Monthly Archives: February 2016

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Mason Clements’ first time to compete at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo turned out pretty well. “This is a great way to kick off the most important month of my season,” said Clements, who rode Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Black Pearl on Friday night for 84.5 points to take the lead in bareback riding on opening night of the tradition-rich West Texas rodeo. “My goal is to come out on top at the end of this month. I’m looking at it that way, and I’m going to do what I can to make it happen.” Now in his second year of ProRodeo, the Sandy, Utah, cowboy wants to capitalize on a strong inaugural campaign in which he finished second in the Resistol Rookie of the Year standings. “I feel like I’m more mentally focused and more prepared than I have been for anything,” Clements said. “Physically I think I’ve been there, but mentally I’m stronger than ever.” While bareback riding is probably more physically demanding than any other discipline in rodeo, a good athlete realizes he must have a strong mind to go with his talents. It all came together well Friday night. He had never seen Black Pearl before and only learned a few things about the horse from stock contractor Chad Lancaster. “He had just bought the horse and liked him,” Clements said of Lancaster. “He liked him well enough that he put him in the draw. That’s all I knew about him. I figured it would be pretty good if Chad just bought him and decided to put him in the draw. I was right.” It helps to have the right animal in the mix. Still, the young cowboy knows he needs to handle his end of the match up if he is going to come out at or near the top of the leaderboard. Of course, he had quite the learning curve his rookie season while traveling with four-time world champion Kaycee Feild, six-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Jessy Davis and 2014 NFR qualifier Richmond Champion. “Finishing second in the rookie race was probably the best thing that happened to me in my career,” Clements said. “It fueled my fire that much more and made me more competitive in the long run. “Being around guys like a world champion and Jessy Davis, guys that can show you the ropes and critique you just right, is great, especially for a rookie like me. Getting along with them and being best friends with all three of them was a huge factor for me. It makes your job fun and takes the edge off things.” Those lessons have proven quite valuable as he steps forward to the 2016 season. He wants it to be historic. Having a solid run in San Angelo is a great way to kick off a big month of rodeo. “It’s such a good rodeo, and the production and everything around it was top-notch,” he said. “All the livestock bucks outstanding there, and the contractors have a huge part in that. To make a rodeo better, you’ve got to have top stock. It’s a key component to the rodeo. “I think they’re definitely on the right track. It’s just going to keep getting better.” San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Feb. 5-7, Feb. 12-14, Feb. 17-19 Bareback riding leaders: 1. Mason Clements, 84.5 points on Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Black Pearl; 2. Luke Creasy, 84; 3. Teddy Athan, 83; 4. Zach Hilber, 78; 5. Zachary Lomax, 74; no other qualified rides. Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Stan Branco, 4.0 seconds; 2. (tie) Nick Guy and Justin Shaffer, 4.6 each; 4. Clayton Hass, 14.3; no other qualified runs. Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Cole Sherwood/Tanner Luttrell, 4.9 seconds; 2. David Key/Travis Woodard, 5.5; 3. Tee Luttrell/Clay Sieber, 6.0; 4. Jake Cooper/York Gill, 9.4; no other qualified runs. Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. CoBurn Bradshaw, 79.5 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Kattle Katie; 2. Jake Wright, 78; 3. Alex Wright, 68; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Jake Pratt, 7.9 seconds; 2. Michael Otero, 8.0; 3. Mike Johnson, 9.3; 4. Marcos Costa, 10.6; 5. Cade Swor, 12.6; 6. Blane Cox, 12.7; 7. Hunter Herrin, 15.0; 8. Tim Pharr, 23.5. Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Kelsie Miller, 14.55 seconds; 2. Kelley Carrington, 14.59; 3. Jayme Robison, 14.63; 4. (tie) Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi and Brogan Macy, 14.80 each; 6. Jodee Miller, 14.87; 7. Shea-Lynn Leach, 15.01; 8. Ahnna Peterson, 15.08; 9. Miranda Mitchell, 19.74; 10. Katti Watters, 19.76. Bull riding leaders: 1. Cody Rostockyj, 80.5 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Razorback; no other qualified rides.

