ProRodeo Sports News - July 8, 2022

Berry back on track with win Leighton Berry is no stranger to the bright lights at the prestigious Reno Rodeo. In 2019, he won the rodeo as a rookie in the PRCA, but he hadn’t been back since then. The beginning of 2021 saw Berry suffer a season-altering injury at the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo. The setback caused the Weatherford, Texas, bareback rider to miss several months of action. “I got hurt in Odessa in January of 2021. I suffered a back injury and had my T12 and L1 vertebrae fused together,” said Berry, 23. “That sat me out for a total of eight months. “I was expecting to sit the whole entire year out. But honestly, I was just blessed to heal the way I did and recover the way I did.” It wasn’t an easy recovery and

Fernando Sam-Sin photo Leighton Berry reaches high to the sky during his 88-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Girl Crush in the short go.

comeback, but things seem to be back on track for him this season. This year’s Reno Rodeo proved that. He won the average with 256 points on three head. He said it’s remarkable how far he’s come. “It’s amazing, I’ve been so blessed to be able to go through what I’ve gone through and have the people around me that I’ve had,” he said. “To come back here for my second time ever and win the coveted spurs that Reno has to offer I’m on cloud nine right now.” Berry made his inaugural trip to the Wrangler NFR in 2020 in Arlington, Texas, where he finished ninth in the PRCA | RAMWorld

Veterans Tsinigine/Lockett win Reno team roping Aaron Tsinigine and Kyle Lockett have roped numerous times in the PRCA over the years. The duo teamed up for the 2022 Reno Rodeo and the results were grand. Tsinigine and Lockett won the rodeo with an 18.8-second time on three head. “This was the only place I was entered,” said Lockett, an eight-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier in 1997-98, 2000-03, 2005, 2019. “It is awesome to win Reno. It is pretty special. Those guys have another chance the next day, but you only get a chance at this place one time a year, so this is special.” Lockett won Reno for the first time in 2006 roping with header Wade Wheatley. Tsinigine, the 2015 PRCA Team Roping Header World Champion, also won Reno for the second time in his career, the first coming in 2018 with Trey Yates. “Any time you win one of the big major rodeos like Reno, it is always an awesome feeling,” Tsinigine said. “A lot of guys spend their whole rodeo careers and never win Reno and I have done it twice, but it is harder to win these big ones a second time. I’m very fortunate that I was able to do it again, especially with Kyle. Kyle has kind of been my mentor for a long time, so this win means a lot to me.” Tsinigine and Lockett each earned $12,857 in Reno. Standings. This season he has put himself in a position to make his first trip to Las Vegas, something he’s been thinking about since he was a kid. “Arlington was awesome. It’s an hour frommy house,” Berry said. “So, it’s like having your first NFR in your hometown. I’ll always be thankful for that. “But I’ve been dreaming about going to theThomas &Mack and nodding my head there since I was two years old. So, I’m really hoping that I can get there this year and see that and see those lights and those yellow bucking chutes.”

Fernando Sam-Sin photo The veteran team roping duo of Kyle Lockett and Aaron Tsinigine captured the Reno title with an 18.8-second time on three head.

ProRodeo Sports News 7/8/2022

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