ProRodeo Sports News - February 23, 2018

DIXIE NATIONAL RODEO “A bunch of my friends were at the rodeo (Feb. 14) and they were wishing me congratulations,” Sullivan said. “I was at home with my wife and kids and my phone was blowing up pretty good.” For his effort, Sullivan earned $6,447, and the script could not have been written any better for him.

“Every kid in this area grows up going to the Dixie National Rodeo, and the goal is to always win it, so to do that just feels great,” Sullivan said. Sullivan’s path to glory in Jackson was paved by riding 13-year-old Hummer, his friend Lane Chipley’s horse. “I don’t know if it was him (Hummer) or me, but one of us got a little nervous on the second steer,” Sullivan said. “It was just awesome.” Trey Austin, Sullivan’s hazer and longtime friend, was thrilled. “I couldn’t have been happier if I won it myself,” said Austin, 35. “Cody and I grew up through high school rodeo and all our lives we have been together, and to see him win this hometown rodeo was pretty special. Winning a hometown rodeo is the hardest thing to do because everybody is there watching. We just needed to get the steer caught and thrown down in the second round and that’s what he did. After he made his run and we were riding out of the arena, I told him he could count himself in as the champ of Jackson and that’s how it turned out.” PART-TIME RODEO CONTESTANT Sullivan’s rodeo résumé mainly consists of him competing in the Southeastern Circuit. The circuit works for him because he’s an eight-year fireman for the Richland (Miss.) Fire Department. “We run a lot of medical calls, and we do fight fires here and there,” Sullivan said. “Fighting fires is a different kind of rush than steer wrestling, but your adrenaline gets going on both. Being a fireman was totally unplanned. I was working for an environmental company at the time and we were on call 24/7, and I was trying to rodeo as much as I could. I did that for two years, and my buddy (who Sullivan grew up with and rodeoed with) told me to come up and work at the fire department and I would have time to shoe horses again. I came up and applied for the job and tried out, and I got the job. I love being a fireman. I wouldn’t change it for anything.” Cody and Amanda, his wife of seven years, live in Puckett, Miss., with their identical twin daughters, Kylie and Maci, 6, and a 10-month-old daughter, Harper. “My kids keep me extremely busy,” Sullivan said. “My wife and daughters were there in the stands in Jackson to see me win, which was very special. Rodeo is a very family-oriented sport and everybody is your friend. I want my kids to be involved in rodeo, but that will be their choice. I have loved rodeo all my life. I played sports growing up, but I never stopped rodeoing.” Back in Sullivan’s early days, he was all about rodeo through high school. “I roped calves and steer wrestled when I was younger,” Sullivan said. “Steer wrestling is my main event now and I love to do it. I was introduced to rodeo by my dad (Chuck). He rodeoed all his life, riding bulls and bareback horses at amateur rodeos, and he still team ropes as a header. I did try and ride bulls like my dad, off and on through high school, but my thighs got a little too big, so I didn’t need to be riding bulls any more.” Now, Sullivan tries to squeeze in all the rodeos he can between his fireman duties and shoeing horses. “I really don’t have a plan as far as rodeos go, I guess whichever way God leads me,” he said.

Cody Sullivan, shown above at his job as a firefighter, competes primarily in the PRCA’s Southeastern Circuit. Below, Sullivan with daughter, Harper (in arms), wife, Amanda, and left to right, twins, Kylie and Maci, spend a family moment together. Photos courtesy Sullivan family

Complete results on Page 43

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. (tie) Isaac Diaz .......................... 84 pts. Rusty Wright ................................... 84 3. Jake Watson .................................... 83 4. Four tied at ................................... 82.5

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Caleb Smidt ............... 15.8 sec. on two 2. Tuf Cooper .................................... 16.2 3. Jake Pratt ..................................... 16.9 4. Cooper Martin .............................. 17.3

BARREL RACING 1. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi ......... 15.02 sec. 2. Dena Kirkpatrick ......................... 15.09 3. Taci Bettis ................................... 15.11 4. Two tied at .................................. 15.12

BULL RIDING 1. Dustin Boquet ........................ 86.5 pts. 2. J.T. Moore ....................................... 86 3. Trey Benton III .............................. 85.5 4. Preston Peace ................................. 83

ProRodeo Sports News 2/23/18

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