Bull riders cut loose to wrap up 75th annual Moses Lake Roundup in style
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Soap Lake cowboy Caleb McMillan takes his turn in the steer wrestling on Saturday night at the 75th annual Moses Lake Roundup.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldRodeo clown JJ Harrison joins Wade Leslie of George. Leslie is the only man in rodeo history to post a 100-point bull ride.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldGrand Coulee cowboy Shane Proctor showed why he's one of the best all-around cowboys in the region with an 81-point ride.
MOSES LAKE — It was a bull rider’s night at the finale of the 75th annual Moses Lake Roundup and they did not disappoint an estimated record crowd of 5,000 Columbia Basin rodeo fans on longtime Roundup bullfighter Rowdy Barry’s last stand.
Nineteen bull riders threw caution to the wind trying to chase down early leader Brady Portier’s 83 from the first night. The No. 1 rider in the PRCA/Wrangler world standings Sage Kimzey couldn’t turn his ride on Corey & Lange Rodeo's “Damn Straight” into money, but when the best in the world get it rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’, it’s only a matter of time.
No. 13 Tyler Bingham electrified the crowd on a Corey & Lange Rodeo bull called “Short Bus” with a ride of 87.5-point to payday ($6,260). Afterwards, Barry, the longtime professional bullfighter, gave one last tip of the hat to Moses Lake.
“The community and committee members have gotten to be great friends over the years and that’s what I’ll always remember about Moses Lake. I was here when there was one bullfighter and the chute gates were wooden,” said Barry, who worked his first Moses Lake Roundup in 1986. “It’s been a lot of fun. My job is to be the protector of the bull rider, and at the end of the day if the bull rider is safe, I’m safe, my partners are safe, I’ve done my job.”
Athens, Texas cowboy Jeff Askey took the lead Saturday, putting up an 86 on “Red Ryder.” Eli Vastbinder of Athens, Texas, made a big run at the lead Saturday night with an 85 to finish third. But in the end, it was Bingham's show on "Short Bus" that won the buckle.
The 75th annual Moses Lake Rodeo featured 12 bull riders ranked in the top 35 in the world standings. Former world bull riding champion Shane Proctor from Grand Coulee is ranked 48th in the world, riding mostly part-time these days. But the only Washington state cowboy to earn a gold buckle (2011) did have a nice 81-point ride to make money in the saddle bronc riding on “Dance Hall” earlier in the week.
“I’ve been to 19 PBR Finals, been to five National Finals Rodeos. I did both associations for a last seven years. Most guys try to specialize in a certain event, but I try to ride bulls and saddle broncs,” said Proctor, who finished sixth in saddle broncs.
Proctor’s been around long enough that he’d been on “Knock Around’s” daddy, but he didn’t have much luck on junior on Friday night in the bull riding.
The all-around honors went to the ropers this year. Jordan Ketscher (tie-down roping, team roping) and Colton Campbell (tie-down roping, team roping) made $1,723 each.
Clint Laye’s 84.5-point ride on Corey & Lange Rodeo's “Little Bucker Brown” on Friday night held up to win the bareback riding.
West Point, Miss., cowboy Will Lummus busted a five-second showing in the steer wrestling on Saturday night to win. Saturday also featured Ty Erickson’s 5.8 second run, but it wasn’t enough to unseed Nick Guy (5.3) for second place.
Garrett Rogers and Trey Yates won $2,331 apiece in the team roping with their 4.8 seconds effort on Thursday night. Hempstead, Texas cowboy Jayce Johnson put up an 8.9-second time on Friday to win the tie-down roping.
The barrel racing came down to a fraction Teri Bangart (17.04 seconds) held off Jana Bean (17.19) to win the event.
75th annual Moses Lake Round-Up Rodeo
Moses Lake, Wash., Aug. 16-18
All-around cowboy: (tie) Jordan Ketscher, tie-down roping and team roping, and Colton Campbell, tie-down roping and team roping, $1,723 each.
