Record book rewritten at Moses Lake Rodeo

New arena standard set in team roping

MOSES LAKE — Three days of intense professional rodeo action concluded with Saturday's finals of the Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo at the Grant County Fairgrounds.

Local rodeo professionals competed with some of the best cowboys from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, giving Saturday's fans an exciting show from start to finish.

The PRCA events began with the bareback competition, in which cowboys attempt to ride a bucking horse with nothing more than a single leather strap to hold on to. The second rider on the night, Noah Bayes of Adrian, Ore., got the fans into the action quickly.

Bayes' horse came out of the chute hard, broke to the right and started bucking fiercely. Bayes was able to hold on to his ride for the full 8 seconds, and the crowd responded with a loud cheer of approval. Not only did Bayes earn the favor of the Grant County fans in attendance with his ride, he picked up a score of 87, good enough to catapult him into first place.

Logan Modson of Goodwell, Okla., followed with an 83, but no other riders on Saturday were able to put up a serious challenge to Bayes' impressive score. Bayes finished in first place, edging runner-up Bobby Hoye's score of 85, and the 83's put up by both Andy Martinez and Kaycee Feild.

Possibly the most talent-filled event Saturday night was team roping. Four teams in Saturday's event currently sit in the top 25 of the PRCA world standings, with another team featuring Brandon Beers, the No. 1-ranked header in the world.

While rankings indicate consistent performance over the course of the rodeo season, even the best cowboys can have an off night. Beers missed with his header attempt midway through Saturday's run of performances, keeping his team out of the money. Ellensburg natives and 14th-ranked team in the world Brady Minor and Riley Minor also failed to record a time Saturday, opening the door for other competitors to go for the buckle.

With the door wide open, world No. 2 team Dean Tuftin and Speed Williams not only went through the door, they nailed it shut, posting a 4.6-second mark to not only win the event, but set the arena record in the team roping event.

Capping off the night's action was the bull riding event, a fan favorite in which fearless cowboys attempt to conquer bulls that can weigh in at more than 2,000 pounds. Of the four bull riders to compete Saturday, only Stratford, Wash., product Colby Reilly was able to make it the full 8 seconds, staying atop a bull that spun hard to the left to earn a score of 83 from the judges.

Reilly got hung up in his bull rope, but was sprung free after a long trip across the arena attached to the side of an angry bull. Reilly dropped to his knees after being freed of his ride, but appeared to escape any serious injury.

Reilly's effort earned him third place, behind the 88 of winner Marcus Michaelis of Caldwell, Idaho.

The ladies also had their time in the arena, as the competition in barrel racing was close throughout the night. Seven of the 10 riders Saturday were within 48 hundredths of a second of each other. Leading the pack Saturday was Lindsay Walker of Conway, Wash., who recorded a time of 17.43 to earn third place in the event. Right behind Walker was Brittany Hofstetter, the 17th-ranked rider in the world, at 17.46.

Winning the event, and the only rider to finish in under 17 seconds, was Brandie Halls of Carpenter, Wyo. The No. 5-ranked rider in the world clocked a time of 16.87 to win the barrel racing by nearly one-half second.

Chad Johnson won the tie-down roping event, defeating fellow world-ranked cowboy Jeff Chapman for the title. Johnson turned in a time of 8.2 to narrowly edge Chapman's 8.5-second run.

World-ranked cowboys swept the top three spots in steer wrestling, as fourth-ranked Wade Sumpter tied with 43rd-ranked Kyle Whitaker for first place with a time of 4.5 seconds. Trevor Knowles, ranked 15th in the current world standings, was third with a time of 4.6.

A very close competition in saddle bronc riding also resulted in two cowboys sharing the buckle, as Jeb Knox and Ryan McKenzie each posted rides of 80 to split first place honors. Matt Marvel, ranked 31st in the world, was third with a 79.