The two performances on Saturday (May 20) raised the bar for the rest of this year’s rodeo competition. Friday night’s warm up was long over and the athletes let the spectators know that the competition for $328,000 in prize money had begun in earnest.
Bareback riding saw some incredible performances on Saturday. In the bareback bronc riding event, the judges give a score based on both the rider and horse: it’s half and half. The rider is judged on their control during the ride and on their spurring technique and their horse is judged on its power, agility and speed.
The highest possible score is 100, and the highest score on Friday was David Peebles’ 88.5 points.
JR Vezain, from Cowley, Wyoming, broke that on Saturday afternoon by earning 90 points, and later, in the evening performance, Seth Hardwick from Laramie, Wyoming, topped that with a 90.5.
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Saddle bronc also saw some great rides. Heath DeMoss, from Heflin, Louisiana, gave a 91-point performance, becoming the first ride in this year’s saddle bronc category to break the 90-point mark. DeMoss is one to watch as we look forward to the finals on Monday.
Not one to be outdone, Tyler Pankewitz, from Ponoka, Alberta, broke the 90-point barrier in bull riding, with a 90.5-point ride. The next closest score in bull riding went to Wesley Silcox, from Santaquin, Utah, with 87 points.
Saturday afternoon saw Langley’s own Carmen Pozzobon rank second after a 16.062-second finish in ladies barrel racing. If Pozzobon plans on overtaking Kirsty White from Big Valley, Alberta for the top spot, she will need to break that 16 seconds and outpace even her 15.947-second score from her Friday night performance.
Pool B will be decided Sunday afternoon, starting at 2:30 p.m., and the rodeo finals will take place on Monday at 2:30 p.m.
Full results are available here:
