We are at halftime in the post-season! Depending on your finals this far, it can either be uphill or downhill. Each round from now on will have a huge impact on the year end rewards. The big story of the night comes from the team roping where Jake Barnes severed his right thumb during his dally attempt. I'm sure he will be out for the rest of the Finals; we'll have to see where this will leave his partner Kory Koontz.
Bareback Riding:
The best of the best horses where ready for the bareback riders in Round 5 and Kelly Timberman capitalized with and 88.5 ride on River Boat Annie (Smith, Harper & Morgan) to win the round and take the lead in the average. Timberman said the ride was dedicated to Champion bareback rider Chris LeDoux.
Rowdy Buechner came back from a Round 4 buck-off to second place in the round with 86-point ride on R.D. Mercer (Stace Smith Rodeo).
Andy Martinez rode Street Dance (Kesler Championship Rodeo) to third with 85.5-points.
Eric Swenson took a nasty spill and hit his head on the photography booth and was taken out on a stretcher. No word on his injury.
Will Lowe is still on top of the standings.
Steer Wrestling:
The steer wrestlers are stepping up the competition with great runs in this round.
Lee Graves is on a mission with another great 3.40-second run and the steer wrestling buckle might just be heading to Canada this year.
Ryan Jarrett split the top honor with a 3.40 run himself, and closed the gap between himself and Trevor Brazile in the All-Around. Jarrett is the only two event cowboy (steer wrestling, tie-down roping) in the 2005 NFR.
Birch Negaard threw himself into third with a 3.60 run.
Team Roping:
There were problems in the team roping despite the lost thumb of Jake Barnes. They found the thumb and will attempt a re-attachment. I hope he will make a full recovery.
Wade Wheatley and Kyle Lockett moved to the top of the average with a 3.90 time.
Shane Schwenke and Jhett Johnson place second with 4.40 on the clock.
Third place went to Matt Tyler and Cody Cowden who stopped the watch at 5.2.
Saddle Bronc Riding:
The saddle bronc riding was more like the bull riding with only 3 qualified rides posting scores. The eliminator pen lived up to expectations as most of the guys came tumbling down to eat some Vegas dirt.
Round 5 did prove to be the revenge of the Canadians with Rod Warren and Rod Hay splitting the second spot with rides of 76.5.
Cody 'Hot Sauce' DeMoss took the top spot with a ride on Calgary horse Knight Rocket and a score of 83.5.
Jeffery Willert crash and burned and hurt his shoulder, which hopefully won’t prove to be too devastating an injury to the cowboy in the top spot.
Rusty Allen had more bad luck with a buck-off and some potentially broken ribs.
Tie-down Roping:
Justin Maass made two wraps and a hooey in 7.10, and will collect a first place check.
Stran Smith roped a second place win with a 7.30.
Fred Whitfield and Ricky Canton split spot #3 with times of 7.60. Whitfield regained his lead in the standings.
Barrel Racing:
Kelly Kaminski and Rockey tore their way to first with a time of 14.06.
Sheri Sinor Estrada was solid in second with a time of 14.12.
Linda Vick barely missed a split with a time of 14.13.
Bull Riding:
Jason McClain might have needed those stitches to get himself fired up. Poison Ivy (Western Rodeo) didn't prove to be his poison as he split first with Zeb Lanham, riding Louisville Slugger (Western Rodeo), who continues to have a dream finals. Both posted scores of 89.5.
Dustin Elliott showed his Championship material and made an impressive ride on Wild One (Russell Rodeo) for 89-points.
Steve Woolsey streak is still alive, as he covered his fifth straight bull, Erks Me from Andrews Rodeo. Can he ride all ten? I’ll be rooting for him.
Cord McCoy will sit out his second straight round due to a separated shoulder suffered in Round 3.
With the halfway point over, each round will take on more weight. Chances to get the job done are fast disappearing and the rodeo cowboys and cowgirls will need to give everything they got if they want to take the gold buckle home. On we move to Round 6.
