ProRodeo Sports News - Feb. 7, 2020

NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW & RODEO New duo

wins Denver team roping Only three rodeos into their newly formed partnership, team ropers Cody Snow and Paul Eaves won the Denver rodeo as the follow-up to their successful 2019 seasons. “Paul is super solid, and it’s awesome roping with a world champ,” Snow said. “He knows when to be aggressive and when to rope smart, and I feed off his energy.” Although they weren’t in the money for most of the Denver rodeo, their average time from the first two rounds turned out to be the deciding factor in Snow and Eaves being named the Denver champions after tying with Clay Tryan and Jake Long in the final round with 4.2-second runs. “We were the last ones out and just had to catch without any mistakes, and tonight we didn’t have to think and just went with reaction,” said Eaves, the 2018 team roping heeling world champion. “You can strategize a bit more.” The duo earned $6,471 each in Denver and a healthy jumpstart in the ProRodeo Tour standings. “It’s a rodeo you’ll always remember winning,” Snow said. “Not everyone wins these big rodeos.” In Eaves’ case, it was his second time winning Denver, the first coming in 2016. “To me, the header is the quarterback,” Eaves said. “That’s the hardest job, to set it up for me.” Snow narrowly missed winning his first world title in 2019 during his fourth consecutive trip to the Wrangler NFR. He finished the season with $256,938, $11,882 shy of a world title. Eaves finished seventh in the 2019 world standings for team roping heelers with $186,600 after his eighth consecutive Wrangler NFR. One month later, they’re off to a running start in 2020. “When you name the rodeos of the year, this is one of them that’s on a pedestal, so to win a major rodeo like this gives you more confidence,” Snow said.

Saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright has been too busy setting records in Denver two years in a row to notice he was the one to beat. Having won Denver’s short round twice, first as a rookie in 2014 and again in 2019, the Utah cowboy had done everything but win the title at Denver’s rodeo. Last year, he joined the ranks of Dan Mortensen and Cody DeMoss in sharing Denver’s saddle bronc riding record of 90 points. One year later he topped it. Wright posted a record-breaking ride in the finals with his 91-point ride onThe Cervi Brothers’ Ricky Bobby. Brody Cress equaled that score with a 91-point effort onThe Cervi Brothers’ Avenger. So, while Wright and Cress shared the title of Denver record-holder, Wright claimed the rodeo title because of his average score from the first two rounds. “It makes me feel like I can ride these buckers,” Wright said. Wright’s Denver trip was worth $7,815. “It’s awesome and takes some stress off you,” Wright said. “This will put me up there and get the ball rolling. It’s a big time of year … if you go to all the winter rodeos you could darn near make the Finals in the winter run.” Drawing Ricky Bobby was a chance for retribution after the bronc bucked him off in Round 8 of the 2019Wrangler NFR. “He made me look pretty stupid, and I didn’t ride like I wanted to there,” Wright said, adding that he analyzed video of that ride before their rematch in Denver. “I want to ride every horse as well as I can, and it’s sweet to ride like I know I should have (at the Finals). Today, I had my head right.” The new tournament format didn’t faze the four-time qualifier for the Wrangler NFR (2015-16, 2018-19). “It’s no different really,” Wright said. “I knew I had to ride the best I could, and I was lucky enough to draw the right ones.” Rusty Wright wins with record-breaker Ric Andersen photo In 2019, Rusty Wright matched Denver’s saddle bronc riding record with a 90-point ride, while this year he broke it with 91 points on The Cervi Brothers’ Ricky Bobby.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/7/2020

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