PRORODEO Sports News - July 26, 2024

SPANISH FORK, UTAH

FIESTA DAYS RODEO

Bareback rider Kade Berry stepping into the spotlight Berry-licious BY BRADY RENCK, Special to ProRodeo Sports News W hen your passion becomes your profession, you never feel like you are working. It sounds easy. The hard part is finding something you love to do. Most people figured Kade TOP MONEY EARNER J.D. Struxness ($15,134, steer wrestling) BAREBACK RIDING TOP SCORES Struxness

Berry would rodeo. His dad Kirby was a successful bareback rider. His older brother Leighton Berry is a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. And his sister Maci trains breakaway and barrel horses. For heaven’s sake, Kade has a picture with him on a horse in diapers. It was in his DNA. But it wasn’t initially in his heart. He became bored with calf roping after doing it until he was 12 years old. He turned to boxing after his mom bought him a pair of gloves and signed him up for training sessions. “I went to the gym three-to-four days a week. I started sparring. I loved it. But it didn’t work out. And I remember watching my brother at a rodeo in British Columbia. He had like an 88.5-point ride, and I was star struck,” Berry said. “I said right then, ‘I’ve got to do that.’” Berry was 15. After watching his brother and sister know their purpose from a young age, Berry’s dream began taking shape. At 21, he is starting to gain traction in the bareback riding standings, moving up to 36th after an impressive performance at Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork, Utah. Berry delivered a 90.5 on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, edging Wacey Schalla (88). “That horse is legendary. Everyone who draws that horse knows they have a chance to win. I am usually not nervous. I was nervous,” Berry said. “I have been on horses that buck harder and that are more difficult. But there’s just something about that big buckskin. Since I got the callback, I couldn’t wait. My glove went on. And that’s when time completely froze.” Berry is working efficiently through his second full season. His expectations are framed by his age, but he is not about to concede anything. His brother has reminded him that Aug. 1 is when rookies and young cowboys can make a push with some competitors calling it a season and sure-thing NFR qualifiers adopting a lighter schedule. “I know it’s time for me to put my foot on the gas pedal. There’s no denying that I have an opportunity to finish the season strong,” Berry said. “I have to keep pushing. We have bumped up the entries and have a good variety coming up. Those ones where I get a good draw, I have to capitalize.” Sometimes it takes time to make your mark. Berry didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do when he was a kid. Few do. But boxing lit a competitive fire, and riding a horse has only stoked it. Now, Kade can’t imagine doing anything else. “A lot of it is that you have to figure out stuff on your own. I am hard-headed like all the Berrys,” Kade said with a laugh. “But we are all super supportive of each other. Without my family, I truly believe I wouldn’t be doing this. I definitely love the adrenaline part, and doing something others can’t do or won’t do. I really believe I have found my calling and it’s not going away. I love it.”

1. Kade Berry .......................... 90.5 pts. 2. Wacey Schalla ............................. 88 3. Tilden Hooper ........................... 87.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. J.D. Struxness ............. 7.6 sec. on 2 2. Ty Bauerle ................................... 8.5 3. Winsten McGraw ........................ 9.2 TEAM ROPING 1. B. Crites/T. Worley ....... 9.5 sec. on 2 2. L. Brown/T. Graves ..................... 9.7 3. K. Johnson/C. Johnson ............. 10.1 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Zeke Thurston ..................... 88.5 pts. 2. Kade Bruno ............................... 87.5 (Tie) Brody Cress ...................... 87.5 (Tie) Lefty Holman .................... 87.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Cory Solomon ............ 16.8 sec. on 2 (Tie) Marty Yates ...................... 16.8 3. Three tied at .............................. 17.8 BARREL RACING 1. Lindsay Sears .................. 16.83 sec. 2. Margo Crowther ..................... 16.87 3. Ashley Castleberry .................. 16.88 (Tie) Hailey Kinsel ................... 16.88 BULL RIDING 1. Tristen Hutchings ................ 92.5 pts. 2. Cooper James ........................... 89.5 3. Josh Frost ................................. 88.5

Complete results/Page 111

Phillip Kitts photo

Bareback rider Kade Berry and Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire combined for 90.5 points to win the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Spanish Fork, Utah.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/26/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 7/26/2024

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