PRORODEO Sports News - July 12, 2024

LIVINGSTON, MONT.

Quick trip nets big win for Champion Sprinting LIVINGSTON ROUNDUP

BY ALEX RILEY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News T he instant and excited reaction let Richmond Champion know he was matched up with something special. As he and travel partner Trevar McAllister drove between rodeos in Canada, the pairings for the Livingston (Mont.) Roundup Rodeo were sent out, with Champion set to face Bailey Pro Rodeo’s Candy Coated. He had never heard of the animal, but McAllister had. “He’s like, ‘Oh, just hang on a second.’ And he showed me this video of this blue horse just stalling out in one spot. It was super cool. I said, ‘Well, I guess we better go to Livingston then,’” Champion said with a laugh. It was a smart but somewhat challenging decision as the ride resulted in an 86-point effort that was good enough to win the rodeo and bring home $6,521 in earnings. Hanging on for eight seconds was the easy part. Getting to the rodeo was the hard part. At around 5:45 p.m., Champion rode at the Home Of Champions Rodeo in Red Lodge, Mont. The moment he finished, he bolted for the airport to catch a chartered flight with the goal of getting to Livingston in time to ride. “It was one of our longer in-betweens this week. I think I had 34 minutes from the time I got parked to the time I nodded my head. Plenty of time around the Fourth of July,” Champion joked. Champion’s Cowboy Christmas run, however, was no laughing matter. The Stevensville, Mont., cowboy had a strong showing at the Ponoka (Alberta) Stampede, winning the average after a runner-up finish in the first go and victory in the finals. He followed that up with the Livingston effort and a pair of third-place finishes as the Basin City (Wash.) Freedom Rodeo and Western Stampede in West Jordan, Utah. Altogether, the run yielded more than $21,700 in earnings for the ProRodeo veteran. The results should help the eight-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo get back in position to reach Las Vegas for a second straight year. Champion was sitting 20th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with a little more than $45,000 for the season before the hot streak. With plenty of summer action still to unfold, Champion is excited to keep building on his recent momentum and get himself back in contention for a world title. “You always want to win on everything you draw and this time of year that’s a tough thing to do, especially with as many good guys who are going. It didn’t seem like anybody was winning all the money, it was real spread out, which was just to prove that,” Champion said. “The competition is better than it’s ever been, so to be competitive at that rate and headed to Calgary and just have the summer off on this foot is awesome.”

TOP SCORES

TOP MONEY EARNER Richmond Champion ($6,521, bareback riding) BAREBACK RIDING

Champion

1. Richmond Champion ............. 86 pts. 2. Weston Timberman ...................... 85 3. Rocker Steiner .............................. 84 STEER WRESTLING 1. Gavin Soileau ........................ 3.5 sec. 2. Kyler Dick .................................... 3.6 3. Will Lummus ............................... 4.2 TEAM ROPING 1. T. Tryan/L. Moore .................. 3.8 sec. 2. C. Denison/T. Braden ................... 4.0 (Tie) K. Sanchez/T. Porter ............ 4.0 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Layton Green ......................... 84 pts. (Tie) Dawson Hay ......................... 84 Traylin Martin ................................ 84 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. John Douch .......................... 8.0 sec. (Tie) Cash Enderli ........................ 8.0 3. Kyle Lucas ................................... 8.4 BARREL RACING 1. Summer Kosel .................. 16.97 sec. 2. Paige Jones ............................. 17.06 3. Chloe Gray ............................... 17.19 BULL RIDING 1. Tristan O’Neal ........................ 89 pts. 2. Josh Frost .................................. 88.5 3. Fulton Rutland .............................. 87

COWBOY CHRISTMAS

Complete results/Page 105

Kristen Schurr photo

Bareback rider Richmond Champion fights to the finish during his 86-point trip on Bailey Pro Rodeo’s Candy Coated.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/12/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 7/12/2024

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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