Adams Brothers Go ‘Old School’ For Salinas Triumph

By Blaine Santos
Courtesy Of ProRodeo.com

     If some of the legends who have roped in the huge arena at the California Rodeo throughout its 101-year history were watching this year’s edition from above on July 24, the team roping winners made them proud, and brought back fond memories of a by-gone time.
     Brothers Jay and Randon Adams from Logandale, Nev., have cut back their rodeo schedules significantly in 2011, but Salinas is one they just wouldn’t miss, and they navigated through the grueling five-round competition with German motorcar precision.
     They placed in four of the rounds in this Wrangler Million Dollar Tour Gold rodeo presented by Justin Boots, and their total time of 43.4 seconds was 1.6 seconds better than the second place team of Wade Wheatley and seven-time World Champion Clay O’Brien Cooper.
     The way the Adams went about preparing for this year’s Rodeo (pronounced Ro-day-o in the California Vaquero tradition), well, that was as traditional and old-school as it comes.
     “We had to practice to come here, so we roped five steers out in the pasture,” said younger brother Jay, who handles the heading side for their team. “This place is so different, with the 35-foot score and the huge arena, it’s like roping out in the pasture sometimes.”
     “It’s just Western,” Randon said of their practice regimen. “We tried to rope some of the older ones so they’d handle better, but it was getting pretty dark, so we just had to run the first ones we could find. We roped five of them out in that 80-acre pasture, and then loaded up and came over.”
     The Adams brought a couple of nice young horses to Salinas, Transmission and Rooster, that were bred and raised by their father, Wes, who died earlier this year.
“They’re half-brothers by our stud, both seven-years-old,” Randon Adams said. “My dad was smart. He always said, ‘Let’s raise fast horses. You can’t replace speed.’ I got a call from our mom right after we roped. When I told her we had won it, she said, ‘If you see your dad there, give him a hug and a kiss for me.’
     “I was already pretty emotional anyway, because I’ve always wanted to win this rodeo. But to win it with my brother on those horses now… When I heard that, I broke down. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been to win a rodeo.”
     “When we decided to slow down our rodeo schedule and focus more on our family business we thought about selling Transmission, the horse I rode here,” said Jay Adams. “We had some interest in him, and he would bring the dollars, but he was my dad’s favorite.”
     Despite dealing with a painful pelvic injury, bareback rider Kaycee Feild had a dominating week at the Salinas Sports Complex.
     He shared the first-round win with four-time World Champion Bobby Mote and then came back to win the finals outright by scoring 85 points on Western Rodeo’s Big Easy and earn $9,228 overall.
     The other champions were all-around cowboy Ryle Smith ($2,545), steer wrestler Dane Hanna (21.8 seconds on three head), saddle bronc riders Wade Sundell and Cody Wright (168 points on two head each), tie-down roper Cimarron Boardman (31.8 seconds on three head), bull rider A.J. Hamre (170 points on two head) and barrel racer Christina Richman (63.77 seconds on four runs).
     Resuts of the team roping and barrel racing are as follows:
Team roping
First round: 1. Clay Tryan/Travis Graves, 6.8 seconds, $1,924 each; 2. Jay Adams/Randon Adams, 7.2; 3. David Motes/Ryon Tittel, 7.7; 4. Wade Wheatley/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 7.8, $1,171; 5. Adam Teixeira/Anselmo Ramirez, Quincy Kueckelhan/Paul Eaves, Caleb Mitchell/Monty Joe Petska and Chad Masters/Jade Corkill, 8.3, $544 each.
Second round: 1. Jake Barnes/Walt Woodard, 7.6 seconds, $1,924 each; 2. (tie) Wade Wheatley/Clay O’Brien Cooper and Jake Cooper/Matt Garza, 7.9, $1,548 each; 4. Miles Kobold/Byron Wilkerson, 8.4, $1,171; 5. (tie) Danny Leslie/Evan Arnold and Daniel Green/Todd Hampton, 8.5, $795 each; 7. (tie) Keven Daniel/Chase Tryan and Jay Adams/Randon Adams, 8.7, $293 each.
