Great athletes, great atmosphere make Eagle rodeo great
Ted Harbin

EAGLE, Colo. – There seems to be a pattern developing at the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo.

It seems the mountain air and the cooler temperatures the end of July continue to benefit rodeo fans that make their way to the picturesque arena in Eagle. It also benefited some of the best contestants in the sport.

“The horses were fantastic,” said Paul Peterson, the Carr Pro Rodeo pickup man who has worked the Eagle rodeo for several years. “We had some great rides in bareback riding and great rides in bronc riding. The bulls were outstanding, too. It took 92 to win the bull riding.”

Will Lowe has won three world championships in his nine years riding bareback horses in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. On the last week of July, the Canyon, Texas, cowboy rode the Carr Pro Rodeo bronc Pink Cadillac for 89 points to win the bareback riding title in Eagle, and it was just the first indication that a bucking tradition continues in Colorado.

“It’s nice to win that rodeo,” said Lowe, the seventh-ranked bareback rider in the world standings. “That’s my wife’s hometown, and I always seem to draw good. The horses over there buck, and there were a lot of great rides. Eagle’s definitely drawing the top contestants, because they all know they have a shot to win money on Pete Carr’s horses.”

Carr owns the livestock firm and has had some of the top bucking horses in the business in his five years associated with the PRCA. Real Deal was named the 2005 Bareback of the Year, and River Boat Annie was named the 2007 reserve world champion bareback horse. But they are just two of many great animal athletes that were featured in Eagle.

“Pink Cadillac is a half-sister to River Boat Annie,” Lowe said. “She had some wiggles and some rolls and bucked a little bit. I just tried to set my feet every jump and do what I had to do.

“Pete has a lot of good bucking horses, and they all dang sure bucked out there. Pete’s been doing a good job with his rodeos. He has a great string of horses, and it shows in the rodeos he has. He’s put in a lot of effort to putting together a great pen of horses and bulls.”

A season ago, five-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Ryan Gray of Lubbock, Texas, scored a world record-tying 94-point bareback ride in Eagle on the Carr horse Grass Dancer. It’s a combination of world-class cowboys, tremendously athletic horses and a setting that is making the event the talk of ProRodeo.

Lowe won $2,651 for his ride, but it wasn’t the only great score in bareback riding. Matt Bright scored 87, and three other cowboys – Trey Bissett, Wes Stevenson and Bo Casper – earned 86s.

Four-time NFR qualifier Bradley Harter of Weatherford, Texas, and two-time finalist Cody Martin of Eagle shared the saddle bronc riding title with 87-point markings. Harter rode Carr’s Mike & Ike, while Martin rode Carr’s Corner Guard. Each cowboy earned $2,316.

Bull riding provided plenty of fireworks, as Jarrod Craig and Stormy Wing earned the championship with 92s, worth $2,870 for each. Craig, of Hillsboro, Texas, matched moves with the Carr bull Ryan’s Express, while Wing, of Dalhart, Texas, rode China Grove from Broken Arrow Rodeo Co. Wing is working toward his first NFR qualification, while Craig is a two-time player on ProRodeo’s grandest stage, the season-ending finale that takes place each December in Las Vegas.

The NFR is nothing new to four of the five timed-event champions – they’ve all qualified. Spud Duvall of Checotah, Okla., a two-time finalist who comes from a steer wrestling family, won bulldogging by downing two steers in 10.0 seconds. He won the opening go-round in 4.4 seconds, then finished fourth in the second go-round with a 5.6-second run. He earned $1,838.

Kelly Yates, a four-time qualifier from Pueblo, Colo., won the barrel racing with a 17.37-second run, worth $1,422. Team ropers Garrett Tonozzi, a two-time finalist from Fruita, Colo., and Kinney Harrell, a three-time qualifier from San Angelo, Texas, won the second round and placed second in the opener to win the average championship in 10.6 seconds, worth $2,316. Only Tie down roper Jon Peek of Pueblo hasn’t played on the biggest stage in the sport, but he roped and tied two calves in 19.2 seconds and earned $1,862.

