Gleaves improves score, advances in bull riding
Jul. 25—CHEYENNE — The 85-point ride Dawson Gleaves posted during the first quarterfinal round of the 126th anniversary Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo was good enough to move him to the semifinals.
He got another crack at a paycheck during Sunday afternoon's quarterfinal round and made the most of it. The 20-year-old bull rider from Amarillo, Texas, scored 88 points on United Pro Rodeo's Amish Burnout, which earned him $2,397 for the go-round victory.
"I just kept trying, kept my hand shut and made it through the whistle," Gleaves said. "That's all you can do in a situation like that where you have one you know is good. I knew he was going to be one I could win the round on. You just have to keep your hand shut and keep riding."
Gleaves knew he had drawn a good bull because he had left the chute on Amish Burnout earlier March 18 in Goliad, Texas. Amish Burnout won that battle, tossing Gleaves right before the 8-second whistle. Sunday was a measure of revenge for Gleaves.
"I knew I had to keep moving, keep moving and keep moving. That's all bull riding is," he said. "If you keep moving and move in the right direction, it's hard for them to throw you off."
Gleaves is currently No. 35 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings with more than $42,400 in earnings. He is third in the rookie of the year race, and is making his CFD debut. Gleaves has added nearly $3,000 to his total over the first two days of the "Daddy of 'em All."
"I didn't rodeo very hard in the fall because I was dealing with a groin issue, but I started going pretty hard once the winter hit," Gleaves said. "I've only had three or four days off this whole summer. I'm traveling by myself, which is kind of rough on a guy. It's nice, though.
"I don't have to worry about getting in anyone else's headspace or anyone getting in mine and having their mentality impacting me. Those late-night drives are pretty rough on a fella, though."
Brody Yeary of Morgan Mill, Texas, also knew he had a good bull for Sunday's round. That's because Colton Kelly rode the unnamed bull from Harper & Morgan to the tune of 87 points Saturday.
Yeary capitalized on his draw and posted an 86, which moved him on to the semifinals.
"I couldn't have asked for a better bull," Yeary said. "The guy who owns him came up to me before the rodeo and said, 'Well, you're making the finals.' I asked him what he meant, and he told me, 'You've got a bull you just need to stay on. I know you will.'
"When I heard that, I was really confident and prepared for a dance."
Yeary's season has been up-and-down, but has been turning around since the Cody Stampede over Independence Day weekend. He didn't win any money in that northwestern Wyoming rodeo, but covering the bull he drew there put wind in his sails.
"It was a nice bull that I could ride and not really think about," Yeary said. "I just let my reactions take over. I was tired and sore, and when you get that way, you don't overthink things. You just do the basics and ride the best you know how.
"I've been riding more than have been throwing me off ever since then. With bull riders — especially me — one little spark of confidence can start a fire. I haven't turned into a wildfire yet, but I'm dang sure a brush fire."
Steer wrestling
Wyoming has been very kind to Denton Good this week.
The Long Valley, South Dakota, bulldogger placed 10th in the first CFD qualifying round with a time of 6.7 seconds Tuesday morning. Then he raced up to Gillette for the National High School Finals Rodeo for his first run Tuesday night. Good placed sixth in the nation Saturday, and then drove back to the Capital City for the CFD quarterfinals.
The 18-year-old won his quarterfinal by stopping the clock in 6.6 seconds.
"Wyoming's been really good to me this week. I've been watching my dad compete here for years, so it's really cool to be doing well here right now," said Good, whose father, Allen Good, has competed at CFD previously. "My dad, my uncle, and all the guys they rodeoed with, have always had good luck in Cheyenne."
Good got plenty of advice from his family about what it took to succeed in Frontier Park Arena. He has used it to his advantage.
"This is a cowboy's rodeo, and I love it," Good said. "The steer I had (Sunday) nearly went to the rail in the first round. I wanted to try to force him into the middle of the arena, and it worked out great."
Good plans to rodeo full time instead of going to college. He already has other means of making money for when he hits lean times on the rodeo circuit.
"I've got a fencing company, and I'm an auctioneer after going to Western College of Auctioneering in Bozeman, Montana," Good said. "I drive truck, horseshoe and train horses at our indoor arena in the winter time. When I'm not rodeoing, I'll be working."
Bareback riding
Bronc Marriott recently changed out his rigging and glove because he felt like his old setup had worn out prematurely, started malfunctioning and was keeping him from riding as well as he could.
He's only used his new setup a few times, but it's worked out well thus far. The Woods Cross, Utah, cowboy scored 89 points to secure the quarterfinal victory.
"He started out kind of weird, but once he got that out of his system, he started kicking up high and giving me a lot of exposure," Marriott said. "I just let him do his job and tried my hardest to get mine done."
The 23-year-old is currently No. 29 in the world standings. He said a typical bronc rigging lasts about 80 attempts out of the chute before it has to be replaced. The rigging Marriott was using had roughly half that number of attempts on it.
"It spit the bit pretty quick, so I changed things out and everything feels amazing now," Marriott said.
Breakaway roping
Even minutes removed from her run, Anna Callaway couldn't believe she didn't leave the box prematurely and break the barrier Sunday.
"That calf was so slow, I was certain I had broken the barrier when I left the box," Callaway said of an infraction that would have added 10 seconds to her time. "I was on him so fast I really thought I had left too soon."
Callaway's run was clean, and she finished in 3.5 seconds to win the quarterfinal round. This will be her second consecutive trip to the semifinals. She had a no-time during that round last summer.
Sunday's performance was a rough one for breakaway ropers. There were seven no-times, and three other cowgirls who were penalized for breaking the barrier.
"I drew the best calf in there because he was so much slower than most of them," the Billings, Montana, cowgirl said.
Saddle bronc riding
Kade Bruno doesn't make it to many of the Texas rodeos, which is where Carr Pro Rodeo's Knights Showoff has most of his trips. Bruno only knew the horse by its reputation in both bareback and saddle bronc riding.
Knights Showoff lived up to its billing and helped Bruno notch 86 points and advance to the semifinals.
"I had a really good spur out," the Challis, Idaho, resident said. "From time to time, I struggle getting a good spur out. If you do that and get the timing, you'll never miss a jump. I rolled on with him and everything felt pretty good."
Bruno is currently No. 8 in the PRCA standings. Depending on when you ask the 21-year-old, though, he may not know where he stands because he checks the standings so infrequently. His primary approach is to ride the best he can and let the standings take care of themselves.
"I look to see where I'm at from time to time," Bruno said. "I set a weekly goal of how much I want to win. The way I look at it, the less I think about it, and the less I worry about it, the better.
"I want a clear mind to go do what I do. If you think about it all the time, you can make riding harder than it needs to be."
Other winners
Trent Creager of Stillwater, Oklahoma, posted the best tie-down roping time Sunday, stopping the clock in 11.5 seconds.
The tandems of Turner Harris and Matt Kasner and Jay Tittel and Cole Cooper split first in team roping at 8.0 seconds.
Taycie Matthews of Wynne, Arkansas, was the fastest barrel racer of the day, turning the cloverleaf pattern in 17.65 seconds.
Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.
