PRORODEO Sports News - August 9, 2024

CHEYENNE, WYO.

CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS

Smith/ Davis grab roping title Hayes Smith/Justin Davis are more than familiar with each other’s game. They have been roping alongside one another off and on for nearly six years. So, the confidence was there to have success, but to pick up a win at the ‘Daddy of ‘em All’ requires a lot of things coming together at once. The veteran team roping duo wouldn’t blink. As the third team out in the 12-man short round finals, they clocked an 8.3-second run that would hold off a stacked field of contestants to walk away with the coveted win in Cheyenne, Wyo. “This is honestly as good as it gets,” said Davis, a 2009 Wrangler NFR qualifier. “I don’t know what else to say. It was a lifelong dream to win this rodeo. I’ve been here probably 16 times, never won it. So, to have it happen . . . is very special.” The team roping setup in Cheyenne is a unique one. It presents cowboys with one of the largest scores in the sport. Steers receive a mandatory 20-foot head start, making for a mad dash down the arena to clock a qualified time. It makes the animal draw even that much more important. “The draw is really important at a rodeo like this,” said Smith, 31. “Luckily today, everything about that steer was good. He had great horns. He was a good size. He was just medium speed, maybe a little slower. I couldn’t have asked for much more than that.” The win added $11,925 each to their names in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. “Hayes didn’t rodeo at all this winter until I came home, and we started roping in the spring,” Davis said. “We did really well at the California rodeos, all the big spring rodeos. Now, here we are. We were talking on the way here that we needed to do good at Cheyenne if we’re going to keep going. So, now who knows what this season holds.”

Header Hayes Smith, right, makes a

catch while his partner/ heeler Justin Davis takes his swing during the finals in Cheyenne. The duo won the rodeo with

Tuff Hardman has been working toward qualifying for the National Finals Steer Roping since he began his ProRodeo career in 2020. He’s finished inside the top 30 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings each season. He finds himself in a similar situation in 2024. A win at Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo will surely help his cause. Hardman clocked a 14.5-second run in the finals to walk away with the rodeo win. It’s a moment he won’t ever forget. “I guess it still hasn’t sunk in yet, but man it’s awesome to be able to go out there and win a rodeo like this,” said Hardman, 33. “I mean, to be able to rope in Cheyenne in Frontier Park in front of these people and showcase what we do every day. It just doesn’t get any better. It’s unreal honestly.” He was quick to credit the draw and his horsepower for the $10,972 payday at the PRCA Playoff Series stop. “I had a good steer here in the short round and my horse is really on point right now,” Hardman said. “I just let everything that I have been working for all these years come together and let it take over.” The win moved Hardman to 18th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. He said there’s no better time than now to make a push for the NFSR in Mulvane, Kan., this November. “I’m going to go at ‘em this year. I’ve been planning on a win like this right here,” Hardman said. “I’m going to give it all I got. I wasn’t going to rodeo at all this year. My wife and I just had a brand-new baby and I was going to stay at home with the kids. But things changed a bit. Man, if it’s my time, I’m going to do it and if not, we will try it again next year.” Steer roping crown goes to Tuff Hardman Click Thompson photo Steer roper Tuff Hardman won Cheyenne Frontier Days and left town after earning $10,972.

an 8.3- second time.

Laura Storey photo

Denton Good competed in the professional ranks for three years and was still looking for his first finals win when he stepped on the dirt for the short go at Cheyenne Frontier Days. The 20-year-old from Long Valley, S.D., a town of less than 200 residents, only boasted $1,383 on his ledger when he climbed aboard his horse. Good changed all of that with a 6.5-second run to win the finals at Frontier Park and earn his first ProRodeo victory at the ‘Daddy of ‘em All’. “I wouldn’t have picked a different rodeo,” Good said. “When we were little, we had dummies and practiced on ATVs, and one of the rodeos we practiced was Cheyenne…I’ve dreamed of this win for years and years, I’m so excited to have it. This is a cowboy’s rodeo.” Good edged out Caden Camp (6.6 seconds) and Dakota Eldridge (6.8 seconds). He said having his father, Allen Good, hazing for him made the win even sweeter. “There are no words to express that,” Good said. “It’s a family deal. You can’t do it without family and support. To have my dad on the other side, he’s definitely practiced in this arena. He’s hazed a lot of steers, and it means the world to me to have him on the other side.” Good’s uncle, Chuck Kite, also won a Cheyenne Frontier Days buckle back in 1995 as a bareback rider. And now there are two members of the family with championships from the legendary rodeo. “I wanted to win today, just to be able to go to Christmas dinner and say that he’s not the only Cheyenne winner,” Good said with a smile. “He’s a great guy and I’m very blessed to win something he won.” Good earns first pro win in steer wrestling

Laura Storey photo

There was no steer wrestler better than Denton Good as the Long Valley, S.D., cowboy won Cheyenne with a 6.5-second winning run in the finals.

ProRodeo Sports News 8/9/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 8/9/2024

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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