One year ago, when Ardie Maier entered the Reno Rodeo, he was 10th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings, the exact same ranking as this year.
Maier thought he would be headed to his second Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, but disaster struck at Cheyenne Frontier Days in July when he broke his back. This year, he is healthy and is likely to improve his position in the standings with a good check from the Reno Rodeo. Maier took the lead in the first round of competition here with a 91-point effort on Growney Brother's Glory Days. With just one performance left before Saturday night's finals, he is likely to get a big check out of the round and will be at the top of the rider list for the final round.
There was also a lead change in the steer wrestling standings Thursday night.
Jacob Talley from Keatchie, La., has the fastest total time on two runs at 9.3 seconds. Several bareback riders put themselves in contention for a final round qualification. Current standings leader Wes Stevenson from Lubbock, Texas, had an 84 point ride on Flying Five Rodeo's Crooked Sky. He is tied for first place in the first round. Also moving into the standings in the first round were George Gillespie from Placerville, Calif., and Tom McFarland from Bowie, Texas, with 82 points and Will Lowe from Canyon, Texas; Steven Anding from Crossroads, Texas, and Clint Cannon, from Waller, Texas who each had 81 points. They will have their second round horses on Friday night.
In the saddle bronc riding, former Reno Rodeo champion Bradley Harter tied with the reigning world champion Taos Muncy. Harter from Weatherford, Texas rode Bronco Blue and Muncy from Corona, N.M., was on Drinkin Blues to each score 81. They are tied for sixth place in the first round, so will be looking to better their scores on Friday and advance to Saturday's finals.
The bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, and women's barrel racing all feature two complete rounds of competition with scores and times added together to determine the top 12 who advance to the finals. The bull riding has one full round with the 12 highest scores from that round competing on Saturday. All of the event winners will receive a pair of championship trophy spurs that are some of the most coveted awards in rodeo.
RENO, NEV., June 21, 2012 --- Following are unofficial results from the seventh performance of the Reno Rodeo:
Bareback Riding: 1, Wes Stevenson, Lubbock, Texas, 84 points on Flying Five Rodeo's Crooked Sky. 2, (tie) George Gillespie, Placerville, Calif., and Tom McFarland, Bowie, Texas, 82. 4, (tie) Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas, and Steven Anding, Crossroads, Texas, 81 each.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La., 4.2 seconds. 2, Les Shepperson, Midwest, Wyo., 5.1. 3, Kash Koester, Chandler, Okla., 6.1. 4, Ryan Swayze, Freedom, Okla., 8.3.
Team Roping: 1, Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas, and Martin Lucero, Stephenville, Texas, 5.5 seconds. 2, Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo., and Kinney Dale Harrell, Marshall, Texas; and Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas, and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 9.9. 4, Brandon Thone, Damascus, Ark., and Cole Bigbee, Tuscunbia, Ala., 11.5.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, (tie) Bradley Harter, Weatherford, Texas, on Flying Five Rodeo's Bronco Blue and Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., on Flying Five Rodeo's Drinkin Blues, 81 points each. 3, (tie) Cody Angland, New South Wales, Australia and Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., 77.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Houston Hutto, Tomball, Texas, 8.1 seconds. 2, Cody Owens, Rankin, Texas, 9.2. 3, Trevor Thiel, Greeley, Colo., 10.6. 4, Ryan Thibodeaux, Stephenville, Texas, 12.0.
Barrel Racing: 1, Karen Little, San Saba, Texas, 17.29 seconds. 2, Robyn Herring, Huntington, Texas, 17.42. 3, Kristy Barton, Carey, Idaho, 17.43. 4, Tana Renick, Kingston, Okla., 17.47.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Ardie Maier, Timber Lake, S.D., 91 points on Growney Brother's Glory Days. 2, Keith Roquemore, Cottonwood, Calif., 87. 3, Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 84.
Reno Rodeo Media Release6/21
