Western Sports
CHAMPIONS CROWNED AT FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO TOURNAMENT
FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 4, 2023)—The $1.2 million FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament came to a rousing close on Saturday, February 4, in Dickies Arena.
No one was more excited to win their first championships at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo than bareback rider Rocker Steiner and barrel racer Jackie Ganter. Steiner, who calls nearby Weatherford home, made a 90-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Yipee Kibitz. This was the second matchup for Steiner and the bucking horse. The last time the two met, Steiner won the Calgary Stampede in Alberta last July riding, so the 19-year-old was super excited to get on the horse again.
The ride on Saturday added $20,000 to Steiner’s earnings. Prior to Fort Worth’s rodeo, he was 13th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. With his success in the brackets and the semifinals as well as the championship round, he added $27,080 which will give him a big boost on his way to his second consecutive Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualification.
“This win is really special, It’s close to home, the fans are great, and I just love that horse.”
Rocker steiner
Barrel racer Jackie Ganter of Abilene, Texas, was the only Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo champion that had to compete four times to earn her title. She was the third-highest money winner in Bracket 7, sending her to the Wild Card where she won first place with a time of 16.30. She headed to the semifinals, advanced to the finals and ran another 16.30 on her big gelding Howes A Tycoon to win the FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament and earn a total of $25,260.
FWSSR photo by James Phifer
An emotional Jackie Ganter, from Abilene, Texas, got the win in the barrel racing. Riding her great gelding Howes a Tycoon, she stopped the clock in 16.30 seconds, the same time that she had when she won the wildcard round. Ganter and Tycoon made four trips around the barrels to have the opportunity to run on Saturday. They watched as two-time FWSSR champion Hailey Kinsel stopped the clock in 16.35 seconds.
Ganter and Tycoon earned $25,260 here. They were seventh in the world standings before and with their earnings here they will be very close to the number one spot. She has qualified for the NFR twice in 2015 and 2016. With her success here and her blazing fast horse, the former hunter-jumper equestrian is on track to make a third trip to Las Vegas this year.
Will Lummus, a college rodeo coach from Byhalia, Mississippi, punched his ticket in the steer wrestling with a 4.1-second run. The horse he rode was Be Dun By Three, nicknamed “Benz”, owned by Clayton Hass. While this was a great rodeo for Lummus, who earned a total of $27,080 here, it was even better for Benz. Ty Erickson, from Helena, Montana also rode Benz and finished second for the championship. Benz earned $32,000 for his riders on Saturday night.
The saddle bronc riding ended in a tie, and it was a big one. Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah and Dawson Hay from Wildwood, Alberta, each had 90.5 point rides to win $16,000. They both rode horses from the Calgary Stampede. Wright got on Xena Warrior and Hay rode Tokyo Bubbles.
In the breakaway roping, Cheyanne Guillory caught the win with a 1.9-second run. The National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier earned a total of $26,193 to take back home to Kingston, Oklahoma.
A Texan took the top spot in tie-down roping. Weston Hughes from Cameron stopped the clock in 7.4 seconds for the win. He earned a total of $25,200 here and said, “It couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
Andrew Ward from Edmond, Oklahoma and his brother-in-law Buddy Hawkins II, who lives in Stephenville, Texas, had the fastest team roping run of the night at 3.9 seconds. This is the second time Hawkins has won this rodeo. He also won it in 2014 roping with Drew Horner. Ward and Hawkins have roped together twice at the NFR and are looking good for another trip to Las Vegas this year.
The best two bull riders in the PRCA in 2022 took the top two places in bull riding. Reigning world champion Stetson Wright made the night’s first successful ride on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s bull Dances With Monsters to earn a score of 87.5 points. After a few other riders hit the dirt, 2022 reserve world champ Josh Frost tried his luck on Rafter G Rodeo’s High Brow Cat. Frost’s 90.5-point score gave him the FWSSR signature square trophy buckle. He took home $23,787. Wright added $18,347 in bull riding money to his winnings, boosting his total from Fort Worth to nearly $41,500.
The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is the biggest rodeo so far in the 2023 season. It is one of the big indoor rodeos that can jump start a contestant’s year. Plans are underway for the 127th Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo which will start on January 12 of 2024.
2023 FWSSR ProRodeo Tournament Champions with total money
Bareback Riding: Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, $27,080
Steer Wrestling: Will Lummus, Byhalia, Mississippi, $27,080
Breakaway Roping: Cheyanne Guillory, Kingston, Okla., $26,193
Saddle Bronc Riding: (tie) Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, $23,080
Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, $21,080
Tie-Down Roping: Weston Hughes, Cameron, Texas, $25,200
Team Roping: Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas, $26,200 each
Barrel Racing: Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, $25,260
Bull Riding: Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, $23,787
FORT WORTH, Texas — The following are unofficial results from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s ProRodeo Tournament after the Championship Finals, Saturday, February 4, 2023.
Bareback riding: 1, Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, 90 points on Calgary Stampede’s Yipee Kibitz, $20,000. 2, (tie) Kaycee Feild, Genola, Utah; Chad Rutherford, Hillsboro, Texas; and Kade Sonnier, Carencro, La., 89 and $8,000 each.
Steer wrestling: 1, Will Lummus, Byhalia, Miss., 4.1 seconds, $20,000. 2, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.3, $12,000. 3, Stockton Graves, Alva, Okla., 4.5, $8,000. 4, Walt Arnold, Coleman, Texas, 5.0, $4,000.
Breakaway roping: 1, Cheyanne Guillory, Kingston, Okla., 1.9 seconds, $20,000. 2, Ashley Goforth, Azle, Texas, 2.0, $12,000. 3, Hali Williams, Comanche, Okla., 2.1, $8,000. 4, Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., 2.2, $4,000.
Saddle bronc riding: 1, (tie) Stetson Wright on Calgary Stampede’s Xena Warrior and Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, on Calgary Stampede’s Tokyo Bubbles, 90.5 and $16,000 each. 3, (tie) Ryder Wright, Beaver, Utah and Tanner Butner, Daniel, Wyo., 88.5, $6,000.
Tie-down roping: 1, Weston Hughes, 7.4 seconds, $20,000. 2, Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 7.9, $12,000. 3, Trevor Hale, Perryton, Texas, 8.9, $8,000. 4, Brushton Minton, 9.7, $4,000.
Team Roping: 1, Andrew Ward, Edmond, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas, 3.9 seconds, $20,000 each. 2, Jake Cooper Clay, Sapulpa, Okla., and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla., 4.6, $12,000. 3, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 5.4, $8,000. 4, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prude, Brazil, 8.9, $4,000.
Barrel Racing: 1, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 16.30 seconds, $20,000. 2, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 16.35, $12,000. 3, Sissy Winn, Corpus Christi, Texas, 16.47, $8,000. 4, Wenda Johnson, Pawhuska, Okla., 16.49, $4,000.
Bull Riding: 1, Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, 90.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s High Brow Cat, $20,000. 2, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 87.5, $12,000. (Final places bucked off in championship round. They earned 3rd and 4th based on their score in the semifinals.) 3, Coy Thorson, Fergus Falls, Minn., $8,000. 4, Jestyn Jax Woodward, Custer, S.D., $4,000.
PROVIDED COURTESY OF SUSAN KANODE & FORT WORTH STOCK SHOW & RODEO TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA
