ProRodeo Sports News - May 18, 2018

Rollin’ Cole

Bull rider Cole Melancon refused to let injury crumble his confidence. Now back to netted a win at Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo after an 89-point ride on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Chigger full health, Melancon

Back at full health, Melancon wins Guymon

BY NICK CICERE O ver the past year, bull rider Cole Melancon has felt the entirety of the rodeo spectrum. At his peak, Melancon qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December, even splitting the win in Round 3 with eventual world champion Sage Kimzey. In the 24-year-old’s third year in the PRCA, Melancon finished the 2017 season sixth in the world standings with more than $200,000 earned. On the surface, everything appeared to be moving in the Texas cowboy’s direction. Not everything was as it seemed. Melancon had been wincing with the pain of a herniated disc in his back for a majority of the past season, and in January, the longstanding suffering became severe enough that he opted for surgery. At the Guymon (Okla.)

Pioneer Days Rodeo, Melancon proved his health is no longer a concern. Atop Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Chigger, Melancon took advantage of the one-go for 89 points. The win netted Melancon $3,384, and a renewed sense of purpose. “It feels pretty great,” said Melancon, who was in 28th in the 2018 RAMPRCAWorld Standings as of May 17. “I hadn’t won anything in a while, missing two months being out after

to win more than $3,000.

Dale Hirschman photo

surgery. I’d been chomping at it a little bit, winning $100 here and there, and I finally had a breakthrough and got a win somewhere to help move me up a little bit and lift my spirits.” Chigger and Melancon had never been paired before, but the fourth-year

TOPS AT GUYMON — May 4-6

ALL-AROUND COWBOY Paul David Tierney $2,683

BAREBACK RIDING 1. Bill Tutor ................................ 87.5 pts. 2. Jake Brown ...................................... 87 3. Tilden Hooper .................................. 86 4. Jordan Pelton ............................... 84.5

STEER WRESTLING 1. Hunter Cure ............ 12.3 sec. on three 2. Tanner Brunner ............................. 13.6 3. Trell Etbauer ................................. 13.7 4. Matt Reeves .................................. 13.9

TEAM ROPING 1. C. Snow/W. Thorp .. 24.1 sec. on three 2. L. Allen/R. Ashford ....................... 25.8 3. L. Ivy/B. Hawkins II ...................... 28.3 4. D. Egusquiza/K. Koontz ................ 29.9

Tie-down roping and team roping

ProRodeo Sports News 5/18/2018

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