Roundup ends with a flourish

Sep. 10—The stands were spilling over, leaving some fans to watch from the sidelines on the final day of the 89th annual Lewiston Roundup.

It was the best-attended performance, with around 4,651 people coming to the Lewiston Roundup Ground on Saturday night.

Some rodeo-goers wore red, white and blue, while others brought the American spirit with them on Patriot Night at the rodeo. Many whooped and hollered when asked, "How much do you love America?"

The production took a moment of silence before kicking off the show. People in the crowd took off their hats and lowered their heads solemnly, honoring veterans and lives lost during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Even though it was Patriot Night, an Australian cowboy was celebrated as the winner of the Jackson Sundown Saddle Bronc riding event. Damian Brennan, of Injune, Australia, rode a national finalist bronc named Sudoku. He looked to the screen to see his score, 82.5, and the crowd roared.

Brennan said he saw Sudoku last week and was pretty excited to have him.

"He's pretty strong, but one you can still do a good job on," Brennan said.

He added the crowd makes the Lewiston Roundup one of the coolest rodeos he's competed in this year.

"This crowd is electric," he said.

Although Sudoku came out kicking and bucking, Jack Bentz found his ride, Silver Screen, more timid out of the chute. There were a few attempts by the Crane, Ore., cowboy to encourage the horse out into the arena, but then the event went to the next cowboy and Brennan took the center stage.

When Bentz returned to the chute on Silver Screen, the bronc came to life and managed to knock Bentz off just before his 8 seconds were up.

At the end of the saddle riding competition, it was only Brennan and Statler Wright, of Beaver, Ore., who were able to stay on their rides long enough for a score. Wright earned a 75.5 on a horse named Bury Me Not. Brennan earned a Pendleton blanket from the Nez Perce Tribe for taking the top spot Saturday night.

In bareback riding, Leighton Berry, of Weatherford, Texas, took the top score of 86.5 on MLW's Irish Eyes.

"Winning is always the goal that's in mind," Berry said. "When you show up prepared and do your job ... a first-place win just builds confidence headed into the next one."

Coming in second for the night was Colton Clemens, of Blackfoot, Idaho, who rode Land of Fancy for a score of 80.5. Sam Peterson, of Helena, Mont., took the third spot with a score of 74 on a ride with Gargamel.

It was Clemens' second time competing in the Lewiston Roundup. He said Lewiston has an awesome rodeo and people take their rodeos seriously here.

"I like the atmosphere," Clemens said. "The stands are always packed, people are loud. It's a pretty cool place to be."

Breakaway roping was the night's fastest event with runs taking place in a matter of seconds. Cowgirls would rope a calf over the head and, as the calf ran, the rope would break. It sounds simple, but if the rope ended up on the calf's legs or face, a 10-second penalty was assessed.

One hometown competitor was Scotti Erickson, of Lewiston, who roped her calf in 13.2 seconds. She said it wasn't her best run but she was happy with how her horse, Chap, performed. She added it was Chap's second or third big performance and he handled being in the arena pretty well.

Erickson said this is her second year competing in the Roundup since leaving the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley for Portland, Ore., in 2005.

"It feels good to be back," Erickson said.

The last event of the night was the bull riding with four cowboys competing. Roscoe Jarboe had a memorable ride on a bull named Cowboy Floyd, earning a score of 86 and a roar from the crowd. He even managed to stay on a few moments longer than the required 8 seconds.

"You can't beat a good ride," Roscoe said. "It feels good to be on top."

The bull also provided some extra entertainment. It was the bull who earlier in the Roundup managed to escape the arena. He refused to go back into the pen and ran into the fence by the stands a few times.

Jarboe said he saw the bull last night buck off one of his buddies. He was excited to see he was riding it tonight to redeem his friend.

Jestyn Woodward, of Custer, S.D., got the second-highest score with 84.5. The three other cowboys didn't manage to score.

Bulls weren't the only ones putting up a fight. Some of the steers in the steer wrestling competition refused to go down as cowboys tried to take them to the ground. However, Gus McGinn, of Haines, Ore., wrestled his steer for the fastest time with 4.8 seconds.

Even as the rodeo wound to a close, the night wasn't over. Zions Bank held a drone show to celebrate its 150-year anniversary of serving customers in the Pacific Northwest.

The stadium went dark and twinkling lights illuminated the summer night sky. Zipping around each other, the drones formed images that seamlessly changed from one to the next.

The crowd cheered when the drones created the American flag that gracefully swayed in the wind, which transitioned into Idaho with a rotating star above where Lewiston would be on a map.

SATURDAY NIGHT RESULTS

BAREBACK RIDING: 1. Leighton Berry, of Weatherford, Texas, 86.5; 2. Colton Clemens, Blackfoot, Idaho, 80.5; 3. Sam Petersen, of Helena, Mont., 74.

