ProRodeo Sports News - May 10, 2024

GUYMON, OKLA.

Building Momentum GUYMON PIONEER DAYS

Big outing has Anderson rolling

BY ALEX RILEY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News T he first weekend of May left steer wrestler Bridger Anderson with a little case of déjà vu. One minute he was in Clovis, N.M., competing at a rodeo. Next thing he knows, he’s in Guymon, Okla., doing the same thing. The end result – two different championships with two buckles – but each say Pioneer Days Rodeo on them. “Maybe they ought to call the rest of the rodeos Pioneer Days this year,” Anderson said with a laugh. An ironic sweep of two rodeos with identical names was exactly what Anderson needed as the spring portion of the PRCA season draws to a close, giving the Carrington, N.D., cowboy some momentum to build on heading into the summer run. After winning the Pioneer Days Rodeo in Clovis with a five second effort, Anderson made the drive to Guymon for three runs at his second Pioneer Days Rodeo. The two-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo won the first go in a time of four seconds flat, then posted steady efforts of 5.3 and 5.2 seconds in the second and third rounds, respectively. While those times didn’t earn any additional round money, the sum total of 14.5 seconds on three head was good enough to secure the Guymon average title and his second Pioneer Days championship of the weekend. Between the two rodeos, Anderson added $7,760 to this ledger, with $6,290 coming from Guymon alone. “You have to make as good a run as you can on the steer you’re provided,” Anderson said. “I had a really good steer in the first round. They came back and won the second round on her too and then I just had two okay steers on my second and third round, but I just made good business runs and we were fortunate enough to come out in the lead.” The wins were much-needed as Anderson continues to inch his way up the PRCA | RAM World Standings in hopes of making a second straight appearance at NFR. The early part of the 2024 schedule was fairly difficult for the veteran cowboy as he didn’t earn his first check until a win at the Nacogdoches (Texas) Pro Rodeo in mid-March. Since picking up some round money at the Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up in April, his season has started to head in a positive direction. Along with Nacogdoches, Anderson has also won the Lakeside (Calif.) Rodeo and both Pioneer Days in the last few weeks, bumping him up to 35th in the standings with just shy of $16,000 in earnings. The recent success has Anderson in a better headspace heading into the summer, a mentality he hopes will carry him to more success – even at rodeos not named Pioneer Days – and a return visit to Las Vegas in December. “It’s been good. We didn’t have the greatest winter and worked on staying positive and focused on capitalizing when the opportunity arises,” Anderson said. “Hopefully we can keep this going after Guymon and roll into the summer.

TOP MONEY EARNER Shad Mayfield TOP SCORES

($13,911, tie down roping) BAREBACK RIDING

Mayfield

1. Jess Pope .............................. 90 pts. (Tie) Dean Thompson ................... 90 3. Kade Sonnier ............................. 88.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Bridger Anderson ....... 14.5 sec. on 3 2. Travis Munro ............................. 14.8 3. Jake Nelson ............................... 15.0 TEAM ROPING 1. D. Egusquiza/L. Lord .. 22.6 sec. on 3 2. K. Thompson/C. Freeman .......... 24.4 3. M. Appleton/R. Doyal ................. 27.4 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Statler Wright ..................... 87.5 pts. 2. Traylin Martin ................................ 86 3. Riggin Smith .............................. 85.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Marcos Costa .............. 23.9 sec. on 3 (Tie) Shad Mayfield .................... 23.9 3. Cooper Martin ............................ 24.0 STEER ROPING 1. Trenton Johnson ......... 54.4 sec. on 4 2. Clay Long .................................. 56.1 3. Logan Currie .............................. 57.4 BULL RIDING 1. JR Stratford ........................ 89.5 pts. 2. Coy Pollmeier ............................... 88 (Tie) and Hayes Weight ................. 88

Complete results/Page 60

Dale Hirschman photo

Bridger Anderson clocked a 5.2-second run during the third go-round to capture the average title at the Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 5/10/2024

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ProRodeo Sports News 5/10/2024

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