FWSSR
RODEO CHAMPS CROWNED at Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
The lion’s share of nearly $650,000 was paid to winners at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s World’s Original Indoor Rodeo, sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cow- boys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association on Saturday. In addition to the payout, the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo paid a $5,000 cash bonus to each event average winner. The day got off to a rousing start on Sat- urday afternoon with the last performance of regular competition. That set the field for Sat- urday night’s finals and paid checks in the pre- liminary rounds. Saturday night kicked off with the 12 best bareback riders trying to add their names to the history books. The most successful out of the 74 entries was Wyoming’s J.R. Vezain. The former college champion and five-time Wran- gler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier got on an extra horse to earn the title. Initially, he got on Universal Pro Rodeo’s horse named Short Fuse. When the horse stum- bled, that gave Vezain another opportunity. He quickly made the decision to give up his 82-point score and try again. That was a wise decision as he improved by more than five points. He rode Picket Pro Rodeo’s Top Notch for 87.5 points to win the finals. He also had the highest total through four rounds of compe- tition at 338.5 to earn a total of $10,817. Tyler Pearson could be the happiest rodeo
contestant of the 1,147 that were entered here. Pearson, from Louisville, Mississippi won the steer wrestling world championship last De- cember at the NFR and hasn’t slowed down. He won the championship at the National
Western Stock Show in Denver for more than $16,000 just two weeks ago. He came here and added to that significantly. He stopped the clock in 3.9 seconds to win the final round. That gave him a total of 12.4 on three runs and the championship. Pearson left Fort Worth with $14,729 and is hoping for a trifecta when he competes at the San Antonio Stock Show which begins next week. Tyler was riding Scooter, a horse he and fellow steer wrestler Kyle Irwin own in part- nership. Scooter, whose registered name is Canted Plan, was the 2017 AQHA/PRCA steer wrestling horse of the year. This was the second big win at Fort Worth for the 13-year-
6 SouthWest Horse Trader
old gelding. He took Luke Branquinho to the championship here one year ago. Another contestant that is having a great
season and hoping his momentum continues is Shane Hanchey, from Sulphur, La. Hanchey, like Pearson, earned the title at the National Western. He also won the championship here with a total of 27.3 seconds on three runs. Hanchey had the fastest time of the Champion- ship Finals at 7.8. He earned $18,670 and won the most money of all the contestants in Fort Worth.
This is the second championship in the
Will Rogers Coliseum for the 2013 world champion tie-down roper. He also earned his second championship at Denver this year. Hanchey has been riding his great horse “Bam Bam” and they have been working together flawlessly.
“I’ve gotten on a roll like this before, but never this early in the season,” Hanchey said. “I’m more excited than ever to compete at San Antonio. Winning at Fort Worth for a sec- ond time was really special. Then getting that $5,000 bonus was an awesome surprise.” All the event champions got that extra surprise when they got their awards. It was the second win here for bull rider Trevor Kastner and team roping header Matt Sherwood, but the first time they received the bonus. Kastner won the title here in 2010. This year, he earned $12,504 after scoring 87 points on J Bar J Ro- deo’s Little Big Man. That gave him a three- head total of 251.5 for the championship. Sherwood, from Pima, Arizona did the heading for veteran heeler Walt Woodard, from Stephenville, Texas. They stopped the clock in the finals in 5.5 seconds and had the best total on three at 15.5 seconds. They each got $13,016.
Jacobs Crawley has won nearly every
major rodeo on the circuit after getting his win here in the saddle bronc riding. The Boerne, Texas, resident won the world championship in 2015 and has made the trip to Las Vegas to compete at the NFR seven times. With the $13,016 that he won here, he has a good start on an eighth qualification. The barrel racing was all about a brown
mare named CP Dark Moon, known to her fans as Paige. Paige is owned and ridden by Am- berleigh Moore of Keizer, Oregon. They made the trip to Las Vegas the first time in 2016 and returned last year.
Moore trained Paige and the duo has a March 2018
very special relationship. They won the first round here and were solid in the second. They had the fastest total time on three runs at 49.32 seconds to win $15,100. The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is
making plans for the 2019 event and beyond. Next year’s rodeo will be the last one held in the historic Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum before the legendary event moves into the new Dickies Arena. w
• Bareback Riding - J.R. Vezain, Cow- ley, WY, 338.5 points, $10,817
• Steer Wrestling - Tyler Pearson, Lou- isville, MS, 12.4, $14,729
• Team Roping - Matt Sherwood, Pima, AR, and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, TX, 15.5 seconds, $8,909 each
• Saddle Bronc Riding - Jacobs Craw- ley, Boerne, TX, 247.5 points, $13,016
• Tie-Down Roping - Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, LA, 23.0 seconds. $18,668
• Barrel Racing - Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, OR, 49.32 seconds, $15,100
• Bull Riding - Trevor Kastner, Roff, OK, 251.5 points, $12,504
Millions Generated for
SCHOLARSHIPS More than $3.6 million was collected as the
final hammer fell before a standing room only crowd at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Sale of Champions. Local business owners, ex- ecutives and individuals were responsible for purchasing 291 steers, barrows, lambs and goats. The Sale represents months of hard work by youth and their families from across Texas who labored to condition their animals for the Show. The reward, that often means a college education for the champion exhibitors, comes during the Show’s legendary “Champions Saturday.” “The Junior Sale of Champions auction is
extraordinary because of the awesome women Continued on page 13
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