The cowboys and cowgirls of this year's National Finals Rodeo are beginning to feel the wear and tear of the rodeo post season. It's at this point where the Finals comes into it's own as an event, with most other big rodeos ending after two or three goes, and very few consecutive. No where else in professional sports will you see athletes suit up for 10 straight days. So as a very famous cowboy once said, "Hey, rookie can you take 10 head, or have you got the heart?"
Bareback Riding:
A wild and snap crazy pen of bareback broncs tested the bareback riders who stepped up and rode them out of the park.
Ryan Gray moved to second in the standings with and 87.5 ride on One Eyed Jack (Beutler and Son Rodeo).
Cimmaron Gerke spurred his way to second on Painted Feather (Three Hills Rodeo) with an 86.5.
Scott Montague made an impressive ride on Cool Water (Andrews Rodeo) for third in the round and a score of 83.5.
Rowdy Buechner made a potentially costly mistake by making the only buck off of the night. We'll see if the other riders can capitalize on it.
Steer Wrestling:
Ronnie Fields, coming off his third place win last night, decided to do one better and make a 3.40 run for first in Round 4.
Bob Lummus decided to pick up another check with a 3.60 run.
Standings leader Jason Lahr also ran a 3.60 for a second place split.
Team Roping:
I was a Tryan brother night in the team roping as their respective teams once again claimed top prizes in the round.
A second consecutive first for Clay Tryan and Patrick Smith helped their standings situation as they posted a 4.40 time for the win.
Travis Tryan and Allen Bach also roped their way into a second place split with the team of Speed Williams and Rich Skelton. Both teams burned up the clock with a 4.50 time.
Saddle Bronc Riding:
Jeffery Willert is proving that he has what it takes to hold off all challengers with his second round win in this year's NFR. Willert rode Linda Lou (Frontier Rodeo) for an 89-point ride.
Billy Etbauer took the lead in the average with an 86-point ride on Rainmaker (Powder River Rodeo).
Cody DeMoss captured third with a ride on Ginger (Smith, Harper & Morgan). He spurred his way to an 85.5 score.
Tie-down Roping:
Cody Ohl, still suffering from his groin injury in Round 1, pulled into first with a fast 7.1 time.
Jerome Schneeberger with a second place win last night, decided to repeat the feat with a run of 7.30. He also takes over first in the tie-down world standings.
Stran Smith rounded out the top ropers with a 7.50 run and a third place check.
Barrel Racing:
The third straight win for Shali Lord and Slider (the first of the NFR) rocked the barrel racing. Slider's made a 13.82 second run look like a trail ride through a park. If this momentum keeps up, Lord will be unbeatable.
Linda Vick split second place with Terri Kaye Kirkland and a time of 14.00.
Bull Riding:
Only 3 qualified rides in the bull riding was no big surprise as the stock contractors rolled out the eliminator pen in Round 4.
Jason McClain was back in action in Round 4 with a few extra stitches. His match-up with Ned Pepper however netted him a buck off.
Bobby Welsh made his first ride of a week and picked up $15,000 for his trouble. Shock & Awe (Sankey Rodeo) couldn't shock Welsh as he kept his mind in the middle for a 90-point ride.
Zeb Lanham continued his bull riding clinic with a second place score of 83 on Diamond G's White Magic.
A 60.5 score in the money? When it's the eliminators, it's all good for Steve Woolsey and his ride on Belle Boots (Western Rodeo) who has covered all his bulls and leads in the average race.
A real heartbreaker moment was Matt Austin's ride on Just A Dream and his disqualification for slapping the bull. Given the slap was at the end of the ride and was only clearly seen in the slow motion playback (at least by me, that's why I'm not a rodeo judge I guess) I will have to say that Austin got robbed. Come on judges, it was the eliminators!
This was a heart racing round of rodeo and if you missed it, you messed up! The heat is rising in Vegas as we head to the halfway point tomorrow. Bring on the halftime in Round 5!