Third round: 1. Spencer Mitchell/Broc Cresta, 7.4 seconds, $1,924 each; 2. Erich Rogers/Kory Koontz, 7.6, $1,673; 3. Brandon Beers/Jim Ross Cooper, 7.7, $1,422; 4. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 8.0, $1,171; 5. (tie) David Key/Justin Wade Davis and Steve Brandt/K.C. Curtis, 8.1, $795 each; 7. (tie) Quincy Kueckelhan/Paul Eaves and Joel Bach/Allen Bach, 8.2, $293 each.
Fourth round: 1. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 6.8 seconds, $1,924 each; 2. Chad Masters/Jade Corkill, 7.7, $1,673; 3. Jay Adams/Randon Adams, 7.8, $1,422; 4. David Key/Justin Wade Davis, 8.3, $1,171; 5. Kaden Richard/Rhen Richard, 8.4, $920; 6. Miles Kobold/Byron Wilkerson, 8.5, $669; 7. (tie) Cody Mora/Josh Wineman and David Motes/Ryon Tittel, 8.7, $293 each.
Finals: 1. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 8.2 seconds, $1,269 each; 2. (tie) Blaine Linaweaver/Kipp Harrell and Keven Daniel/Chase Tryan, 8.6, $941 each; 4. (tie) Luke Brown/Martin Lucero and Jay Adams/Randon Adams, 9.0, $503 each; 6. Brandon Beers/Jim Ross Cooper, 9.1, $219.
Average: 1. Jay Adams/Randon Adams, 43.4 seconds on five head, $5,773 each; 2. Wade Wheatley/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 45.0, $5,020; 3. Keven Daniel/Chase Tryan, 45.5, $4,267; 4. Blaine Linaweaver/Kipp Harrell, 46.9, $3,514; 5. Luke Brown/Martin Lucero, 47.1, $2,761; 6. Jake Barnes/Walt Woodard, 49.1, $2,008; 7. Brandon Beers/Jim Ross Cooper, 49.3, $1,255; 8. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 49.6, $502.
Barrel racing
First round: 1. Ann Scott, 15.90 seconds, $2,171; 2. Sherry Cervi, 16.00, $1,861; 3. Lita Scott, 16.07, $1,551; 4. (tie) Christina Richman, Lindsey Hampton and Robin Montague, 16.12, $1,068 each; 7. Dolli Lautaret, 16.15, $620; 8. Marguerite Happy, 16.20, $413; 9. Jill Moody, 16.25, $310; 10. Stacy Hampton, 16.27, $207.
Second round: 1. Pam Ross, 15.97 seconds, $2,171; 2. Marguerite Happy, 15.99, $1,861; 3. Sherry Cervi, 16.08, $1,551; 4. Ann Scott, 16.12, $1,344; 5. Cambria Fetherston, 16.13, $1,034; 6. (tie) Christina Richman and Sheena Robbins, 16.14, $724 each; 8. Jill Moody, 16.19, $413; 9. Shannon Slade, 16.20, $310; 10. (tie) Dolli Lautaret and Stacy Hampton, 16.23, $103 each.
Third round: 1. Christina Richman, 15.62 seconds, $2,171; 2. Jandee Smart, 15.74, $1,861; 3. Sherry Cervi, 15.84, $1,551; 4. Nellie Williams, 15.86, $1,344; 5. Marguerite Happy, 15.95, $1,034; 6. Danna Stovner, 16.00, $827; 7. Ashley Garcia, 16.01, $620; 8. Shane Johnston, 16.04, $413; 9. Lindsey Hampton, 16.06, $310; 10. Sheena Robbins, 16.08, $207.
 Finals: 1. Sheena Robbins, 15.83 seconds, $2,297; 2. Christina Richman, 15.89, $1,723; 3. Lindsey Hampton, 15.93, $1,149; 4. (tie) Cambria Fetherston and Sherry Cervi, 16.04, $287 each.
Average: 1. Christina Richman, 63.77 seconds on four runs, $4,342; 2. Sherry Cervi, 63.96, $3,721; 3. Lindsey Hampton, 64.39, $3,101; 4. Sheena Robbins, 64.04, $2,688; 5. Cambria Fetherston, 64.74, $2,067; 6. Marguerite Happy, 64.85, $1,654; 7. Stacy Hampton, 64.92, $1,240; 8. Dolli Lautaret, 65.08, $827; 9. Rachael Myllymaki, 65.66, $620; 10. Sammy Jo Cardoza, 65.87, $413.
Complete results can be found at prorodeo.com.