Cheyenne Frontier Days wraps up, Wyoming competitors make impressive showing
Cowboys, cowgirls, country music fans, Western lifestyle enthusiasts and individuals from all walks of life gathered in Cheyenne July 19-28 for the increasingly popular “Daddy Of ʼEm All.”
The event, which boasts the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration, caters to attendees of all ages, including a daily farmers’ market, a Western Art Show and Sale, a sprawling carnival, some of the hottest live music in the region and much more.
Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) also hosts eight days of competitive Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeos, and at the end of the week, the names of several Wyoming cowboys and cowgirls flashed on the leaderboards.
Bareback riding
Two Wyoming competitors made a showing in the final round of bareback riding.
Diamondville native and University of Wyoming student Donny Proffit placed in the top 10 with an 84.5-point ride.
With an 87.5-point ride, Cole Reiner of Buffalo ended the round in a three-way tie for first place with Kade Sonnier of Carencro, La. and Clayton Biglow of Clements, Calif.
In second place was Ben Kramer of Max, N.D. with an 87-point ride, and Jess Pope of Waverly, Kan. earned third-place honors with an 86.5-point ride.
Saddle bronc riding
Proffit and Reiner’s fellow Wyoming Bronc Rider Q Taylor of Casper found his name on the scoreboard during CFD’s saddle bronc riding competition.
With an 89.5-point ride, Taylor tied for second place in the final round with Sage Newman of Melstone, Mont.
Leading the pack was Sulpher, La. Cowboy Ryder Sanford, who broke the arena record with a 92.5-point ride, and Lefty Holman of Visalia, Calif. pulled into the third-place position with an 88.5-point ride.
Bull riding
Competitors from Western states swept the last of the rough stock events.
With a score of 91.5 points, Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah took home the champion bull riding title, followed by Josh Frost of Randlett, Utah in second place with a score of 89.5 points and Tristen Hutchings of Monteview, Idaho in third place with a score of 89 points.
Tie-down roping
In the final round of tie-down roping, Luke Potter of Maple City, Kan. led the pack with a 10.6-second run, followed by John Douch of Huntsville, Texas and Britt Bedke of Oakley, Idaho in a two-way tie for second place with 10.9-second runs.
Marcos Costa of Iretama, Brazil ended the round in the third-place position with a run of 11.2 seconds.
Team roping
With an eight-second run, Texas Team Ropers Billy Bob Brown of Carbon and Kirby Blankenship of Lampasas wowed the crowd during CFD’s final round and took home first-place honors.
A mere two-tenths of a second landed Kaleb Driggers of Hoboken, Ga. and Junior Nogueira of Presidente Prude, Brazil in the second-place position, and at nine flat, Bubba Buckaloo of Kingston, Okla. and Juan Gonzales of Maypearl, Texas ended the round in third place.
With his partner Cullen Teller of Ault, Colo., Yoder’s Clayton Van Aken made a showing in the round, pulling into fourth place with a 9.5-second run.
Steer wrestling
Sturgis, S.D.’s Eli Lord won the round in steer wrestling, with an impressive run of 5.9 seconds.
He was followed by Tristan Martin of Sulphur, La. in second place with a 6.6-second run and Walt Arnold of Coleman, Texas in third place with a 6.7-second run.
Breakaway roping
In arguably the most competitive event of the day, only two-tenths of a second separated the top three finalists in women’s breakaway roping.
With a run of 3.8 seconds, Joey Williams of Volberg, Mont. finished in first place, followed closely by Martha Angelone of Stephenville, Texas with a run of 3.9 seconds and Shayla Hall of Belle Fourche, S.D. with a run of four flat.
Barrel racing
To wrap up the final round, Blackfoot, Idaho Barrel Racer Sue Smith was crowned champion, with a smoking run of 16.89 seconds.
Summer Kosel of Glenham, S.D. took second place with a 16.97-second run, and Kassie Mowry of Dublin, Texas rounded out the top three with a run of 17.16 seconds.
Jackson Cowgirl Shyann Lucas was one place shy of landing in the top 10 in the round after tipping a barrel, finishing her run at 22.75 seconds.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
