ProRodeo Sports News - June 23, 2022

SISTERS RODEO SISTERS, ORE.

Jace Melvin picks up victory in steer wrestling BY PATRICK EVERSON, Special to ProRodeo Sports News A s spring sprung in the rodeo world, steer wrestler Jace Melvin was in the midst of a very good season. Perhaps his best start to a season since first joining the PRCA in 2014. “I felt great after Houston, at the end of March. I had $11,000 won,” Melvin said. “Then life happens. Everyone has to deal with adversity, and I had to deal with mine.” But not everybody’s adversity has the potential to keep them out half the season or more. TOP MONEY WINNER Ty Harris ($5,139, tie down roping) BAREBACK RIDING TOP SCORES Harris On the March

“I got really sick with a blood infection. Honestly, they were talking about three, four or five months off,” the 30-year-old bulldogger said. “It was almost two months of daily antibiotics through an IV. Thank the Lord and my fiancée for taking care of me.” Indeed, Aimee Kay was a rock for her future husband. However, with two months of the season lost, Melvin had to decide whether it was worth it to return this year. “Now I’m behind the eight-ball. I thought maybe I should take the year off,” he said. “But I’m a true believer. If you believe in yourself, you should go do it. The doctor said I was looking good, so I said, ‘I want to rodeo.’” Along with a great fiancée, Melvin had good friends who helped quickly whip him back into competitive shape. “They helped me practice every day for a week,” he said. “When I left the house, my goal was to go win.” And that’s pretty much what happened at the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo. Melvin went out in theThursday slack and posted a 5.2-second run, good for third place and $1,001 in the first round. In his second round Friday night, he mirrored his previous effort, turfing the steer in 5.3 seconds. That was good for a split of fifth and sixth and another $369. But those two consistent rounds provided the real boost. Melvin won the average with his 10.5-second total, almost a full second ahead of second-place Cody Cabral (11.3). That put another $2,293 in the South Dakota cowboy’s bank account. Not bad for someone coming off a serious illness. “I’ve been rodeoing professionally since I was 18 years old. This isn’t easy to compete in at a high level,” Melvin said. “So I was thrilled to come back and have some success. Everything was good. The steers were fresh, it was their first rodeo. I was riding Stetson Jorgensen’s horse Mabel, and Stetson was hazing for me.” Melvin now has $15,438 on the season, 39th in the world steer wrestling standings. So there’s a lot of work to do if he’s to make his second Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, previously doing so in 2020, when he finished 10th in the world standings. But his effort at Sisters provided some much-needed confidence, after such a rough stretch. “I was truly blessed to come back as soon as I did. I felt like I was given this opportunity, and I wanted to take it. I’m glad to be back,” Melvin said. “It’s huge to have just a little bit of luck that first time back, to go to a great rodeo like Sisters, my first time there, a beautiful rodeo, a beautiful place.”

1. Keenan Hayes ...................... 85.5 pts. 2. R.C. Landingham .......................... 83 (Tie) Trenten Montero ................... 83 STEER WRESTLING 1. Jace Melvin ................. 10.5 sec. on 2 2. Cody Cabral ................................ 11.3 3. Sterling Lambert ........................ 11.4 TEAM ROPING 1. J. Cooper/S. Sporer .............. 5.0 sec. (Tie) R. Richard/J. Buhler ............. 5.0 3. Jr. Dees/L. Lord ............................ 5.4 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. CoBurn Bradshaw ................ 89.5 pts. 2. Mitch Pollock ............................. 86.5 (Tie) Stetson Wright ................... 86.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Ty Harris ..................... 18.6 sec. on 2 2. Jared Parke ................................ 19.4 3. Reese Riemer ............................. 19.8 BARREL RACING 1. Taycie Matthews ............... 17.73 sec. 2. Mary Thomas ........................... 17.82 3. Chelsie Stodghill ...................... 17.86 BULL RIDING 1. Ky Hamilton ......................... 88.5 pts. 2. Ruger Piva ................................. 87.5 3. Garrett Smith ............................. 86.5

Complete results/Page 58

Ashley Kendall photo

Steer wrestler Jace Melvin has overcome adversity and was back on the rodeo trail winning the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 6/24/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 6/24/2022

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

44

45