By Susan Kanode for the Caldwell Night Rodeo
CALDWELL, Idaho (Aug. 20, 2022)— When the dust settled in the D & B Arena at the Caldwell Night Rodeo on Saturday night, nearly $400,000 in prize money was paid out, 10 champions were crowned and the fans started planning for next year.
The big winner at the 98th edition of the rodeo was tie-down roper Macon Murphy from Keatchie, Louisiana. Murphy finished third in the final round Saturday night but was fast enough to get the win. He started the night in first place, then stopped the clock in 8.9 seconds to give him a total of 24.8 on three runs. That was good for $10,629. And, it’s money that he is badly in need of to secure his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualification.
Murphy was just outside of the top 15 that earn a trip to Las Vegas to compete at rodeo’s championships at number 17. The money he won here should easily put him inside the top 15, but he will need to keep the momentum going through the end of September to stay there.
The saddle bronc horses from Powder River Rodeo were the stars on Saturday night, taking Canadians Zeke Thurston and Dawson Hay to record setting rides. The previous arena record here was set by Shaun Stroh at 91 points in 2010.
Hay, from Wildwood, Alberta, got on Miss Valley. Two-time world champion Thurston from Big Valley, Alberta rode Bet the Ranch. They each had scores of 92 points. Hay had a higher score starting the night so got the win based on his overall score of 177.5 points on two head. It added $6,768 to his earnings. Prior to Caldwell’s rodeo, he was 21in the world standings, so this could help him move up and qualify for his third NFR.
A year ago, Stetson Wright, of Milford, Utah won the saddle bronc riding, bull riding and all-around titles here. Even though he didn’t get the saddle bronc riding this year, he did win money in that event and got wins in the other two categories.
Stetson was the lone bull rider to be successful on Saturday night and was one point shy of the arena record at 93 points. He got on Powder River Rodeo’s Domino for the win and $8,000. His total earning were over $10,000 for the all-around prize.
The Caldwell Night Rodeo hosted breakaway roping for the second consecutive year and it was also record setting. Taylor Munsell from Alva, Okla., won the final round with a 2.2-second run, the fastest here so far. The event was won by Beau Peterson, from Council Grove, Kansas with a total time of 8.4 seconds on three head.
Tim O’Connell, from Zwingle, Iowa, won $4,712 in bareback with 170.5 points on two head. The steer wrestling title went to Tanner Brunner, from Ramona, Kansas, with a total time of 13.0 seconds on three runs. Brunner collected $9,508.
South Dakota team ropers Jr. Dees and Levi Lord got the win with 17.8 seconds on three runs. With Dees, from Aurora, doing the heading and Lord, from Sturgis doing the heeling, they each earned $6,140. Margo Crowther could win an award for being the rodeo contestant farthest away from home, but she is probably happier with the championship here. The barrel racer from Fort Myers, Florida had a time of 51.81 seconds and won $8,074.
2022 Caldwell Night Rodeo Champions
Bareback–Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 170.5 points, $4,712
Steer Wrestling–Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., 13.0 seconds, $9,508
Team Roping–Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D., 17.8 seconds, $6,140 each
Breakaway Roping–Beau Peterson, Council Grove, Kan., 8.4 seconds, $4,806
Saddle Bronc Riding–Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 177.5 points, $6,768.
Tie-Down Roping–Macon Murphy, Keatchie, La., 24.8, $10,629
Barrel Racing–Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Fla., 51.81 seconds, $8,074
Bull Riding–Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 93 points, $8,000
All-Around–Stetson Wright, $10,236 won in saddle bronc and bull riding
Second Performance —
Bareback Riding: 1, Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah, 86 points on Calgary Stampede’s Cincy Whitney, 2, Keenan Reed Hayes, hayden, Colo., 81.5. 3, Cole Reiner, Buffalo, Wyo., 79.5. 4, Jayco Roper, Oktaha, Okla., 78.5.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 4.3 seconds. 2, Cameron Morman, Glen Ullin, N.D., 4.8. 3, Talon Roseland, Marshalltown, Iowa, 5.1. 4, Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 5.6.
Team Roping: 1, Brenten Hall, Jay, Okla., and Chase Tryan, Helena, Mont., 5.7 seconds. 2, Jeff Flenniken, Caldwell, Idaho, and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 6.3. 3, Pedro Egurrola, Florence, Ariz., and J.C. Flake, Laramie, Wyo., 6.7. 4, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont., and Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev., 11.4.
Breakaway Roping: 1, Josei Conner, Iowa, LA., 2.7. 2, Codilynn McPherson, Plain city, Utah, 3.1. 3, Braylee Shepherd, Nephi, Utah, 3.3. 4, Brittany White, Jordan Valley, Ore., 13.2.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Sage Newman, Melstone, Mont., 90.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Burban. 2, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 86.5. 3, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 83. 4, Kolby Wanchuk, Sherwood Park, Alberta, 81.5.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, (tie) Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, and Brayden Roe, Wendell, Idaho, 8.4 seconds. 3, Cole Eiguren, Fruitland, Idaho, 8.6. 4, Dillon Mundorf, three Rivers, Texas, 14.8.
Barrel Racing: 1, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 17.36. 2, Jennifer Kalafatic, Caldwell, Idaho, 17.44. 3, Hayden Madsen, Honeyville, Utah, 17.68. 4, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 17.82.
Bull Riding: (one ride) Levi Gray, Dairy, Oregon, 85 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Grand Theft.
The following are current leaders –
Bareback Riding: 1, Rocker Shane Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, 88 points on Outlawbuckers Rodeo’s Turn Back Time. 2, Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah, 86. 3, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 84.0. 4, Caleb Bennett, Corvallis, Mont., 82.0. 5, Keenan Reed Hayes, Hayden, Colo., 81.5. 6, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 81.
Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, (tie) Coby Brown, Wallsburg, Utah, and Stetson Jorgensen, Blackfoot, Idaho, 3.8 seconds each. 3, Tanner Bruner, Ramona, Kan., 3.9. 4, (tie) Walt Arnold, Coleman, Texas, 4.1. 5, (tie) Cody Devers, Balko, Okla.; Gus Franzen, Kearney, Neb.; Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La.; and Wil Lummus, Byhalia, Miss.; 4.2 each. (total on two) 1, Brunner, 8.2. 2, Stan Branco, Chowchilla, Calif., 8.5. 3, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 8.8. 4, (tie) Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, and Don Payne, Stephenville, Texas, 9.0. 6, Lummus, 9.1.
Team Roping: (second round) 1, (tie) Lightning Aguilera, Athens, Texas, and Coleby Payne, Stephenville, Texas; and Jack Graham, Lakeview, Ore., and Jason Duby, Klamath Falls, Ore.; 4.4 seconds each. 3, Rhett Anderson, Annabella, Utah and Junior Zambrano, Nogales, Ariz., 4.5. 4, (tie) Jake Orman, Prairie, Miss., and Brye Crites, Welch, Okla.; Coy Rahlmann, Elsinore, Mo., and Douglas Rich, Herrick, Ill.; and Dalton and Blaine turner, Sidney, Ark.; 4.6. (total on two) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 9.8. 2, Rahlmann and Rrich, 10.5. 3, Hall and Tryan, 10.9. 4, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 11.5. 5, Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D., 11.7. 6, Aguilera and Payne, 12.7.
Breakaway roping: (second round) 1, Josie Conner, Iowa, La., 2.7 seconds. 2, Alex Loiselle, Paris, Texas, 3.0. 3, Codilynn McPherson, Plain City, Utah, 3.1. 4, Hope Thompson, Abilene, Texas, 3.2. (total on two) 1, Conner, 5.3. 2, Thompson, 6.3. 3, Loiselle, 6.4. 4, Braylee Shepherd, Nephi, Utah, 6.6. 5, McPherson, 6.6. 6, (tie) Jackie Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, and Sarah Morrissey, Ellensburg, Wash., 7.4.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Sage Newman, Melstone, Mont., 90.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Burban. 2, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 86.5. 3, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 86. 4, Kade Bruno, Challis, Idaho, 84. 5, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 83. 6, Kolby Wanchuk, Sherwood Park, Alberta, 81.5.
Tie down roping: (second round) 1, Jake Hannum, Plain City, Utah, 7.6 seconds. 2, (tie) Sy Felton, Weatherford, Texas, and Chance Thiessen, Elk City, Okla., 7.8 each. 4, Paul David Tierney, Oklahoma City, 8.0. (total on two) Macon Murphy, Keatchie, La., 15.9. 2, John Douch, Huntsville, Texas, 16.4. 3, King Pickett, Stephenville, Texas, 17.0. 4, Tierney, 17.4. 5, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 17.5. 6, (tie) Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, and Colton Farquer, Oakdale, Calif., 17.6 each.
Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Paige Jones, Wayne, Okla., 17.03. 2, Bailey Choate, Fort Worth, Texas, 17.04. 3, Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Florida, 17.12. 4, Macee McAllister, St. George, Utah, 17.22. (total on two) 1, Crowther, 34.46. 2, Jones, 34.60. 3, Shannon McReynolds, La Luz, N.M., 34.70. 4, Choate, 34.73. 5, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 34.78. 6, McAllister, 34.85.
Bull Riding: 1. Trey Holston, Fort Scott, Kan., 85.5 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Cherry Bomb. 2, Levi Gray, Dairy, Ore., 85.
Bull Riding – Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 92 points $7,670
CLN Community & Event Sponsor
You must be logged in to post a comment.