Tight turns and fast horses thrill Cheyenne Frontier Days fans

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — When looking at Sunday’s barrel racing roster at Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, everyone expected an exciting and explosive competition. That might have been an underestimate.

The excitement started when the reigning and two-time CFD champion Lisa Lockhart, from Oelrichs, S.D., and her great mare Rosas Cantina “Rosa” stopped the clock in 17.38 seconds. That was the fastest time at Frontier Park so far this year.

Lockhart was the second barrel racer to compete with 10 yet to run including four-time world champion Hailey Kinsel, of Cotulla, Texas, and two-time world champion Kassie Mowry from Dublin, Texas. Kinsel stopped the clock in 17.69, then Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Carlee Otero ended the first set of barrel racers with a 17.43.

Trying to keep the ground even and safe for the horses has become a priority at Cheyenne and after Otero’s run, they brought in the tractor to work the dirt. Katelyn Scott from Odessa, Texas, who qualified for her first NFR last December was next. She moved into a tie with Kinsel. Mowry hit barrels and with three left to go, many thought that Lockhart had locked up the top spot.

The final barrel racer to go was Emily Beisel from Weatherford, Okla. She had success here a year ago, being at the top in her performance, winning semifinals 1 and finishing fourth in the championship finals. She earned over $13,000 here a year ago on her home-raised horse, a nine-year-old gelding named Vanilla Gorilla that she calls Trigger.

Trigger obviously likes Cheyenne Frontier Days. They stopped the clock in 17.37 seconds on Sunday to win the day with the fastest time at this year’s rodeo.

The group advancing to the semi-finals from Sunday’s rodeo is the most competitive here so far. All these women will advance along with the sixth place finisher, Katie Halbert from Port Lavaca, Texas, who stopped the clock in 17.81 seconds.

Ryder Wright of Beaver, Utah, may have the most gold buckles for saddle bronc world championships of his siblings, but he has yet to win his signature event at the Daddy of ’em all. He took the first step to resolve that issue by winning on Sunday with 89.5 points on Rafter S Rodeo’s horse named Turbulence. That puts him into Friday’s semifinals.

Trell Etbauer of Goodwell, Okla., was the fastest steer wrestler in performance three with a time of 6.4 seconds. The CFD all-around champion in 2014 and the steer wrestling winner in 2022, is headed to the semifinals. He is carrying on a tradition of success at the Daddy of ’em All that started when his uncle Dan won the rookie saddle bronc riding in 1986. Dan Etbauer won the saddle bronc title at CFD in 1996 and Billy Etbauer (Dan’s brother and Trell’s uncle) was the bronc riding champion in 2009. Trell’s father Robert competed here multiple times.

First place in bull riding was crowded on Sunday with three riders sharing the round win. Wyoming favorite Hayden Welsh of Gillette set the bar with his 89-point score on a bull from Korkow Rodeos. Welsh is among the top four in the bull riding world championship standings in his rookie season of pro rodeo.

Colorado’s Luke Mackey and Kansas’ Colton Byrum were able to match his score on two other Korkow bulls. They all advanced to the semifinals, but have another opportunity for success here on Monday as all bull riders compete in two performances at CFD.

The third performance of “the Daddy of ’em All,” starts at 12:45 on Monday. A new set of contestants in every event (except bull riding) will aim to advance to one of three semifinals. Bull riders who did not advance on Sunday have another opportunity then.

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The following are unofficial results from the third performance of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Sunday, July 19. Prize money subject to change.

Bareback Riding: 1, Toby Deudney, Tumut, New South Wales, Australia, 89.5 points on Brookman Rodeo’s Ruffie’s Rage, $2,300. 2, Kashton Ford, Sturgis, S.D., 88.5, $1,800. 3, Kade Sonnier, Carencro, La., 88, $1,300. 4, Roedy Farrell, Thermopolis, Wyo., 87, $750. 5, (tie) Bryce Eck, Redfield, Kan., and Tucker Carricato, Saratoga, Wyo., 85.5, $210 each.

Tie Down Roping: 1, Bryce Derrer, Portales, N.M., 10.9 seconds, $2,000. 2, Tate Talkington, Scottsbluff, Neb., 11.6, $1,500. 3, Mac Street, New Haven, Mo., 12.5, $1,000. 4, Travis Staley, Nashville, Ga., 12.6., $500. 5, Dalton Porch, Kadoka, S.D., 13.6, $250.

Breakaway Roping: 1, Taylor Engesser, Spearfish, S.D., 4.7 seconds, $2,591. 2, Amy Ohrt, Victoria, Texas, 5.2, $1,943. 3, Jenna Dallyn, Nanton, Alberta, Canada, 5.6, $1,295. 4, Karrigan Graves, Kentwood, La., 5.8, $648. 5, Maci Ray, Mabank, Texas, 6.0. 6, Kendal Pierson, Wardlow, Alberta, Canada, 8.9.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Ryder Wright, Beaver, Utah, 89.5 points on Rafter S Rodeo’s Turbulence, $2,300. 2, Mitchie Story, Bayfield, Colo., 89, $1,800. 3, Waitley Sharon, Ordway, Colo., 88, $1,300. 4, (tie) Carson Bingham, Rigby, Idaho, and Statler Wright, Beaver, Utah, 87, $585 each. 6, Zane Magner, Breda, Iowa, 85.

Team Roping: 1, Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont, and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 7.9 seconds, $2,000 each. 2, Stefan Ramone, Ephriam, Utah, and Treyden Gonzales, Seboyeta, N.M., 8.9, $1,500 each. 3, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Joseph Harrison, Marietta, Okla., 9.1, $1000 each. 4, Billy Bob Brown, Carbon, Texas, and Blaine Vick, Breckenridge, Texas, 9.3, $500 each. 5, (tie) Travis Whitlow, Wittman, Ariz., and Caleb Hendrix, Fallon, Nev.; and Brye Crites, Welch, Okla., and Ross Ashford, Lott, Texas, 10.0, $125 each.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 6.4 seconds, $2,000. 2, (tie) Zach Hamar, Yuma, Colo., and Sam Gallagher, Brighton, Colo., 7.2, $1,250 each. 4, Wyatt Jurney, Las Cruces, N.M., 7.8, $500. 5, Rhett Witt, Valentine, Neb., 10.6, $250.

Barrel Racing: 1, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 17.37 seconds, $2,462. 2, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.38, $1,981. 3, Carlee Otero, Lipan, Texas, 17.43, $1,321. 4, (tie) Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, and Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 17.69, $330 each. 6, Katie Halbert, Port Lavaca, Texas, 17.81.

Bull Riding: 1, (tie)Hayden Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., on Korkow Rodeos’ 078; Luke Mackey, Ignacio, Colo., on Korkow Rodeos’ 321; and Colton Byram, Mound City, Kan., on Korkow Rodeos’ 40B, $ each. 4, Grady Young, Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, 87, $800. 5, Brenson Bartlett, Cheyenne, Wyo., 84, $350. 6, Cimarron Rucker, Liberty Hill, Texas, 81.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Lanny Brooks, Faith, S.D., 83 points. 2, Kaden Wood, Whitewood, S.D., 81. 3, Cade Costello, Newell, S.D., 77. 4, Connor Brumley, Mocksville, N.C., 76. (tie). (second round) 1, Brooks, 83. 2, Wood, 81. 3, Costello, 77. 4, (tie) Holden Eisemann, Glenham, S.D., and Pace Garrett, Gillette, Wyo., 75. (overall leaders) 1, Brooks, 168 points. 2, Wood, 162. 3, Costello, 154. 4, (tie) Eisemann and Garrett, 150.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Beer Money!, $589. 2, Kicked in the Belly, $442. 3, Baty Bunch, $294. 4, Turquoise Rose, $147.

Ladies Saddle Bronc Riding World Championship: (second round) 1, Blayne Bedard, Canada, 75. 2, Ilona Bercx, Belgium, 73. 3, (tie) Ameilia Baker, Australia; Bailey Zuehlke Canada; and Jade Pelowski, U.S.A., 70 points. (overall winners) 1, Bedard, 145 points. 2, Bercx, 142. 3, Baker, 141. 4, Pelowski, 135.