Western Sports
LOCAL COWGIRL THRILLS FANS AT CODY STAMPEDE RODEO
CODY, Wyo., July 2, 2024 — No barrel racer has made more runs in the arena at Stampede Park than Hadley Tate, who fulfilled a big goal on Tuesday night.
Tate is the daughter of stock contractors Maury and Nikki Tate of Mo’ Betta Rodeo Company. They have supplied animals and produced the Cody Night Rodeo for the last 20 years. The Tate’s main residence is in Apache, Oklahoma, but they spend their summers in Cody. The youngest of the Tate’s two daughters started running barrels here when she was four years old on her Shetland Pony named LuLu.
Now, she has just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) held in Casper, Wyoming, in June. And, while she spends a good part of the year in Apache, when her name is called in the barrel racing, she is from Cody.
She was the first barrel racer to compete during the Cody Stampede on Tuesday night and had a near perfect run on her horse that she calls Cisco. When the duo entered the arena, the crowd was the loudest it was all night. Hadley Tate bought Cisco with her own money and trained him at the Cody Nite Rodeo. After she took him around the third barrel and went through the electric timers, there was a 17.28 on the scoreboard putting her first in the standings here. There are approximately 100 barrel racers yet to compete, so she will have to wait until the rodeo’s conclusion on July 4th to see where she finishes.
“It really means a lot to me,” she said. “Even if I get moved, (in the standings here) I should get a good check. I grew up competing in this arena and to have that kind of run in front of all of these people was amazing.”
Cisco is going to get some pasture time soon. Tate is going to do an internship with the Minnesota Vikings and is leaving the middle of July to go to work. Then she will be back at Weatherford, Oklahoma to work on her master’s degree and hopefully qualify for the CNFR as a graduate student in 2025.
It was a great night for bull riders as three of them had successful rides. Jeter Lawrence from Council Hill, Oklahoma, moved to the lead with an 87.5-point effort aboard Frontier Rodeo’s Bridewater. Montana’s Parker Breding who is a former champion here is now in second with an 85 and Taylor Toves from Texas has an 83. Monday night, Jeff Askey from Athens, Texas, was the only successful bull rider. He is now in fourth place with a 79.
Montana’s Chase Brooks also had success here in the saddle bronc riding. Brooks, who calls Deer Lodge home scored 88.5 points on Frontier Medicine owned by Frontier Rodeo. Brooks qualified for his sixth Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last December and was added to the injury list during the ninth of ten rounds. He tore his hamstring muscle and some ligaments. The injury didn’t require surgery, but he had to miss several of the big building rodeos at the beginning of the season.
He came back at Rodeo Houston and went to California to compete in the spring, but didn’t have any luck anywhere. That changed here.
“I probably tried to come back too soon and wasn’t ready,” Brooks said. “This was a great reminder that I can still ride bucking horses and that I’m ready to get back after it.”
The third performance of the Cody Stampede Rodeo starts at 8 p.m. at Stampede Park on Wednesday. Gates open at 6 p.m. with live entertainment and food options on the grounds. Fans are encouraged to come early to avoid being caught in traffic.
The following are current leaders at the 105th Cody Stampede, Tuesday, July 2, 2024 —
Bareback riding: 1, Bronc Marriott, Grantsville, Utah, 91.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Breaking News. 2, Cooper Cooke, Victor, Idaho, 85. 3, (tie) Jess Pope, Waverly, Kan., and Keenan Hayes, Hayden, Colo., 84.5 each. 4, (tie) Ty Pope, Garnett, Kan., and Caleb Bennett, Corvallis, Mont., 82 each.
Steer wrestling: 1, Cash Robb, Altamont, Utah, 3.7 seconds. 2, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 4.5. 3, Chance Howard, Sallisaw, Okla., 4.8. 4, Tristan Martin, Sulphur, La., 4.9. 5, Kade Kinsella, Pierre, S.D., 5.5. 6, Evan Spady, Alliance, Alberta, 5.7.
Team roping: 1, Kreece Thompson, Munday, Texas, and Cooper Freeman, Carthage, Mo., 4.2 seconds. 2, Jake Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Douglas Rich, Herrick, Ill., 4.3. 3, Riley Kittle, Woodland, Ala., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, 4.4. 5, Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala., and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 4.5. 6, (tie) Brye Crites, Welch, Okla., and Tyler Worley, Berryville, Ark; Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Hunter Koch, Vernon, Texas; and Jade Stoddard, Sugar City, Idaho and Mason Trollinger, Casper, Wyo., 4.7.
Saddle bronc riding: 1, Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., 89.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Frontier Medicine. 2, Ryder Wright, Beaver, Utah, 87. 3, Lefty Holeman, Visalia, Calif., 85. 4, Cash Wilson, Wall, S.D., 84.5. 5, Logan Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 83. 6, Damian Brennan, Injune, Queensland, 82.5.
Breakaway roping: 1, Shai Schaefer, Lake Creek, Texas, 1.8. 2, Hali Williams, Comanche, Texas, 2.2. 3, Maddy Deerman, Hope, N.M., 2.5. 4, Jacelyn Frost, Randlett, Utah, 3.5.
Tie-down roping: 1, Kincade Henry, Mount Pleasant, Texas, 7.9 seconds. 2, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 8.1. 3, (tie) Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., and Garrett Jacobs, Bosque Farms, N.M., 8.2 each. 5, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 8.4. 6, Trevor Hale, Perryton, Texas, 8.5.
Barrel Racing: 1, Hadley Tate, Cody, Wyo., 17.28 seconds. 2, Loni Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 17.33. 3, Tarryn Lee, St. David, Ariz., 17.38. 4, Abigail Knight, Charlo, Mont., 17.43. 3, Karen Boyd, Billings, Mont., 17.49. 4, (tie) Alex Odle, Brush, Colo.; Miley Bravos, Red Bluff, Calif.; and Ashley Castleberry, Montgomery, Texas, 17.54 each.
Bull Riding: 1, Jeter Lawrence, Council Hill, Okla., 87.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Bridewater. 2, Paker Breding, Edgar, Mont., 85. 3, Taylor Toves, Stephenville, Texas, 83. 4, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 79.
PROVIDED COURTESY OF SUSAN KANODE FOR CODY STAMPEDE RODEO TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA
