RENO, Nev., (June 21, 2015) — A sold-out crowd of 8,700 at the Reno Rodeo Arena thought it was a little better than that.
On a picture-perfect Saturday night, Hazen threw his steer to the turf in 4.0 seconds, the fastest time of the night and good enough to put him into the overall lead at the 96th anniversary Reno Rodeo.
“I drew a really, really good, really honest steer, and he threw outstanding,” said Hazen, of Ashland, Kan. “It was just a businessman’s run. I was just fortunate to have a really good steer.”
Combined with his 4.9 second run in the first round, Hazen likely ensured himself a spot in next Saturday’s championship round, as he leads the two-steer average at 8.9 seconds.
“I hope I’m back for the short round, but there are still a lot of good guys to go,” he said. “But this feels awesome. Three of us are traveling together and we’ll sitting first, second and third right now.”
With a purse of more than $500,000, the Reno Rodeo is one of the most lucrative in professional rodeo, just winning one of the go-rounds can be big. Saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston might just find that out.
He’s leading the second round after an 82-point ride on Rosser Rodeo Company’s bronc Hat Stomper.
It was a tough night for most of the saddle bronc riders as several hit the dirt early, including all three Wright brothers from Milford, Utah. Jesse Wright, who bucked off Hannibal Hank, had the high score of the first round on Friday night, but won’t be back for the championship round.
In bareback bronc riding, Ryan Gray of Cheney, Wash., a past Reno Rodeo champion, and Steven Peebles of Redmond, Ore., both had 82-point rides to top the field. Gray made his score on the Rosser Rodeo bronc Time 2 Play, while Peeples rode Rosser’s Wilhock.
In team roping, the duo of Cale Markham of Vinita, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins of Columbus, Kan., caught their steer in 5.1 seconds to top the field.
The top tie-down roper of the night was Cory Solomon of Prairie View, Texas – the No. 1 tie-down roper in the world standings. He roped and tied his calf in 9.2 seconds and could have been even faster if he hadn’t dropped the rope used to tie the calf’s legs. He still stands a good chance of making it back to championship round after two solid runs.
In barrel racing, Kaley Bass of Kissimmee, Fla., became the first rider to stop the clock under 17 seconds, rounding the barrels in 16.94 seconds to take the lead in the second round and in the overall.
The only qualified ride in the bull riding was turned in by Kountze, Texas cowboy Howdy Cloud, who rode Superior Rodeo Company’s bull Aces for 81 points.
Tonight’s third performance of the Reno Rodeo starts at 7 p.m. at the Reno Rodeo Arena.
Bareback riding: First round leaders: 1. Bobby Mote, 80 points on Western Rodeos’ Another Grey; 2. (tie) Brian Bain and Will Lowe, 78 each; 4. Austin Foss, 77; 5. Winn Ratliff, 76; 6. Ryan Gray, 75.
Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Joshua Clark, 4.2 seconds; 2. Olin Hannum, 4.5; 3. Ryan Bothum, 4.7; 4. (tie) Sean Mulligan, Jon Herl and Jule Hazen, 4.9 each. Second round leaders: 1. Tanner Milan, 4.0 seconds; 2. Shawn Downing, 4.9; 3. Dirk Tavenner, 5.2; 4. Shayde Etherton, 5.3; 5. Straws Milan, 5.5; 6. Olin Hannum, 6.0. Average leaders: 1. Tanner Milan, 9.6 seconds on two head; 2. Olin Hannum, 10.5; 3. Shawn Downing, 14.7; 4. Morgan Grant, 18.0; 5. Dirk Tavenner, 19.2; 6. Jake Woolstenhulme, 24.5.
Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Erich Rogers/Cory Petska, 5.4 seconds; 2. Edward Hawley Jr./Ty Romo, 6.0; 3. Ryan Reed/Monty Joe Petska, 6.2; 4. Rowdy Rieken/Clay Sieber, 6.3; 5. Thad Ward/Olin Pulham, 6.4; 6. Brandon Webb/Kaleb Driggers, 6.6. Second round leaders: 1. Bubba Buckaloo/Russell Cardoza, 4.9 seconds; 2. Derrick Begay/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 5.3; 3. Turtle Powell/Jonathan Torres, 5.4; 4. Ryan Reed/Monty Joe Petska, 5.8; 5. Jesse Stipes/Billie Jack Saebens, 8.2; 6. Blake Hughes/Allen Bach, 8.9. Average leaders: 1. Ryan Reed/Monty Joe Petska, 12.0 seconds on two head; 2. Bubba Buckaloo/Russell Cardoza, 12.8; 3. Blake Hughes/Allen Bach, 16.0; 4. Barak Freeman/Asher Freeman, 31.7; 5. Derrick Begay/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 5.3 on one head; 6. Erich Rogers/Cory Petska, 5.4.
Saddle bronc riding: First round leaders: 1. Jesse Wright, 84 points on Diamond G Rodeo’s 18 Karat Kowboy; 2. Jacobs Crawley, 77; 3. (tie) Tyrel Larsen and Sterling Crawley, 76 each; 5. CoBurn Bradshaw, 75; 6. Andy Clarys, 70.
Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Russell Cardoza, 9.3 seconds; 2. (tie) Ace Slone and Joseph Parsons, 9.6 each; 4. Reese Riemer, 10.1; 5. (tie) Cory Solomon and Adam Gray, 10.2 each. Second round leaders: 1. Clay Long, 8.7 seconds; 2. Cody Quaney, 9.0; 3. Seth Hopper, 9.7; 4. Doyle Hoskins, 9.9; 5. Wes Lockard, 10.5; 6. Nate Baldwin, 10.9. Average leaders: 1. Doyle Hoskins, 20.4 seconds on two head; 2. Wes Lockard, 20.9; 3. Sterling Smith, 24.3; 4. Seth Hopper, 24.9; 5. Nate Baldwin, 31.4; 6. Clay Long, 8.7 on one head.
Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Kaley Bass, 17.33 seconds; 2. Ruth Haislip, 17.39; 3. Amber Leigh Moore, 17.52; 4. Rachel Dice, 17.68; 5. Tillar Murray, 17.73; 6. Lori Todd, 17.75. Second round leaders: 1. Rachel Dice, 17.39 seconds; 2. Teigan Adams, 17.60; 3. Shelby Blixt, 17.98; 4. Carlee Pierce, 18.28; 5. DeAnna Critton, 18.55; 6. Jordan Wright, 22.60. Average leaders: 1. Rachel Dice, 35.07 seconds on two head; 2. Carlee Pierce, 36.23; 3. DeAnna Critton, 37.80; 4. Jordan Wright, 40.87; 5. Jandee Smart, 40.88; 6. Shelby Blixt, 41.20.
Bull riding: First round leaders: 1. Caleb Sanderson, 82 points on Diamond G Rodeo’s Warbird; 2. Howdy Cloud, 81; 3. Cody Teel, 77; 4. Tanner Learmont, 75; 5. Jeff Askey, 74; no other qualified rides.
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