.8 second times.
In the team roping, seven teams had times in round two, led by a 5.2 second mark set with the first riders out, Roger Stockton of Ballston Spa, N.Y. and Jason Martindale of Gansevoort, N.Y. They were followed at the 7.0 second mark by the team of Bucky Nastri of Wolcott, Conn., and Derek Carey of Mechanicville, N.Y. Carmine Nastri of Balston Spa, N.Y. and Lewis Rimes Jr. of York Springs, Pa. teamed up for 7.5 seconds, and the fourth place team in the round was CJ Werner of Cambridge, N.Y> and Matt Dyer of Melrose, N.Y. at 8.6 seconds.
Carmine Nastri and Rimes lead the average so far, with two head at 15.1 seconds total. Charlie Goerlach of Ballston Spa, N.Y. and Colby Wright of Odum, Ga., saw their 8.6 second time on Friday keep them second in the average with a combined 17.3 seconds on two. Third in the average heading into Saturday is David Ballantyne of Elverson, Pa. and Dana Solomon of Centerville Mass. A one-leg catch on Friday made their 6.6 seconds turn to 11.6 but they are third in the average with 27.7 seconds on two head.
It was a tough night for saddle bronc riders, as only three of eight stayed on to the 8-second mark. Third out in the round, AJ Williams of New Providence, Pa. got it started with a low 58 pointer on Cyclone (Cowtown). Three riders later, Chad Alesky of Monroeton, Pa. saw his bronc, Cookie Monster (Painted Pony) blow out of the chute, but Alesky had more than enough to handle the hard kicking ride, putting up 75 points to win the round. Second in the round went to the next man out, David Rubel of Grantville, Pa., whose horse, Little Big Man (Painted Pony) stalled when the chute gate opened, but made up for it as quickly as it could, giving Rubel 63 points on the round.
Alesky and Rubel are the only saddle bronc riders to go two for two so far at the circuit finals, with Alesky leading in the average at 139 points. Rubel is 5 points behind at 134.
In the tie down roping, JR Myers, of Felton, Pa., set a quick time of 8.9 seconds early in round two, and the rest of the ropers tried but couldn’t catch him. Closest to him was Charlie Goerlach at 9.2 seconds, and Ned Kilgus of Watsontown, Pa. at the 10.2 mark. Fourth was split by Shawn Quinn of Schulyerville, N.Y. and John Davidson of Canterbury, Conn., at the 11.5 second mark.
Only four ropers have gone two-for-two, with Carmine Nastri leading the average at 22.4 seconds. Quinn is close behind at 23.4, and Davidson is third at a more distant 28.9 seconds.
The barrel racers were running hot in round two, as the top three times were each under 15 seconds, repeating the performance only one girl put on in Thursday’s round one.
Round two went to Kristine Roy of Hagaman, N.Y., running 10th in the round, with a quick 14.78 second run. Not to be outdone, Nickie Stoltzfus of McClure, Pa. was next to take on the cloverleaf and ran a 14.79 time. Running last in the round saw Jen Romriell of Broadalbin. N.Y. close out the runs under 15 seconds, with her 14.95 second time. Fourth and fifth were split between Joyce Stoltzfus of Peach Bottom, Pa. and Eileen Hanna of Oxford, Pa., at 15.01 seconds, running back to back.
That time put Hanna, Thursday’s round winner, in good standing in the average, leading at a combined 29.83 seconds. Second through fifth in the average are all under the 31-second mark, in order, at Romriell at 30.13, Jayne Edwards of Felton Pa. at 30.29, Joyce Stoltzfus at 30.43 and Lorraine Bytheway of Glen Mills, Pa. at 30.61 seconds.
Then it was time for the bulls, and Friday’s round was all about the bulls and not about the riders. The 12 top riders of the circuit posted a big old goose-egg in the round, with most coming down at about the 4-second mark or less. That says a lot about the bulls from Cowtown Rodeo and Painted Pony Rodeo, as these are the top 12 riders in the circuit.
That leaves JR DeMarsh Jr. of Hudson Falls, N.Y. leading the average, on the 80 pointer he rode Thursday night.
The bull riders’ failure to cover didn’t leave the crowd without excitement though, as a few of the bulls were in the mood to give the riders a little extra action after they bucked off. The final bull of the night, Coco (Cowtown), took its aggression out on two soon to be retirees, as after it threw the retiring DeMarsh off, it turned around and ran him over a time or two, then turned its sights on bull fighter Wayne Kroll. Kroll, who has had a long and successful career at Cowtown Rodeo for the past decade or more, is retiring after Saturday night’s round. Coco, who has faced off against Kroll in the Cowtown arena plenty of times, gave the bull fighter a high flying good bye, sending Kroll airborne when Kroll stepped in to get DeMarsh out from under the bull.
Thankfully Kroll and DeMarsh both walked away, and will see their final round in the circuit in the Farm Show Arena on Saturday evening.
