Tougher than boot leather: PRCA hosts Wild Rides Pro Rodeo
Sep. 27—DICKINSON — Bulls busted out of gates with tornado-like speed at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Wild Rides Pro Rodeo at Stark County Fairgrounds Sept. 24. Cowboys and cowgirls from across the United States competed for the best times in team roping, barrel racing, saddle bronc riding and more.
Bareback riding was the first event to kick off the show. Going into the competition, Kaden Clark out of Black Hawk, South Dakota was at the top of the leader board, but a no score ride bumped him down. Andy J. Gingerich of Aberdeen, South Dakota picked up the Championship title with a score of 76 on a qualified re-ride. Bobby Reynolds had the rockiest ride out of the four cowboys. Although he mastered a 75-point ride on his first go, he was flung from the back of "615 Montana Cat" and hit a gate before he slammed into the dirt. Reynolds was slow to get up but exited the arena on his own power.
Saddle bronc riding was one of the biggest events of the evening with more than 20 entries. Jade Blackwell out of Rapid City, South Dakota put up the top score in section one with a 78 on "Spider Woman." In section two of the saddle bronc riding, cowboys needed to top his score. South Dakota cowboys Kash Deal and Cole Elshere tied with a score of 83 and were named co-champions. Elshere traveled straight to Dickinson after competing in a rodeo in Omaha, Nebraska and is a four-time National Finals Rodeo contestant.
The ladies breakaway had even more entries than the saddle bronc riding. The PRCA had to put on a special morning slack due to the outstanding number of contestants in the event. Going into the afternoon competition, three ladies were tied for first place with a time of 2.3 seconds. Riders needed to beat a 2.3 to take the gold. Joey Williams out of Volberg, Montana did just that with a 2.1 catch and release.
In steer wrestling 10 cowboys had a rough go tipping their hefty steers. They needed to beat a fast time of 4.5 seconds. Reed Kraeger, who is in first place in the bulldogger Bad Lands Circuit came close to jumping the fast time with a 4.9, but it wasn't enough to get him the win. Cyler Dowling out of Newell, South Dakota came out on top with a 4.3 and brought home $1,431.
Tie down roping was a challenge for 10 cowboys who struggled to contain their squirming, kicking steers. The men needed to beat Trey Young's time of 9.2 seconds to take the title and cash but no one put up a faster time. Chase Lako of Arthur, North Dakota finished with the fastest run of the day with a 10.5.
Team roping was a bust for nearly all 10 teams who racked up penalties and no times. The event produced no clean runs, and no one beat Layne Carson and Jess Chase's fast time of 4.9 seconds. Breaking the barrier was the contestants biggest obstacle, as it added an additional 10 seconds to their times. Montana team Alonzo Skunkcap and Caleb Guardipee had the best time of the day with a 10.2.
Twelve women battled to beat defending champion Molly Otto's 17.1 seconds in the barrels. A handful of ladies came close, but Otto retained the title and pocketed $1,117. Erin Williams out of Alzada, Montana put up the fastest time of the day with a 17.44.
The bucking bulls wrapped up the show. About half of the 10 riders finished with no scores. Josh Davison put up the first qualified ride on "Outkast" with a score of 79. His performance earned him first place and nearly $2,000. Davison, who also competed in the saddle bronc riding, was named the All-around cowboy. In total, the rodeo paid out $38,126. For a complete list of final results visit
https://www.prorodeo.com/result/2022/wild-rides-rodeo-dickinson/12391
.
