Elite Rodeo Athlete's Compete in Front of a Sell-Out Crowd in Redmond, Oregon
REDMOND, OREGON (March 27, 2016)
Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) competed in front of a sell-out crowd at The Bank of the Cascades Center Saturday night in Redmond, Oregon. The crowd’s excitement fueled both animal and human athletes, as they both displayed incredible skill and athleticism.
Steven Dent, ERA Bareback Rider, said, “When you put the best guys together, it makes everyone ride better. Iron sharpens iron and winners feed off of one another, so when the best are all out in the same performance, it can’t help but be great!” Dent also went on to comment that the Saddle Bronc Riding on Saturday night was the best he had ever seen.
The Million Dollar Triple Crown Winner of The American rodeo, “Wild” Wade Sundell from Boxholm, Iowa put on one of his signature no-holds-barred performances and turned in a 88.5 on Black Box from Sankey Pro Rodeo. The competition was thick with eight riders scoring in the 80-point range and all riders making the whistle.
ERA Tie-Down Roper and bull stock contractor, Cody Ohl, brought five impressive bulls to compete at the Redmond event. At the end of the night, a bull named Water Exploration was drawn by Zack Oakes from Tolar, Texas, and received an 87-point score. With a second place finish on Friday night, Oakes now leads the Championship Race to Dallas in the bull riding.
Redmond’s fan favorite event of the weekend was the Bareback Riding with Oregon natives and ERA Bareback Riders, Bobby Mote and Austin Foss, competing. Having ridden in that building several times before, both athletes commented that they had never seen the building that full or quite that loud. Mote and Foss were part of the seven riders who turned in 80-point rides, but in the end it was Canyon, Texas cowboy, Will Lowe who took home the first place win with an 86.5-point ride on Little Devil from Four Star Rodeo Company.
Texas Cowboys tied for first in the tie-down roping when World Champion Monty Lewis went up against six-time World Champion, Cody Ohl and they both stopped the clock with a 7.62 second run. With two high placing runs on both nights, Ohl moved into first place in the ERA Championship Standings.
ERA Steer Wrestler, Kyle Irwin, from Robertsdale, Alabama; crossed the country to compete in the very first ERA Tour event, but that long trip proved profitable for him when he stopped the clock with a 4.25 and won the Saturday night performance. Irwin placed third in the Friday night performance, which now puts him first in the Championship Race to Dallas.
The newly matched team roping team of Kaleb Driggers from Albany, Georgia and the fan favorite, Junior Nogueria, from Brazil hit their stride when they turned in a blistering 4.04 run. The time gave them the win on Saturday night, but Derrick Begay and Clay O’Brien Cooper proved that they are hard to stop when they followed up their Friday night win, with a second place finish on Saturday and claimed the top slot in the ERA World Championship Standings.
An incredible showing by animal athletes and their riders in the barrel racing set the fans in Redmond at the front of their seats as they got to watch the best of the best compete. Barrel racing world record holder, Taylor Jacob, from Carmin, Texas came out on top with a 14.06 run on her horse Tink. Wyoming cowgirl, Ashley Schafer, was a blink of an eye behind her with a 14.09.
Both nights of competition in Redmond paid out $100,000 each night. An athlete with a first place finish took home $3,625. The rodeo athletes now head to Nampa, Idaho next weekend, April 1stand 2nd for the second stop on their eight-city tour. Fans can purchase tickets to the Idaho event by going to ICTickets.com.
Rodeo fans across the country can watch the “Elite Rodeo Championship Race to Dallas” which will air on FOX Sports 2, with the Redmond event airing April 6th at 7:00 EST and April 13th at 10:00 EST.