McALESTER, Okla. – Cord McCoy has something to prove, and he plans to start at the Choctaw Casino’s McAlester ProRodeo Presented by Sam Wampler’s Freedom Ford, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13, at the Southeast Expo Center. The lifelong cowboy from nearby Tupelo, Okla., McCoy made his name as a young man in rodeo as an all-around hand who competed primarily in all three roughstock events: bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. He had great success in bull riding, where he was a six-time qualifier to the PBR World Finals and was a 2005 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. But he’s always loved riding bucking horses. “A lot of people talk about things they want to do, and I didn’t want to talk about it,” McCoy said of his return to bronc riding after more than a decade away from it. “I’m not doing anything but getting older. I may be old as a bull rider, but I’ve got some years left in me in bronc riding.” Now 35, the talented cowboy is ready to embark a season chasing gold buckle dreams in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. This marks the first time since the 2006 season that McCoy has been part of the PRCA; he hasn’t been on a bronc in ProRodeo competition since September 2004, when he suffered a serious head injury on the final day of the Oklahoma State Fair Rodeo in Oklahoma City that season. He focused on riding bulls for several years after that, then retired in the fall of 2013. “Maybe nobody else believes in me, but I believe in myself,” he said. “I love riding broncs. Even the whole time when I switched over to the PBR, I felt like I left something behind. There’s a different challenge in it. It’s not just staying on; it’s who is making it look best. “It’s different than bull riding, especially with the caliber of bulls out there now. If you make the whistle in bull riding, they’re going to write you a check.” Saddle bronc riders not only must stay on for the qualifying eight-second ride, but they also must showcase a classic spur stroke in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion if they are to receive adequate scores. While he has more than a decade away from that aspect of the game, McCoy has something of an X factor. “At the level I want to compete at, I feel like I’ve got to ride better than I ever did before,” McCoy said. “It’s not like I could pick up where I left off. I’ve got to make some improvements. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of advantages over a whole group of 18- and 19-year-old kids. There are sure 15 years of knowledge that I think I can use to my advantage. Even though it’s a different sport, competing at the highest level gives you a lot of experience you can’t pay for and can’t learn in the practice pen.” Nearly a dozen years ago, a bronc bucked off McCoy, then kicked him in the head. Surgeons had to repair a circular fracture to the cowboy’s skull, and doctors warned that he would need to wear a helmet if he were to continue to ride bucking animals. Since he had worn a facemask while riding bulls, it was an easy transition as he continued his career through his PBR career. Now he may be the only bronc rider to wear a helmet, but he’s pushing forward with every horse he rides. “When I got on that one bronc at a little open rodeo last summer, that was to say, ‘I did it again,’ ” he said. “Now the idea is to take it one bronc at a time; if it works, move on. You can’t get better training than to nod your head at a rodeo. A man spends $500 or $600 to get on one bronc and then messes up, it’ll make you remember your mistakes.” Every step of the way is just part of the learning process for McCoy. He’s excited to be part of the McAlester ProRodeo. “McAlester is the heart of rodeo country,” said McCoy, who will have some of his own bulls bucking at the rodeo as part of a lease agreement with Hi Lo ProRodeo, the stock contractor. “I think there’s so many people who are excited about rodeo coming back to McAlester. “I went to college with Dustin Murray, who is producing the event for Hi Lo. He does a top-of-the-line event, so I’m excited about it.” He should be excited. He’ll kick-start his 2016 ProRodeo season just an hour from his house in Tupelo. It’s the perfect location for a home-grown cowboy.

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Words aren’t necessary to tell just how much Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket loves his job. His actions speak volumes. “He sure likes to buck,” said Jake Brown, who won the third go-round of the Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo in early January with an 87-point ride on Dirty Jacket. “When I jumped off him, he tossed his head in the air and pranced around the arena. He just looked so cool.” He should be cool. He’s the reigning two-time Bareback Horse of the Year, and he’ll be one of the featured athletes at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, which takes place Feb. 5-20. Now 12 years old, the powerful and athletic bay gelding is the horse every bareback rider wants to ride. “That was my first time to ride him, and I was so excited,” said Brown, a 2015 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Hillsboro, Texas. “He’s a big ol’ show-out. He jumps high in the air. In my mind, Dirty Jacket is the right kind of bucking horse. “He tries so hard every time.” Dirty Jacket knows his job, and he likes it. He explodes out of the chute and leaps high on every jump, bucking and kicking as hard as he can. When the whistle blows to signal the end of the ride, the athletic horse will slow down his bucking motion and allow the cowboy a clean exit. “When I was getting ready, I had to calm myself down so I didn’t get over-excited,” said Brown, who admitted that the toughest part of riding Dirty Jacket is being matched with him via the random draw. “I’ve seen all my friends get on him, and I knew just how good he looked. He felt even better. “That first jump out of there felt so awesome. He jumps so high. We’ve talked that he likes outdoor arenas better because he probably thinks he’s going to hit his head on an indoor arena because he wants to buck so high. He bucked pretty good at in that building in Waco (home of the circuit finals).” He’s performed well any place he’s been. Dirty Jacket has been part of records in just about any type of arena. Last February, he and Jessy Davis matched for 93 points in San Angelo; Ryan Gray was 92 points on him four months later in Pecos, Texas. “He’s just a great animal,” said Gray, an eight-time NFR qualifier from Cheney, Wash. “You can guarantee he’s going to perform at his best every time. He’s going to give you a chance to win first; that’s the neat thing about that horse.” Over the last four seasons, bareback riders have chosen Dirty Jacket as one of the top three horses in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association; he has been at the top of that list in 2014 and ’15. There’s a reason behind it. “There’s not another horse like him,” said Richmond Champion, who has won three times on the powerful bay. “He has a huge frame, but he’s so athletic from nose to tail. He just looks like an athlete. If you could pick a horse out of a herd that could jump nine feet in the air, he’s that horse. If you’re going to win a big rodeo, that’s the horse you want.” Champion should know. He won the 2014 Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days with a 91-point ride, then followed it with an 88.5 to win the fifth round of that season’s NFR. In 2015, he posted a 90-point ride for the win in Eagle, Colo. “Dirty Jacket is a bareback rider’s dream,” said Winn Ratliff, a three-time NFR qualifier from Leesville, La., who won the 2015 Weatherford, Texas, rodeo on the horse. “He’s got a lot of timing when he bucks; when a horse has a lot of timing, it’s easy for us to get in rhythm with him and be flashy. You get to show what the style of bareback riding is all about, and you get to show out.” He was just 4 years old the first time he bucked at a ProRodeo, and Jerad Schlegel won the bareback riding title in Guymon, Okla., on him. Eight years later, they’re still winning on Dirty Jacket.