Western Sports
THE 31ST IFYR CROWNS 11 NEW CHAMPIONS AND AWARDS UPWARDS OF $320,000
SHAWNEE, Okla. — The 2023 IFYR (International Finals Youth Rodeo) capped off a dominant event on Friday night as 11 new champions etched their names into the IFYR history books. The event hosted in Shawnee, Oklahoma, is one of the richest youth rodeos in history, dishing out $319,000 over six days and featuring nearly 1000 entries from 35 states.
Oklahoma Native Brooke Crenshaw (Colbert, Oklahoma) locked down the All-Around Cowgirl after earning more than $8,039 in the event. The Texas cowgirl ran supreme and notched the number two spot in pole bending ($3,388.80) with a 62.722 average and a lightning fast 7.3 average on three in the breakaway roping ($4,650.27).
Mason Stueve (Newton, Kansas) earned more than $8,784 during the six-day event to take the All-Around Cowboy title. Stueve earned a 28.2 average on three to win the runner-up in tie-down ($4,389.10) and took home the No. 2 spot in team roping heading for Junction City, Kansas teammate Trey Adams ($4,395.89).
Alabama bareback rider Collin Rolands (Childersburg, Alabama) landed in the final round after a 79.0 ride in the first go and a 77.0 ride in the second go alongside Kashton Ford (Sturgis, South Dakota) and Tate Papszycki (Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee). Rolands topped Ford and Papszycki’s averages after earning an 81.5 in the final round to land the championship position.
The team roping duo Carson Richey (Sunset, Texas) and Calvin Jr. Taylor (Cantuillo, Texas) earned a position in the short round after coming into the round in the No. 7 position. Richey and Taylor matched up against Stueve and Adams along with the Decatur, Texas team of Huston and Gasperson. The dominant wave of team roping youth ended with Richey and Taylor recording one of the fastest times of the week with a 4.5 final round run to log an 18.5 average, besting the remaining 14 teams.
Colton Brumley (Mocksville, North Carolina) was unstoppable in steer wrestling. The North Carolina baseball pitcher recorded a 3.9-second run in Go-1 and a 4.5-second time in Go-2 before delivering a lightning-fast 4.8-second effort in the final round. The two-discipline athlete (tie-down roping and steer wrestling) ended the week with more than $4,130 in earnings.
As the Friday evening event continued, a hotly contested race in the saddle bronc began to unfurl. After being in the top two in both long rounds, Jasper Frost (Browns Valley, California) and Mitchie Story (Aztec, New Mexico) entered the final round edging each other’s averages. Calm and collected, Frost remained poised in the chutes as he readied for a career-defining moment. Reaching the requisite 8.0 for 80.0 points, Frost captured his first-ever IFYR win and accompanying $2,614 payday.
Breakaway roper Makenzie Dowell (Marlin, Texas) delivered a powerful performance when her string broke away from her saddle horn at the 1.7-second mark in the final round to end the event with a 6.1-second average on three. Dowell defeated Alabama’s Zoey Carpenter’s (Rutledge, Alabama) 6.1-second average and Grace Dubois’ (Church Point, Louisiana) 7.1-second average to earn the top time.
After earning the fastest times of the week in the second go with a 7.8-second run, Luke Coleman (Madisonville, Texas) backed into the box in the final round neck-and-neck with Mason Stueve (Newton, Kansas). The Texas tie-down roper earned the number one spot in the average after notching an 8.0-second time in the final round to take home a 28.1-second average. Coleman bested Stueve’s 28.2 average by one-one-hundredth of a second.
2022 All-Around Cowgirl Kacey Bass (Brenham, Texas) won the 2023 IFYR barrel racing title courtesy of her 46.063-second average. Bass notched the fastest time of the week in barrel racing during her round one run, clocking a 15.414. Emily Askew (Sealy, Texas) was near second place with a 46.182 average.
Ryker Butler (Mcloud, Oklahoma) was one of 10 bull riders to cover in the final round of bull riding. The Oklahoma Native Cowboy took home the IFYR title after recording an 84-point score in round two and an impressive 82.5-point score in the final round. Butler earned an overall 167.5 average on three.
Haiden Thompson (Yoder, WY) defended her IFYR goat tying title after securing her win with a 7.3 and 7.2-second run in the long rounds. The 2022 goat tying champ’s 6.8-second time in the final round marked the best time in two of three rounds. Thompson capped off the performance by defeating South Dakota’s Brylee Grubb (Spearfish, South Dakota) 21.9 average.
Cassidy Evans (Fort Supply, Oklahoma) and Brooke Crenshaw (Colbert, Oklahoma) found themselves in a shootout in the pole bending. The two ladies expertly navigated the course as Evans’ 20.323 in the final round would push her to the top of the leaderboard with a 62.116 average, distancing runner-up Crenshaw.
All results from the event can be found here.
PROVIDED COURTESY OF INTERNATIONAL FINALS YOUTH RODEO
