Arizona in the Saddle | Page 15

Ranch and Rodeo Roundup National Finals Rodeo Written by Kim Dillon • Photos by Mike Copeman Tie-Down Roping World Champion-Tuf Cooper (pictured at top of page, left) The tie-down roping was one of the closet contests during the WNFR with three cowboys still in the hunt for a gold buckle during the 10th Round. When the dirt settled, Tuf Cooper emerged from the trio of cowboys (including Trevor Brazile and Matt Shiozawa) to claim his third gold buckle in four years. The son of “Super Looper” Roy Cooper, Tuf is always one of the crowd favorites. Cooper finished atop the average leaderboard to win the $48,732 average paycheck to push his season total to more than $30,000 ahead of 2nd place Trevor Brazile. Tie-Down Roping final results: 1 Tuf Cooper Decatur TX $241,734.03 2 Trevor Brazile Decatur TX $210,315.15 3 Matt Shiozawa Chubbuck ID $199,888.25 4 Cody Ohl Hico TX $148,954.16 5 Cade Swor Winnie TX $148,803.91 6 Marty Yates Stephenville TX $141,267.58 7 Adam Gray Seymour TX $119,665.17 8 Hunter Herrin Apache OK $119,230.98 9 Shane Hanchey Sulphur LA $116,159.83 10 Timber Moore Aubrey TX $114,435.01 11 Clint Robinson Spanish Fork UT $114,396.54 12 Clint Cooper Decatur TX $108,316.19 13 Ryan Watkins Bluff Dale TX $98,334.92 14 Tyson Durfey Colbert TX $83,395.99 15 Reese Riemer Stinnett TX $80,569.16 Saddle Bronc Riding World ChampionSpencer Wright Of the four Milford, Utah, brothers who qualified for the 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Saddle Bronc Riding, Spencer Wright seemed the least likely to capture a world championship. At just 23 years old, he was the youngest Wright brother in Las Vegas. He was also the least experienced with this being his first WNFR. But Wright’s consistency and talents allowed him to complete all 10 of his rides and win Rounds 4 and 7. When the rodeo wrappedup, he placed in 9 of the 10 Rounds and collected $145,123 in paychecks. Brothers Cody, Jesse and Jake Wright also finished among the top-nine in the world standings, capping an amazing performance by the first set of four brothers to ever qualify for the National Finals. Saddle Bronc Riding final results: 1 Spencer Wright Milford UT $205,387.95 2 Cort Scheer Elsmere NE $195,586.31 3 Wade Sundell Boxholm IA $180,725.61 4 Heith Allan DeMoss Heflin LA $163,833.14 5 Jake Wright Hurricane UT $155,420.44 6 Taos Muncy Corona NM $149,712.33 7 Jacobs Crawley Stephenville TX $147,421.41 8 Jesse Wright Milford UT $134,502.22 9 Cody Wright Milford UT $130,393.86 10 Cody DeMoss Heflin LA $115,721.65 11 Tyler Corrington Hastings OK $104,051.74 12 Dustin Flundra Pincher Creek AB $88,166.89 13 Chad Ferley Oelrichs SD $88,110.30 14 Cole Elshere Faith SD $82,449.26 15 Bradley Harter Loranger LA $81,884.79 Barrel Racing World Champion-Fallon Taylor (pictured at top of page, right) As Wrangler NFR Announcer, Boyd Polhamus, prepared to introduce the 2014 World Champion Barrel Racer, he said that it was the most closely contested event at the National Finals. The recipient of the gold buckle would be determined in a 10th Round horse race between Lisa Lockhart on “Louie” and Fallon Taylor on “BabyFlo”. When the timer stopped and all the numbers were AZintheSaddle.com totaled, Taylor won her 1st 2014 WPRA World Championship and Lockhart won the Wrangler NFR Average title. Fallon Taylor also captured the Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Award for the 2nd year given by the WPRA and the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame. The flamboyant racer will receive $5,000 and is wellknown for her bright arena shirts and jeans and colorful helmets. Barrel Racing final results: 1 Fallon Taylor Collinsville TX $276,441.07 2 Lisa Lockhart Oelrichs SD $265,514.22 3 Kaley Bass Kissimmee FL $214,432.20 4 Michele McLeod Whitesboro TX $163,475.54 5 Britany Diaz Solen ND $154,590.33 6 Carlee Pierce Stephenville TX $154,180.57 7 Mary Walker Ennis TX $145,685.69 8 Trula Churchill Valentine NE $142,076.27 9 Nancy Hunter Neola UT $136,777.47 10 Kassidy Dennison Tohachi NM $126,071.55 11 Sherry Cervi Marana AZ $122,164.92 12 Christy Loflin Franktown CO $112,884.25 13 Jana Bean Ft. Hancock TX $100,758.14 14 Christine Laughlin Pueblo CO $93,134.61 15 Samantha Lyne Cotulla TX $81,917.21 Bull Riding World Champion-Sage Kimzey Sage Kimzey became the wealthiest rookie in the history of the WNFR. The 20-year-old bull rider made the record books when he won the weeklong average title, PRCA Rookie of the Year title and clinched the gold buckle as the Bull Riding World Champion. Kimzey additionally finished as the reserve champ at the College National Finals Rodeo in June. Bull Riding final results: 1 Sage Kimzey Strong City OK $318,630.94 2 Joe Frost Randlett UT $174,377.80 3 Trey Benton III Rock Island TX $164,470.92 4 Beau Hill West Glacier MT $148,990.61 5 Cody Teel Kountze TX $148,562.47 6 Tyler Smith Fruita CO $131,031.49 7 Tim Bingham Honeyville UT $115,669.79 8 Elliot Jacoby Fredricksburg TX $113,311.14 9 J.W. Harris Mullin TX $109,181.59 10 Aaron Pass Dallas TX $104,550.42 11 J.W. Spears Redding CA $100,029.54 12 Ty Wallace Collbran CO $93,934.71 13 Brennon Eldred Purcell OK $89,169.84 14 Reid Barker Comfort TX $76,227.37 15 Josh Koschel Nunn CO $72,837.45 The 2015 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo will be held December 3rd12th. If you have never attended, now is the time to start making plans to see this spectacular event in person. Kim Dillon grew up competing on horseback he ɔ