Last night was an exciting night of rough stock in Nephi, Utah. World Champion Spencer Wright won the round in the bronc riding, scoring 87 points on Rosser Rodeo’s California Dreamin, and Jesse Pope pushed out current No. 1 and 2X World Champion (as well as his traveling partner) to take first in the bareback for his 87-point ride on Flying U Rodeo’s Lil Red Hawk. But bull riding was the real highlight. On night one at the Ute Stampede, six bull riders not only had qualified rides but also scored in the 80s, setting the bar high for the next two rounds of contenders. Going 88 points on Diamond G Rodeo’s Kung Fu Magic, Eli Vastbinder is currently in the lead.
In the timed events, the competitors weren’t quite as successful. In Round One, there were only four qualified runs in both the team roping and tie-down roping and only five in the steer wrestling. Rookie Maggie Smith won the round in the barrel racing with a time of 17.27 seconds, only to be knocked out of the money by this morning’s slack round competitors. Sabra O’Quinn is currently in the lead with a time of 16.86 seconds and Victoria Williams holds sixth with a 17.18.
Here’s a look at the leaderboard, as well as the top performances, going into Round 3 — airing LIVE on both The Cowboy Channel+ app TONIGHT at 10PM ET.
UTE STAMPEDE CURRENT LEADERS
BAREBACK RIDING: 1. Jesse Pope, 87 points on Flying U Rodeo’s Lil Red Hawk | 2. Tim O’Connell, 86.5 | 3. Jayco Roper, 86 | 4. Pascal Isabelle, 81.5 | 5. Clayton Biglow, 81; 6. Kash Wilson, 79
STEER WRESTLING: 1. Kalane Anders, 7.4 seconds | 2. Chase Black, 8.7 | 3. Aaron Vosler, 11.1 | 4. Justin Kimsey, 17.5 | 5. Trevin Fox, 17.7 | no other qualified runs
TEAM ROPING: 1. Casey Tew/Jared Fillmore, 4.7 seconds | 2. Shane Sims/Wes Miller, 5.7 | 3. Brooks Dahozy/Brandon Bates, 5.9 | 4. Fred Hunter/Wyatt Hunter, 9.7 | no other qualified runs
SADDLE BRONC RIDING: 1. Spencer Wright, 87 points on Rosser Rodeo’s California Dreamin | 2. Sterling Crawley, 84.5 | 3. Chase Brooks, 81.5 | 4. Kolby Wanchuk, 80.5 | 5. Tanner Butner, 80 | 6. Jacobs Crawley, 75
TIE-DOWN ROPING: 1. Josh Frost, 9.7 seconds | 2. Brayden Roe, 11.9 | 3. Britt Bedke, 20.1 | 4. Colt Carter, 20.2 | no other qualified runs
BARREL RACING: 1. Sabra O’Quinn, 16.86 seconds | 2. Sharon Harrell, 16.98 | 3. Kathy Grimes, 17.02 | 4. Savannah Palmore, 17.05 | 5. Sarah Rau, 17.17 | 6. Victoria Williams, 17.18
BULL RIDING: 1. Eli Vastbinder, 88 points | 2. Ty Wallace, 85 | 3. (tie) Josh Frost and Chase Dougherty, 84.5 each | 5. Lon Danley, 83 | 6. TJ Gray, 82.5
