Excitement was a plentiful asset at the Bud Light Cedar Park CPRA Rodeo presented by Hooey Brands. The official results can be found on the CPRA’s website by clicking HERE!
The bareback riding was dominated by Austin Rivette with an 80 point ride on Diamond Cross Rodeo’s Paw Paw. Rivette’s put a little over $700.00 in his pocket and bumped him up one place in the CPRA standings to 10th place. The bareback riding race in CPRA is being flat out dominated by Jeremy Shed, but places two through ten are separated by less than $1000.00.
Darrell Petry edged out Patrick Maass for the win in the steer wrestling by two tenths of a second with his 3.6 second run. Although Petry is an elite level steer wrestler with National Finals Rodeo talent, this win was his first money earned in the CPRA in 2012 and vaulted him all the way to 16th place in the CPRA standings. My opinion is that this win is a sign of things to come for Petry making waves in the CPRA.
Just when we thought the breakaway roping couldn’t get any faster….it did! A 2.69 second run was the last paying place in the rodeo this weekend! Our winner was J.J. Hampton, who roped in the slack on Saturday and put a blistering 2.25 second run on the board. I checked the results from the four other CPRA rodeos this weekend and 2.25 seconds is the fastest time, PERIOD. Incidentally, J.J. jumped from ninth to fifth place in the standings with her weekend efforts.
Our calf roping event started out fast. The very first run of the very first performance was an 8.25 from Heath Kocurek. Then the Saturday night performance calf roping looked like a go-round at the NFR. Clayton Collmorgen, Catfish Brown and Fred Whitfield clocked under eight seconds. The 20 time NFR qualifier and eight time PRCA World Champion Whitfield showed the poise that has earned him all of his titles. On the heels of Catfish Brown’s 7.91 second run Whitfield eased into the box and once again dominated the sport with a 7.18 second run to win the event. The $1200 in earnings moved him up from fourth to second place in the CPRA standings. Just as a side note, I hated to hear that Whitfield is not going to pursue the NFR after last year’s appearance. Personally, I think he’s still got “it” in him and maybe he’ll have a change of heart.
Australian saddle bronc rider Health Chalmers left the Cedar Park Center with the championship cash for his 77 point ride on Diamond Cross Rodeo’s Bear Sign. This win put the Aussie into 12th place and gives him a shot to make the CPRA finals.
The “wolves” were out at the Bud Light Cedar Park Rodeo this weekend-the top four runs were 5.66 seconds or faster. National Finalists Tee Woolman and Brad Culpepper roped in the Saturday slack and posted a time of 5.22 that looked pretty tough to beat. However, Bull Austin and Dee Rampy forgot to read the press clippings of the team that they were chasing during their Saturday night run. Rampy, as the reining CPRA Champion Header, showed great poise with his partner Austin who put together a winning run of 5.18 seconds. My expectation is that the CPRA team roping championships in both the heading and heeling will likely come down to one run at the CPRA Finals in October.
Like all of the other events in the CPRA, the barrel racing is extremely competitive-you had to be in the 14’s to get a check. The top eight ladies in the overall standings are separated by less than $1400. Brit Van Winkle clocked an arena record 14.525 for the event win to earn $937.15 and move her up from fifth to fourth place in the standings. This weekend Hallie Bradford fell from her number one spot in the standings to second place while Kristi Johnson claimed first place by about $70.00.
Don’t tell me that rodeo is not an athletic endeavor. One of the reasons that I remain confident in our status as a sport is the presence of the concept of momentum. Plainly said, the athletes go on streaks. This weekend the momentum was with bull rider Sterling Furr of Boerne, Texas. He began his weekend at the Mexia, Texas CPRA Rodeo where he marked and 84 point ride to earn $1200.00. He followed up with a an 86 point ride on Diamond Cross Rodeo’s 650 “Happy Cow” to win the Bud Light Cedar Park Rodeo and pick up another $850 in winnings. Then, Sunday, at the Bud Light Cedar Park PBR he was 83 points on Currey Creek Bucking Bulls’ 800 Bo’s Breath to win $380 for a sixth place finish. Furr had a $2400.00 dollar weekend. Not bad for the kid who is not even old enough to buy a beer. We will see plenty more success, at every level, for this young man throughout his bull riding career.
Personnel
- Stock Contractor: Diamond Cross Rodeo
- Production Company: DX3 Productions
- Judges: Randy McKenzie, Butch Bremer, Ben Crabb
- Secretary: Michelle Conn
- Timers: Joey Jobe, Brittney Bremer
- Protection Athletes: Chuck Swisher, Ace Lloyd, Chris Hammack
- Barrelman: Rudy Burns
- Pick-up Men: J.W. Tucker & Darren Carter
- Arena Directors: Dale Mitschke & Wesley F. McManus
- Photographer: William Kierce to view or purchase photos, click HERE
- Sound: Ben Bendele’s Roughstock Rodeo Sound
- Video: Jimmy Welvaert’s Wild Ride Productions
- Announcers: Rob Smets & Matthew Myers