“It was just a great rodeo,” Peterson said. “I think I’ve come to expect that in Eagle.”

All-around cowboy: Calvin Brevik, $798, team roping and tie-down roping.
 

Bareback riding: 1. Will Lowe, 89 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Pink Cadillac, $2,651; 2. Matt Bright, 87, $2,032; 3. (tie) Trey Bissett, Wes Stevenson and Bo Casper, 86, $1,031 each; 6. (tie) Jared Smith and Caleb Bennett, 84, $398 each; 8. Casey Colletti, 83, $265.
 

Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Spud Duvall, 4.4 seconds, $817; 2. Kyle Hughes, 4.6, $613; 3. Clayton Hass, 4.8, $409; 4. Tait Kvistad, 5.3, $204. Second round: 1. Dan Cathcart, 3.8 seconds, $817; 2. Johnny Silva, 4.0, $613; 3. Tony Larsen, 5.5, $409; 4. Spud Duvall, 5.6, $204. Average: 1. Spud Duvall, 10.0 seconds on two head, $817; 2. Dan Cathcart, 10.2, $613; 3. Garrett Henry, 11.6, $409; 4. Scott Dorenkamp, 15.4, $204.
 

Team roping: First round: 1. Travis Bounds/Wade Masters, 5.4 seconds, $975 each; 2. Garrett Tonozzi/Kinney Harrell, 5.5, $732; 3. (tie) Lee Hagler/J.W. Borrego and John O’Connor/Lance Allen, 6.3, $366 each. Second round: 1. Garrett Tonozzi, 5.1 seconds, $975 each; 2. Jay Tittel/Ryon Tittel, 5.9, $732; 3. Travis Bounds/Wade Masters, 6.7, $488; 4. Lee Hagler/J.W. Borrego, 6.8, $244. Average: 1. Garrett Tonozzi/Kinney Harrell, 10.6 seconds on two head, $975 each; 2. Travis Bounds/Wade Masters, 12.1, $732; 3. Lee Hagler/J.W. Borrego, 13.1, $488; 4. Casey Adams/Riley Pedro, 14.4, $244.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Bradley Harter on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Mike & Ike and Cody Martin on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Corner Guard, 87 points, $2,316 each; 3. (tie) Troy Crowser and Rusty Allen, 84, $1,224 each; 5. Sam Spreadborough and Mike Outhier, 83, $524 each; 7. (tie) Colin Stalley, Ty Atchison and Jace Garrett, 82, $204 each.
 

Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Jason Hubbard, 9.3 seconds, $1,064; 2. (tie) J. D. Kibbe and Mitch McAdow, 9.9, $665 each; 4. Jon Peek, 10.2, $266. Second round: 1. Mike Johnson, 8.5 seconds, $1,064; 2. Calvin Brevik, 8.6, $798; 3. Jon Peek, 9.0, $532; 4. Nathan Steinberg, 9.5, $266. Average: 1. Jon Peek, 19.2 seconds on two head, $1,064; 2. Mike Johnson, 19.9, $798; 3. J.D. Kibbe, 20.7, $532; .4. (tie) Jason Hubbard and Will James Smith, 20.8, $133 each.
 

Barrel racing: 1. Kelly Yates, 17.37 seconds, $1,422; 2. (tie) Kelsi Elkins and Julie Haskins, 17.48, $1,118 each; 4. Sherrylynn Johnson, 17.63, $881; 5. Shali Lord, 17.67, $677; 6. Kirby Harter, 17.77, $542; 7. Courtney Ford, 17.86, $406; 8. Wendy McKee, 17.87, $271; 9. Pat Spratt, 17.94, $203; 10. Laura Lambert, 17.98, $135.
 

Bull riding: 1. (tie) Stormy Wing on Broken Arrow Rodeo’s China Grove and Jarrod Craig on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Ryan’s Express, 92 points, $2,870 each; 3. (tie) Cody Whitney and Tyler Willis, 88, $1,516 each; 5. Luke Haught, 87, $758; 6. Clayton Savage, 85, $542; 7. (tie) Austin Ambrose and Kris Newman, 84, $379 each.

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