'Great horse, great ride'

Email this story | Add Your Comment | Read (0) Comments

Published 6/13/2009 in Beef Empire Days-Sports

By BRETT MARSHALL

The psychological highs of rodeo are best exemplified when a cowboy gets a great ride and scores high enough that he has a great chance of winning. Nobody knows that better than Wes Stevenson of Lubbock, Texas, who came into Garden City just 30 minutes prior to his bareback ride Friday night on Bud to score an impressive 89 points to take the second night lead at the 2009 Beef Empire Days PRCA Rodeo at the Finney County Fairgrounds.

The psychological lows are best exemplified when a cowboy is ready to compete, only to see the animal he has drawn does something out of the normal that causes a poor score or a no score. Nobody knows that better than Cody McMinn of Caddo Mills, Texas, who, along with his teammate Joe B. Day of Howe, Texas, saw their rope attempt fail when the calf they drew took off and outran them, which resulted in no points.

For Stevenson, ranked No. 12 in the World PRCA rankings, the ride was sweet as he grabbed the lead from first night leader Tim Shirley of Grant, Colo., who now stands third with 77 points. Nathan Graves of Kaycee, Wyo., is second with 78 points after his ride Friday. World Champion Justin McDaniel was 10th after the Friday competition.

"The judges liked it, the crowd liked it, I liked it," an elated Stevenson said after his high-scoring ride. "Winning is what I had come here to do, and it was a real good ride."

Surprisingly, Stevenson had ridden the same horse two years ago in Bremerton, Ore., and scored an 85.

"It's a great horse, and I found out a week ago that I would be riding him," Stevenson said. "He's now 6 years old and much stronger and a tougher ride. But that's what you hope for -- a great horse and a great ride."

Stevenson, 21, has been riding professionally for three years and said that Bud had not been ridden since last August and was fresh for his first ride of the 2009 season.

"He's just getting into his prime now," Stevenson said of the horse. "At that age they learn how to buck guys off. It's a little like a prize fighter who has a lot of talent but when they're young, they can make mistakes. Now, Bud doesn't make those kind of mistakes. I couldn't be more pleased with the way things went. I didn't do so well last year, so this is a nice change."

While Stevenson was enjoying his high moment, McMinn and Day were on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum.

"It's just one of those real tough things to deal with," McMinn said after their no-score ride. "We had one of those (calves) that just ran on us. We've only been riding together for a couple of weeks with Joe, so we're still trying to find the right chemistry. We live close to each other, and we weren't successful with our other partners."

McMinn said he and Day had placed second at a recent event in Stevenville, Texas, so he was optimistic.

"This is like any other sport; you just do your best, then forget about what happened and get ready for the next event," McMinn said.

The only likeness between the experiences Friday night for Stevenson and McMinn was the fact that they both arrived within an hour of their events, and then were back in their trucks headed to the next event tonight in Texas.

"It's just the way we do things," McMinn said. "You're in for a short time and then gone."

Also competing Friday night was Garden City's Shelley Meier, the former Garden City Community College rodeo coach. She was entered in the Ladies Breakaway Roping, but her time didn't make the top six after the first two days.

"A little disappointing," Meier said of her ride. "But with that calf running off to the left, that was not good. Just being able to compete professionally here at home when we don't get to do that many places is always exciting. It's nice to have family and friends here to watch and support."

Meier, who retired from GCCC's coaching position in 2002, now has three sons who are being introduced to junior rodeo competition.

She also has retained her teaching position at the school, where she teaches both reading and introduction to teaching classes.

"It was time when I had my second son to be able to be at home for them," Meier said of retirement from coaching. "I'll stick closer to home and not travel more than four hours away to compete."

Meier said she will be able to compete in about 10 to 12 rodeos during the summer months, when she is not teaching at the college.

"I miss working with the (college) kids, but I still get to spend some time on my own with a few of the girls," Meier said. "Now, I've got one of my sons sitting back in the chute area telling me how to do things. As long as I can cover expenses, it's a good experience."

After two days of competition, leaders in the respective events were Stevenson in the bareback riding, Jeff Richardson of Fullerton, Neb., in steer wrestling with a time of 4.5 seconds on the second go and Wade Taylor of Ponca, Neb., with a combined time of 9.8 seconds on the total on two head. The team roping second go was won by Steve Purcella of Hereford, Texas, and Jhett Johnson of Capser, Wyo., in a time of 5.5 seconds while Nick Sartain of Yukon, Okla., and Kollin Von Ahn of Durant, Okla., lead the total on two with a combined time of 12.5 seconds.

Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M., retained his lead in the saddle bronc riding with his 86-point effort Thursday night. In the tie down roping second go, Steve Brickey is the leader at 7.8 seconds and Hunter Herrin of Apache, Okla., has a combined time of 18 seconds to lead the total on two head. Tara

Timms of Leedey, Okla., remains the leader in the barrel race with a time of 17.28 seconds she posted Thursday. Jade Inlow of Oakley kept her top spot in the ladies breakaway roping with a time of 2.54 seconds. Friday night's bull riding produced the top two point performances by Cody Gardner of LaSalle, Colo., with 82 points while Tony Rossi of Mack, Colo., was second with 78 points on his ride.

Found 0 comment(s)!

Subject Line		Commenting Rules The Garden City Telegram reserves the right to delete any comment it deems inappropriate. We encourage visitor comments and ask that you be brief and add something relevant to the conversation. All comments are reviewed (usually within 24 hours or less) before appearing on this website. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for full details of our policies. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Your Name
Your Email Addr
Your Comments

Enter Text Above

Subject Line
Send To Email
Your Email Address

Enter Text Above

The Garden City Telegram

'Great horse, great ride'

Healthy Muncy returns to top form - 6/13/2009

Beef Empire Days PRCA rodeo results - 6/13/2009

Commenting Rules