A little rain couldn’t dampen the spirits — or the scores — of the contestants in the Cloverdale Rodeo final Monday afternoon (May 20).
Bareback bronc rider Caleb Bennett earned the highest score of the day with a 93.5-point ride on Sundance Kid, sending him home with $20,000 and a tie for the top bareback ride the Cloverdale Rodeo area has ever seen.
This was Bennett’s third time winning the top prize at the Cloverdale Rodeo for bareback riding. For bull rider Sage Kimzey, it was not only his first time getting the $45,000 prize, but also his first time at the invitational rodeo.
Apparently, according to a text received up in the announcer’s booth from Kimzey’s girlfriend, his cat had been watching his ride via the livestream.
Most bull riders weren’t as lucky as Kimzey, with half being bucked off before the eight-second mark. Although Parker McCowan stayed on for the full eight seconds, and had a 87-point ride, the Texas rider nearly ended his rodeo day by being tagged by Kessler’s Pink Panther; one of the bull fighters stepped in front and was flipped in the air by the bull instead.
The other prize winners for the afternoon included return saddle bronc champion Mitch Pollock, with a 91-point ride, and barrel racer Shelby Spielman, who beat former champion Callahan Crossley by two one-hundredths of a second with a 15.901-second ride.
Shelby Spielman wins by two on-hundredths of a second for ladies barrel racing pic.twitter.com/RzQkg1N5d1
— Grace Kennedy (@gracekenn) May 20, 2019
In total, the champions split $330,000 in prize money as well as the chance to return to the Cloverdale Rodeo next year.
Bareback Riding
1. Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, UT – 93.5 (Arena tied record score)
2. Jake Vold, Ponoka, AB – 91
3. Pascal Isabelle, Okotoks, AB – 88
4. Orin Larsen, Gering, NE – 87.5
4. Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, MN – 87.5
4. Spur Lacasse, Calgary, AB – 87.5
4. Jacob Stemo, Bashaw, AB – 87.5
Barrel Racing
1. Shelby Spielman, Del Hart, TX – 15.901
2. Callahan Crossley, Hermiston, OR – 15.935
3. Jackie Ganter, Abelene, TX – 16.160
4. Mariah Mannering, Quesnel, BC – 16.171
5. Jennifer Barrett, Buhl, ID – 16.264
6. Nikki Hansen, Dickinson, ND – 16.714
Bull Riding
1. Sage Kimzey, Strong City, UT – 90
2. Clayton Sellers, Fruitland, FL – 89.5
3. Parker McCowan, Montgomery, TX – 87
4. Garrett Smith, Rexburg, ID – 86
Saddle Bronc Riding
1. Mitch Pollock, Winnemucca, NV – 91
2. Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, MT – 90
3. Rusty Wright, Milford, UT – 89
3. Layton Green, Meeting Creek, AB – 89
4. Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, AB – 87.5
5. Dustin Flundra, Pincher Creek, AB – 86
