Sometimes, a roughstock cowboy might wait months or even years to get a second ride on the same animal. For rookie saddle bronc rider Statler Wright, the wait was barely two weeks.
And Wright made that recently acquired knowledge pay off in Saturday’s short round at the inaugural Cowboy Channel Rookie Roundup presented by Resistol in Fort Worth, Texas.
Wright, the latest to join the PRCA in a family full of successful saddle bronc riders, posted an 88.5-point ride aboard Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Border Town at the historic Cowtown Coliseum.
“I actually got on that horse a couple weeks ago at San Angelo (Texas),” Wright said, noting he had a solid 84-point ride in the Cinch Chute-Out. “I knew what I had to do to ride him a little better this time. I really wanted to be super aggressive. I felt like last time, I wasn’t aggressive enough.”
The first performance on April 29 featured all 15 contestants in a single go-round of competition. The top eight contestants in each event were then brought back to compete in the semifinals on April 30 with the top four then advancing to the championship round that same performance.
The 18-year-old Wright has been traveling with older brother and two-time world champion Ryder Wright. The younger Wright hadn’t claimed the top spot at a rodeo since February.
“I kept telling Ryder, ‘I just want one win, and it’ll boost me,'” Wright said, noting earlier this year, while still on his PRCA permit, he got wins in Hattiesburg and South Haven, Miss., and at Lake Charles, La.
“But since then, I hadn’t won a rodeo. I was really itching for a win,” he said, excited about notching his first victory on his actual rookie PRCA card. “It feels really good.”
Statler had an 84.5-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Fire Freckles to advance out of the semifinals.
The first-place ride by Statler in the championship round was worth $2,500. Wright also added a second-place, 85-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Spur Strap in the first round of the Rookie Roundup, for an additional $1,069.
Money won during the Cowboy Channel Rookie Roundup presented by Resistol will count towards the Resistol Rookie Standings but will not be credited towards the PRCA | RAM World Standings for NFR qualification.
Wright said his solid weekend – and of course the victory – certainly gives him some fuel going forward.
“I think it’ll boost my confidence a lot,” he said. “The horses were really good today. They put us on the best horses, ones that they knew would challenge us, and I thought that helped me out a lot.”
Wright has $6,144 in qualifying earnings thus far in 2022. So, he knows there’s work to do if he wants to end up where the rest of his namesake tends to end up at season’s end: the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
“I plan on being there, and not to just watch,” he said. “I don’t like watching it very much!”
Resistol Rookie Roundup
Fort Worth, Texas, April 29-30
Bareback riding: First round: 1. Waylon Bourgeois, 83 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Jungle Cat, $1,329; 2. Bodee Lammers, 80, $1,156; 3. Calder Peterson, 79, $982; 4. Rickey Williams, 78, $809; 5. Shannon Warren, 77, $636; 6. Matt Tuni, 75.5, $462; 7. Troy Kirkpatrick, 75, $289; 8. Cooper Cooke, 74, $116. Finals: 1. Waylon Bourgeois, 85.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo Co’s Faded Nite, $2,500; 2. Rickey Williams, 83.5, $1,500; 3. Bodee Lammers, 79, $1,000; 4. Matt Tuni, 71, $500.
Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Joshua Hefner, 4.6 seconds, $1,329; 2. Sterling Walton, 5.2, $1,156; 3. Adam Musil, 5.7, $982; 4. Landris White, 7.6, $809; 5. Kyler Dick, 7.7, $636; 6. Bryn Roy, 9.8, $462; 7. Kaden Greenfield, 16.8, $289; no other qualified runs. Finals: 1. Kaden Greenfield, 5.2 seconds, $2,500; 2. Landris White, 7.4, $1,500; 3. Quentin Wheeler, 9.2, $1,000; no other qualified runs.
Team roping: First round: 1. Logan Currie/Clay Green, 6.2 seconds, $1,329 each; 2. Jason Burson/Garrett Smith, 6.8, $1,156; 3. Peter Bennett/Brandt Ross, 8.6, $982; 4. (tie) Wyatt Lacey/Junior Zambrano and Kreece Thompson/Zack Woods, 11.3, $722 each; 6. Trevor Hale/Levi Walter, 11.5, $462; 7. Bodie Mattson/Trae Smith, 11.6, $289; 8. Tyler Hobert/Kolton Good, 11.7, $116. Finals: 1. Bodie Mattson/Trae Smith, 5.5 seconds, $2,500 each; 2. Wyatt Lacey/Junior Zambrano, 5.6, $1,500; 3. Logan Currie/Clay Green, 5.7, $1,000; 4. Jason Burson/Garrett Smith, 9.6, $500.
Saddle bronc riding: First round: 1. Cree Minkoff, 87.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Daisy Duke, $1,329; 2. (tie) Damian Brennan and Statler Wright, 85, $1,069 each; 4. (tie) Brody Wells and Bailey Bench, 82.5, $722 each; 6. Dylan Schofield, 79, $462; 7. Chris Williams, 76, $289; 8. Triston Eklund, 75, $116. Finals: 1. Statler Wright, 88.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Border Town, $2,500; 2. Damian Brennan, 84.5, $1,500; no other qualified rides.
Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Riley Mason Webb, 9.1 seconds, $1,329; 2. Tate Thomas, 9.4, $1,156; 3. Zaine Mikita, 9.6, $982; 4. Austin Davis, 10.0, $809; 5. Tom Crouse, 11.6, $636; 6. Dallen McIntire, 11.9, $462; 7. Kase Bacque, 13.5, $289; 8. Cash Hooper, 13.8, $116. Finals: 1. Tom Crouse, 8.2 seconds, $2,500; 2. Riley Mason Webb, 10.5, $1,500; no other qualified runs.
Barrel racing: First round: 1. Hannah Forsythe, 14.03 seconds, $1,329; 2. Presley Smith, 14.05, $1,156; 3. Jamie Olsen, 14.12, $982; 4. Kailee Murdock, 14.26, $809; 5. Jordan Driver, 14.27, $636; 6. Teneille Angland, 14.29, $462; 7. Taycie Matthews, 14.34, $289; 8. Jessica L Anderson, 14.42, $116. Finals: 1. Presley Smith, 13.82 seconds, $2,500; 2. Jordan Driver, 13.96, $1,500; 3. Hannah Forsythe, 18.87, $1,000; 4. Taycie Matthews, 23.92, $500.
Bull riding: * First round: 1. Wade Berg, 85 points on United Pro Rodeo’s White Diamond, $5,778; no other qualified rides. * Finals: 1. Wade Berg, 80 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo Co’s Punchline, $5,500; no other qualified rides. Average leaders: 1. (tie) Wade Berg and Wade Berg, 165 points on two head each; 3. (tie) Dawson Gleaves and Dawson Gleaves, 85 on one head each; no other qualified rides. *(all totals include ground money).
Total payoff: $90,222. Stock contractors: New Star Pro Rodeo, Pete Carr Pro Rodeo, Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo, United Pro Rodeo and Pickett Pro Rodeo Co. Rodeo secretary: Sandy Gwatney. Timers: Jayme Pemberton and Teri Cribb. Announcers: Steve Kenyon and Justin McKee. Specialty act: Madidie MacDonald. Bullfighters: Clay Heger and Bryce Redo. Clown/barrelman: John Harrison. Chute bosses: John Gwatney and Pete Carr. Pickup men: Jeff Dees and Jake Dees. Photographers: Ken Carmona, Joe Duty and Lisa Duty. Music director: Ryan Killingsworth.