Bareback riding: 1. Clint Laye, 84.5 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo's Little Bucker Brown, $2,930; 2. Orin Larsen, 83, $2,246; 3. Connor Hamilton, 81, $1,660; 4. (tie) Seth Hardwick, Jesse Nelson and Jake Brown, 78.5, $749 each; 7. Cody Kiser, 78, $391; 8. Jake Stemo, 75.5, $293.
Steer wrestling: 1. Will Lummus, 5.0 seconds, $2,456; 2. Nick Guy, 5.3, $2,197; 3. Ty Erickson, 5.8, $1,939; 4. Jesse Brown, 6.1, $1,680; 5. Levi Rudd, 6.2, $1,422; 6. (tie) Andy Weldon and Rudy Switzer, 6.3, $1,034 each; 8. Riley Jones, 6.4, $646; 9. (tie) John Green and Blake Knowles, 6.5, $259 each.
Team roping: 1. Garrett Rogers/Trey Yates, 4.8 seconds, $2,331 each; 2. Spencer Mitchell/Russell Cardoza, 5.3, $2,027; 3. Colton Campbell/Jordan Ketscher, 5.4, $1,723; 4. (tie) Kellan Johnson/Brady Norman, Jake Cooper/Logan Medlin and Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 5.5, $1,115 each; 7. Jesse Stipes/Jake Smith, 5.9, $507; 8. Jordan Tye/Jason Minor, 6.2, $203.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Samuel Kelts, 84 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo's Teardrop, $3,590; 2. Zeke Thurston, 83.5, $2,752; 3. Cort Scheer, 82.5, $2,034; 4. (tie) Audy Reed and Kolby Wanchuk, 81.5, $1,077 each; 6. Shane Proctor, 81, $598; 7. Wade Sundell, 80.5, $479; 8. (tie) Josh Davison, CoBurn Bradshaw, Ryan Mackenzie and Allen Boore, 80, $90 each.
Tie-down roping: 1. Jayce Johnson, 8.9 seconds, $2,590; 2. Jake Pratt, 9.1, $2,317; 3. (tie) Brad Goodrich and Blane Cox, 9.3, $1,908 each; 5. (tie) Matt Shiozawa and Marty Yates, 9.7, $1,363 each; 7. Tyler Milligan, 10.0, $954; 8. Ryan Jarrett, 10.7, $682; 9. Trent Creager, 10.8, $409; 10. Kyle Lucas, 11.5, $136.
Barrel racing: 1. Teri Bangart, 17.04 seconds, $2,880; 2. Jana Bean, 17.19, $2,448; 3. Kathy Grimes, 17.23, $2,016; 4. Tammy Fischer, 17.26, $1,728; 5. Jessica Lewis, 17.29, $1,440; 6. Cheyenne Allan, 17.30, $1,008; 7. Danyelle Williams, 17.31, $720; 8. Tracy Nowlin, 17.32, $576; 9. Amanda Lewis Waller, 17.33, $504; 10. Italy Sheehan, 17.34, $432; 11. Jessie Telford, 17.35, $360; 12. Andrea Busby, 17.39, $288.
Bull riding: 1. Tyler Bingham, 87.5 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo's Short Bus, $6,260; 2. Jeff Askey, 86, $4,800; 3. Eli Vastbinder, 85, $3,548; 4. Brady Portenier, 83, $2,295; 5. (tie) Clayton Savage and Brody Yeary, 82.5, $1,252 each; 7. (tie) Dylan Hice Vick and Elijah Mora, 82, $730 each.
Total payoff: $109,030. Stock contractor: Corey & Lange Rodeo. Rodeo secretary: Edie Longfellow. Officials: Mike Jones, Mike Nauman and Monty Van Komen. Timers: Myrna Weber and Allison France. Announcer: Will Rasmussen. Specialty acts: Jessica Blair, JJ Harrison and Madison MacDonald. Bullfighters: Dangerous Dan Newman, Matt Akers and Rowdy Barry. Clown/barrelman: JJ Harrison.