STEER WRESTLING: 1. Gus McGinn, of Haines, Ore., 4.8 seconds; 2. Kaden Greenfield, of Lakeview, Ore., 5.6 seconds; 3. Ringo Robison, of Huston, Idaho, 5.8 seconds.

TIE DOWN ROPING: 1. Russell Cardoza, of Terrebonne, Ore., 8.8 seconds; 2. Justin Farber, of Battle Ground, Wash., 11.9 seconds; 3. King Pickett, of Weatherford, Texas, 13.8 seconds.

WOMEN'S BREAKAWAY ROPING: 1. Sarah Morrissey, of Ellensburg, Wash., 2.5 seconds; 2. Makayla McCabe, of Hermiston, Ore., 3.2 seconds; 3. Julia Reeves, of Melba, Idaho, 12.2 seconds.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING: 1. Damian Brennan, of Injune, Australia, 82.5; 2. Statler Wright, of Beaver, Utah, 75.5.

TEAM ROPING: 1. Clint Summers, of Lake City, Fla., and Jake Long, of Coffeyville, Kan., 3.8 seconds; 2. Wyatt Bray, of Stephenville, Texas, and Josh Patton, of Shallowater, Texas, 4.0 seconds; 3. Chad Masters, of Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Trey Yates, of Pueblo, Colo., 4.3 seconds.

BARREL RACING: 1. Megan McLeod-Sprague, of Marsing, Idaho, 17.35 seconds; 2. Deanna Davis, of Riggins, 17.41 seconds; 3. Stevi Hillman, of Weatherford, Texas, 17.48 seconds.

BULL RIDING: 1. Roscoe Jarboe, of New Plymouth, Idaho, 86; 2. Jestyn Woodward, of Custer, S.D., 84.5.

OVERALL LEWISTON ROUNDUP RESULTS

BULL RIDING: 1. Jordan Spears, of Redding, Calif., 87 points, $3,984.35; 2. Hayes Weight, of Goshen, Utah, 86.5, $3,089; 3. Mason Moody, of Letcher, S.D., 86, $1,938.91.

BARREL RACING: 1. Paige Jones, of Wayne, Okla., 17.03 seconds, $3,681.98; 2. Wenda Johnson, of Pawhuska, Okla., 17.08 seconds, $2,945.58; 3. (tie) Andrea Busby, of Brock, Texas, and Carlee Otero, of Laundesboro, Ala., 17.23 seconds and $2,117.13 each.

TIE-DOWN ROPING: 1. Lane Livingston, of Seymour, Texas, 7.6 seconds, $4,594.25; 2. Riley Mason Webb, of Denton, Texas, 7.7 seconds, $4,053.75; 3. Jake Pratt, of Ellensburg, Wash., 7.8 seconds, $3,513.25.

TEAM ROPING: 1. (tie) Erich Rogers, of Round Rock, Ariz., and Paul Eaves, of Lonedell, Mo., and Tyler Wade, of Terrell, Texas, and Wesley Thorp, of Throckmorton, Texas, 3.7 seconds and $3,553.20 each; 2. Clint Summers, of Lake City, Fla., and Jake Long, of Coffeyville, Kan., 3.8 seconds, $2,664.90. 3. Dustin Egusquiza, of Marianna, Fla., and Levi Lord, of Sturgis, S.D., 3.8 seconds, $2,664.90.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING: 1. Shorty Garrett, of Eagle Butte, S.D., 88.5 points, $3,948; 2. Logan Hay, of Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, 87.5, $3,026.80; 3. (tie) Houston Brown, of Miles City, Mont., and Brady Hill, of Onida, S.D., and Kolby Wanchuk, of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, 86 and $1,535.33 each.

WOMEN'S BREAKAWAY: 1. Kelsie Domer, of Dublin, Texas, 2.0 seconds, $3,280.60; 2. (tie) Erin Johnson, of Fowler Colo., and Martha Angelone, of Stephenville, Texas, 2.2 seconds and $2,542.46 each; 3. Hali Williams, of Comanche, Texas, 2.3 seconds, $1,968.36.

BAREBACK RIDING: 1. Leighton Berry, of Weatherford, Texas, 86.5, $4,039; 2. Keenan Hayes, of Hayden, Colo., 86 points, $3,134.90; 2. (tie) Kody Lamb, of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, and Tucker Zingg, of Crow Agency, Mont., 84 and $1,908.20 each.

STEER WRESTLING: 1. J.D. Struxness, of Milan, Minn., 3.2 seconds, $2,856.42; 2. Kodie Jang, of Townsville, Australia, 3.8 seconds, $2,520.37; 3. Josh Garner, of Live Oak, Calif., $2,184.32.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297. Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.