RENO — When the dust settled on the 2021 Reno Rodeo, there were some very happy rodeo contestants heading out of town.
The rodeo marks the start of the busy summer rodeo season and winning here gives contestants momentum as they head into “Cowboy Christmas,” which includes all of the rodeos held over the Fourth-of-July Holiday.
This year was extra special after so many cancellations last year, including the Reno Rodeo.
The best bareback ride of the week went to Clayton Biglow with an 89 on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Girl Crush, but it wasn’t quite enough for the 2016 Reno Rodeo champion to get his second pair of Silver Spurs. That honor went to Tilden Hooper who nabbed his first pair a decade ago. Hooper of Carthage, Tex., went into the short round as the leader and clinched the win with an 84 on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Ted to win the average with 254.5 points on three head.
This win solidifies his place at the top of the world standings. Caleb Bennett of Corvallis, Mont. is leaving Reno in second place overall with 253.5 on three with Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah, rounding out the bareback leaderboard with 251.
A veteran bulldogger took home his fourth set of Silver Spurs in front of the sold-out crowd on Saturday night. Hunter Cure of Holliday, Texas took the win with a 4.3 in the short go and 13.1 on three head. Sharing the night’s top time was Tyler Waguespack, Gonzalez, La., with 4.3 but it wasn’t enough to break the top three.
Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., came in second on the average with 13.3 on three head and rounding out the leaderboard is Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La., with 13.9.
Jason Stewart (header) and Jason Duby (heeler) took first in the final round with a 5.5-second run, but the average of 18.5 seconds on three head put them in fifth place overall. Derrick Begay (header), Seba Dalkai, Ariz, and Cory Petska (heeler), Marana, Ariz., didn’t have the fastest time of the night, but their 6.4-second run was fast enough to win the average with a 16.5-second time on three head. Rhen Richard (header), Roosevelt, Utah, and partner Jeremy Buhler (heeler), Arrowwood, Alberta, came in second on the average with 17.8. It was a tie for third with Jake Clay (header), Sapulpa, Okla., and Rance Doyal (heeler), Heartshorne, Okla., and Laramie Allen (header), Llano, Texas, and Truman Magnus (heeler), Mason, Texas, ending the week with 18 each.
It was an exciting night for saddle bronc fans, with Layton Green of Meeting Creek, Alberta getting the highest scoring ride of the night with an 85 on Flying 5 Rodeo's Spring Tunes.
He ended up sixth in the average. Tegan Smith of Winterset, Iowa scored an impressive 83 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ California Dreamin, giving him a 251.5 total on three head, and the Silver Spurs. CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, had the highest score of the week with his 90-point ride on the first night, but he would be one-point shy of the leader with 250.5 on three. Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., rounded out the top three with 247 total points.
In tie-down roping, Justin Smith of Leesville, Texas had the fastest time of the night with 8.5 seconds and grabbed the Silver Spurs with 26.7 on three head. Smith made the National High Finals Rodeo four times and won the Southeastern Circuit Finals this year. Trenton Smith, Bigfoot, Texas, grabbed second with 27.9 in the average and Michael Otero, Weatherford, Texas, took third with 28.1.
This was the first year for women’s breakaway roping as an official Reno Rodeo event and it did not disappoint.
JJ Hampton of Stephenville, Texas had the fastest run of the night with a lightning quick 2.0-second run and was crowned as the very first Reno Rodeo breakaway champion with 6.7 on three. Shelby Boisjoli, also of Stephenville, took second overall with 8.3 in the average followed by Jordan Jo Fabrizio of Canyon, Texas with 8.9 on three.
The fastest turn around the barrels went to three-time world champion Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, with a 16.74 second run (the arena record is 16.73 seconds, set by Terri Kaye Kirkland in 2006). Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., took second in the final night’s performance with a 16.99-second run but she would take the championship with 50.92 on three head, just two-tenths of a second faster than Kinsel’s 50.94. Shelley Morgan of Canton, Texas rounded out the leaderboard with 51.7 on three.
J.B. Mauney showed why he is a $7 million dollar cowboy. The bull rider from Cotulla, Texas hasn’t been in Reno since 2009 and though he made the short round then, it didn’t pan out for him.
This year was a whole different story. He came out on top with 89 points on Flying 5 Rodeo's No. 516 in the first round and then took the win by a whopping 8.5 points ahead of the second place winner with his 87.5-point ride in the final go.
That earned him a combined 176.5 on two head and his first set of Silver Spurs. Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah took third with his 84-point ride on Flying 5 Rodeo’s’ Hot Pursuit, giving him a combined 168 on two head and second place overall. Lon Danley of Tularosa, N.M. had the fourth best score of the night with his 82-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Monkey Punch, which put him in third in the average with a total of 165.5.
