ProRodeo Sports News July 9, 2021

LIVINGSTON ROUNDUP RODEO LIVINGSTON, MONT.

Burks caps Fourth run with Livingston victory BY NEAL REID, Special to ProRodeo Sports News M ississippi cowboy Andrew Burks knew his run at the Livingston (Mont.) Roundup Rodeo was going to be strong, but he had no idea he had clocked the fastest tie-down roping run of 2021. The Kiln, Miss., native was the second cowboy to nod his TOP SCORES

TOP MONEY WINNER Andrew Burks ($8,707, tie-down roping) ALL-AROUND COWBOY Rhen Richard ($4,845, team roping and tie-down roping) BAREBACK RIDING 1. Kaycee Field.............................91 pts. 2. Tim O’Connell.................................88 3. Jess Pope.......................................86 STEER WRESTLING 1. Cody Devers.......................... 3.2 sec. 2. Luke Branquinho...........................3.5 3. Riley Duvall. ..................................3.6 TEAM ROPING 1. D. Egusquiza/ T. Graves....... 3.6 sec. 2. Three tied at . ................................4.2 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Layton Green........................86.5 pts. 2. Chase Brooks. ................................85 3. Three tied at . .................................83 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Andrew Burks........................ 6.7 sec. 2. Shad Mayfield................................6.8 3. Taylor Santos.................................7.2 BARREL RACING 1. Hailey Kinsel...................... 17.09 sec. 2. Hallie Hanssen...........................17.24 3. Dona Kay Rule...........................17.32 BULL RIDING 1. Boudreaux Campbell. ..............90 pts. 2. J.B. Mauney....................................89 3. Clayton Sellars................................87 Burks

head in slack during a frenzied Cowboy Christmas sprint that had him and his traveling partners hopping from event to event, and he threw down a blazing 6.7-second run – also a personal best at the pro level – that would hold up and net him $8,707. Burks – a PRCAmember since 2017 who lives in Athens, Ala. – nipped reigning World Champion Shad Mayfield by one-tenth of a second to claim the Livingston tie-down roping crown, a feat he will remember for some time. “I had her flanked really fast, went ahead and put two wraps on her and thought I was going to be 7.1 or 7.2,” said the 23-year-old Burks, a two-

time RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo qualifier from the Southeastern Circuit. “I went for about a month where I drew kickers everywhere I went, and I’m so happy it finally lined up. I just drew four calves (during Cowboy Christmas) that were really good, and I just happened to use them. “When it’s going good, it’s going, and when it ain’t, it ain’t. It just worked out really good.” The Livingston victory was one of four major paychecks Burks earned during an epic Cowboy Christmas stretch that netted him the third-biggest haul in ProRodeo – $22,513. Burks pocketed $5,616 for splitting fourth at the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede in 8.5 seconds, took home $4,653 for another tie for fourth in 7.4 seconds at the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo in Oakley City, Utah, and added $3,536 thanks to a win at the Sitting Bull Stampede in Mobridge, S.D., in 7.9 seconds. The quartet of quality checks vaulted Burks from 19th to ninth in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings following Cowboy Christmas, and he is both nervous and motivated by the chance to chase his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification. “That was a pretty blessed week,” said Burks, who finished 38th in the world last year.

GOLDEN PAYDAYS All totaled, 11 world champions (Kaycee Feild, Tim O’Connell, Luke Branquinho, Chad Masters, Patrick Smith, Shad Mayfield, Hailey Kinsel, Nellie Miller and Sage Kimzey) cashed checks at the $228,324 rodeo. Clay Smith, Jade Corkill,

“If I can draw good where I need to, then it should work out. It’s one of those deals that could go either way from here on, but I’m definitely in a good seat.” Like most tie-down ropers, Burks gave most of the credit to his horse, an 11-year-old mare named Lollipop he bought from fellowMississippian Todd Gould this year. “I had been looking for the one that would take me to the next level, and you really need a lot of horsepower,” said Burks, who travels with Zack Jongbloed and Kincade Henry. “She’s quick across the line and then she’s quick stopping, and that makes things happen fast. I’d been trying to buy this horse on and off for four years, and it finally worked out. “I really got lucky with this horse, and it definitely motivates me that I have a lot better horse now. She’s double the horsepower, and it’s like trading in a Prius for a Corvette.”

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