Sept. 7, 2011
Hi friends, I hope you have all been having a great time doing what you do. It’s been a busy time! I guess they say Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer, and the start of fall, but I’ve still got another two weeks of summer vacation before school starts at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, so I have no plans of slowing down.
To me, this is such an exciting time of the year, as far as ProRodeo is concerned. September marks the final month of the regular season for 2011. So that is the cutoff for the top 15 in each event to compete at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December. Starting October 1st, all money won at PRCA rodeos will count toward the 2012 World Standings. With not much time left to solidify a spot in the top 15 in the world, it’s now a knife fight for the bottom spots on the roster. To me, after rodeoing all year long, and having it come down to a couple last rodeos to decide if you’re going to the NFR must be quite stressful. With all the pressure, I really enjoy watching guys keep a positive attitude, and come through. That shows great power to remain calm and cool, and just know to go out and do your job, without trying to do too much and get in a jam.
With that said, I am like a little kid in a candy shop when the results page and world standings are updated on prorodeo.com. I love rodeo with a passion, so I love trying to figure out what these guys have to do to keep their hopes alive for an NFR qualification and all that.
As I checked out the results and standings most recently, a few things really jumped out at me. First, Charly Crawford and Russell Cardoza have been down outside of the top 15, trying to battle their way in, and they made a strong push in Ellensburg, WA, winning fifth in the average. This put Charly 15th in the world, while Russell is right there at 16th. Those are two guys who know what it’s like to be at the Thomas and Mack in December, but are usually in a pretty comfortable spot to qualify by this time in the season. They’re clutch though, and with many of the rodeos this time of year being up in the northwest that helps those two guys, since they both live up there and are familiar with all the set ups.
On another note, Russell not only placed in the team roping at Ellensburg, but also got average checks in the steer wrestling and the tie-down roping. That is quite an impressive feat to beat out the best guys in the world in three events at a premier rodeo like Ellensburg. That shows real dedication to the sport, and Russell really must be working at it. We seem to take it for granted when Trevor Brazile dominates three events, but that really is amazing to do, when everybody is getting so specialized in a specific event. It seems like the guys who are winning at one event are putting so much work in, but imagine doing that to be competitive in three events!
One other thing that jumped out at me was Ryan Jarrett’s climb in the tie-down roping standings. He won $6,054 in the tie-down roping alone at Ellensburg, moving him to 13th in the world standings.
Jake Barnes and Walt Woodard continued their winning streak by placing in the average at Ellensburg. Clay Tryan and Travis Graves have taken over the lead in world by overtaking Chad Masters and Jade Corkill. I’ve been talking a lot about the bottom spots, and the tight race to just make the finals, but really there’s a lot of tight races at the top of the pack too. That will make it really fun when the NFR gets here.
Walla Walla was also big in the race for the top 15. Riley and Brady Minor got a check, which they need in order to remain in a position to be in Las Vegas for the finals. Tuf Cooper did well there in the tie-down, which just added to the lead he holds in the world standings. The tie-down roping, in my opinion, may be the best watching at the NFR this year. With Tuf, Hunter Herrin, and Trevor all in contention for the gold buckle, it’ll be tight. Plus throw Cody Ohl and Matt Shiozawa, and first time qualifier Cory Solomon in there to heat things up in the rounds, it’ll be really exciting.
As for me, I’ve been really busy and having a ton of fun! Jordan Ketscher and I went to the Oakdale 10 Steer and an amateur rodeo in Mariposa over Labor Day. I roped all 10 steers with two partners over there in Oakdale. Once heading and once heeling so I had fun. The highlight of Oakdale, for me, was meeting Ace Berry. He’s a total legend, and somebody my Papa has told me about, so to meet that hall of fame cowboy was so cool for me. Also, I’d like to thank Ozzie and Judy Gillum for their hospitality in Oakdale. Jordan and I won third in the team roping at Mariposa.
I’m looking forward to going to the USTRC West Coast Regional Finals in Paso Robles on Friday, and the West Coast Jr. Rodeo Association Finals this weekend. It’s my final junior rodeo of my life, so that’s crazy.
Next Tuesday, as my final week before becoming a college student, my mom, Papa, and I are going to Pendleton for the 101st Annual Pendleton Round-Up! I’m really excited to go up there and see everything involved with that rodeo. I can’t wait to sit out there on the grass and take it all in. I’m anxious about getting to be at such a legendary rodeo, watching everybody who’s in the heat of the battle to make the NFR go at it. I couldn’t be going up there with better company, so I’m just pumped.
I’d like to thank everyone for their comments and feedback on here. It’s been fun having people come up to me and talk about this blog. Thank you for the continued support. I hope this finds you all dreaming big, and going for those dreams.
Lane Santos-Karney