ProRodeo Sports News, June 29, 2018

“I had a good year in 2015, so I expected to have another one in 2016,” he said. “I got hammered with some injuries and some obstacles I had to overcome. It was rough when I was going through it, but now when I look back at it, I appreciate things a lot more. It helped me mature a little bit.” TIME TO HEAL He missed the rest of the 2016 season but opted not to have surgery at first. He wound up in a cast for eight weeks, then had to rebuild lost strength in his arm and get back lost mobility. “I was out all of 2016, I came back in 2017 and just wasn’t strong,” he said. “I didn’t feel very good. I fought it all year, then I got it scoped and cleaned out at the end of last year.” Laye, who has also won the Rusk County (Texas) PRCA Rodeo and Falkland (B.C.) Stampede this year, had a bone spur removed at the end of the 2017 season. “I can get on more horses in a row now,” he said. “Last year, I was only able to get on a couple days in a row and then I’d be pretty sore. If I got offered a re-ride or got on two in a row it was pretty bad.” With rodeo on the shelf, he had to focus on other things. “Income-wise it was tough,” Steer wrestler Matt Richardson plowed through the mud at the Wainwright Stampede, June 22. Billie-Jean Duff photo WAINWRIGHT STAMPEDE

Taypotat said. “It’s good to see good friends do good and feel good.”

MOVING ON At Wainwright, Laye found himself in a three-way tie for second with 85 points in the first round. Then came a call from Taypotat: Laye had drawn Vold Rodeo’s Mucho Dinero for the first time. “He was a little bit different, had a few more moves than I thought he was going to,” Laye said. “But he was really cool. … I was thinking about that horse all week. I had him on my mind. I was trying to use the law of attraction, reel him in.” Laye took the opportunity and ran with it. He won the final round with 87.5 points on Dinero to nail down the win. “Lots of family and friends there,” Laye said. “It’s awesome when you’ve got your support there and you can win like that, that’s great.” Last year, he finished 41st in the world standings with $23,690 in earnings. He’s already well beyond that for his 2018 earnings, and he’s hoping to make a lot more over the next couple months. He doesn’t go exceptionally hard during Cowboy Christmas. He’ll hit a few and then move on. “I’ve never rodeoed real hard through Cowboy Christmas,” he said. “I look more forward to Cheyenne (Frontier Days) and Edmonton (KDays Rodeo) week. I think there’s a ton of money to be won that week, too.” Laye isn’t happy sitting just outside the Top 15. “It’s definitely not where I want to be,” he said. “It’s some motivation, I guess I can make some changes. I want to be a lot higher than that.”

said Laye, who lives in Pocatello, Idaho, because it’s more centrally located for rodeoing. “I was building a little bit of furniture on the side, doing whatever I could to get by. My wife (Cassidy) and I bought a house. We were doing a bunch of work on that. Then we had a baby (Cohen, who turns 2 in August). It was a rough couple of years, but we got by.” While recouping through the injury, Laye had some company during the recovery process, at least via phone. Ty Taypotat, Laye’s traveling partner and longtime friend, tore his bicep muscle in July 2016, while ninth in the world standings. “We would call each other every now and then and see how each other was doing,” said Taypotat, who won the bareback riding first round at Wainwright and finished second in the average. Both riders are on the mend. “We’re both feeling well,”

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Cory Solomon.......... 26.6 sec. on three 2. Blair Smith......................................28.3 3. Kyle Lucas......................................28.7 4. Tyler Johnson.................................30.0

BARREL RACING 1. Shelby Spielman......34.760 sec. on two 2. Carman Pozzobon......................34.911 3. Angela Ganter.............................35.037 4. Nikki Hansen..............................35.076

BULL RIDING 1. Cody Coverchuk...........173 pts. on two 2. Lonnie West..........................87 on one 3. Jared Parsonage.............................86.5 4. Chris Hansen.....................................85

Complete results on Page 70

ProRodeo Sports News 6/29/2018

ProRodeo.com

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