Co-champions headline CFD's time events

Aug. 1—CHEYENNE — Co-champions were the order of the day in timed event finals at the 126th anniversary Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

Breakaway ropers Macy Young and Tiffany Schieck got the ties started when they both stopped the clock in 4.0 seconds. Tie-down ropers Ryan Thibodeaux and Cory Solomon made it a trend by sharing the title with runs of 10.3 seconds.

Young and Schieck both drew calves they had gotten during the semifinals. The familiarity paid off.

"I kind of knew what I was going to see and that he'd keep ducking to the right if I didn't throw when I had a shot," said Young, who calls Wittmann, Arizona, home. "It was almost like a rerun of (Saturday's semifinal), but I threw a lot faster and didn't take any extra swings.

"I could have been faster (in the semifinals), but I knew I just had to take one down to advance to today. Here, I had Martha Angelone behind me, so I was going to have to take a quick shot and be ready for it."

This was Young's first time competing at CFD. She wasn't able to get into the inaugural breakaway roping in 2019. Young missed CFD last summer because she was pregnant with her daughter, Hadley, who she held on her right hip while she fielded questions after her run.

Schieck had her run immediately after Young's. She backed into the box with a simple approach.

"Just catch him. That's what we always say at home," the Floresville, Texas, cowgirl said.

Schieck split first in Friday's semifinal with Angelone. The calf she drew Sunday was the same one she had in that round.

"I had a really good calf that was a little stronger than I thought he'd be, but that made my run faster," Schieck said. "I didn't think I could win on him, but I take that back."

This is Schieck's first season rodeoing hard. She had won just north of $7,000 prior to this week.

CFD also saw co-champions in steer wrestling, thanks to Trell Etbauer and Justin Shaffer both clocking in at 5.4 seconds. There nearly was a tie in team roping at 8.3 seconds before Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill finished in 7.5. Bull riding also had a pair of 90-point rides before Brady Portenier scored 92.5 points.

Tie-down roping

Ryan Thibodeaux reached the CFD finals for the third consecutive year. What he had seen in those two previous trips shaped his strategy of being the second contestant out of the box.

"The guys who won the short round those years set the pace with their runs early on, and nobody ever caught them, so that's what I wanted to do," Thibodeaux said.

The Stephenville, Texas, cowboy's calf was relaxed and took the tie once he got it flanked.

"I'm pretty confident in my groundwork," Thibodeaux said. "I'm not scared to put a wrap and a hooey on anything."

Solomon's calf also was gentle on the ground and allowed him to tie quickly.

"My strong point is usually on the ground," the Prairie View, Texas, roper said. "I've spent a lot of time doing it. Even as a kid, I didn't have many horses to rope on, so I tied a lot. I tried to be easier, and she crossed her legs, and that's where I made up time."

Steer roping

Ora Taton set a pace of 13.6 seconds when he was the first steer roper out of the box Sunday. He thought the time was pretty solid, but might end up placing third or fourth when all was said and done.

The Rapid City, South Dakota, roper was one of only three cowboys to record times Sunday, and he captured his second CFD buckle.

"This is a cowboy event and a cowboy rodeo because of the setup," said Taton, whose first win was in 2003. "The arena is different, there's a long score, and that left fence is pretty close. Usually, we have fresh cattle in the first round, and we rope them again.

"You never know what to expect those first two rounds, so you have to be able to read cattle and anticipate what's going to happen."

Taton made the National Finals Steer Roping in 2003 and '04, winning the aggregate title during his first appearance. He is currently No. 9 in the world standings, and is all but assured of another NFSR berth. The 53-year-old Taton credits a new horse for helping him excel this year.

"He's upped my roping tremendously," Taton said. "I took him to the circuit finals two years ago, and he's advanced me so fast. I didn't know an older fella could do that much to speed up. A lot of it has been the horse."

Barrel racing

Andrea Busby is riding a horse that saw its fifth rodeo performance Sunday afternoon. It's a horse that has struggled with deep, loose dirt. That's the kind of dirt that greeted contestants near the bottom of the order at Frontier Days before the committee decided to start raking the arena after six contestants during main performances.

Busby capitalized on the fresh dirt and bested a blazing field with a 17.13-second run.

"The decision to drag at six is what allowed me to win, even though I was drawn at the bottom of the round," said Busby, who lives in Brock, Texas.

Busby clocked her time despite a slight slip up on the second barrel.

"She hung up a little bit on the second barrel, and I thought, 'Oh man, I screwed that up,'" Busby said. "She turned her third barrel good and was really running. ... When I looked up and saw the time, I was blown away."

Busby grew up in Lusk, Wyoming, and had an uncle hospitalized in Cheyenne this past week. Her uncle passed during Friday afternoon's semifinals.

"I felt like somebody gave us some wings," Busby said.

Busby's horse was sidelined after surgery and didn't return to the arena until June. It's since placed in its first rodeo performance and won the second.

"I think maybe she likes the rodeos," Busby said.

Team roping

Tryan and Corkill won the "Daddy of 'em All" in 2013. That was Corkill's second CFD buckle, the first coming with header Chad Masters in 2009. Corkill added a third CFD title to his collection when he won with header Clay Smith in 2021.

Corkill and Tryan reunited this summer and walked away with another CFD buckle, stopping the clock in 7.5 seconds, which was eight-tenths of a second faster than the two runner-up teams.

"We've been doing all right," said Tryan, who hails from Billings, Montana. "Last week, I roped terrible, and this week I roped good. Hopefully, I keep roping good."

Tryan is No. 2 in the PRCA header standings, while Corkill ranks fifth in the heeler race. Winning in Cheyenne will help their efforts to move up the standings. Tryan was quick to point out that they got some significant help.

"Here, if you don't have a good steer, you can't do anything, and we got three that were pretty dang good," he said. "You get into a groove and get confident with each one you run. This was our best run by far."

Added Corkill: "The steer we had wasn't too slow, but it stayed right down the middle and let us both be pretty aggressive."

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.