ProRodeo Sports News - October 18, 2019

PRESCOTT VALLEY, ARIZ.

2 The number of cowboys – team roping heeler Seth Hall and saddle bronc rider Leon Fountain – who won the average at the RAM Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo and have qualified for the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo before.

Betony wins average, year-end

BY TRACY RENCK W hen considering favorites to win the 2019 RAMTurquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Evan Betony’s name probably would not have made many lists. The Tonalea, Ariz., cowboy bought his PRCA card Oct. 3 – the day before the RAMTCFR began in Prescott Valley, Ariz. He was 10th in the 2019 PRCA | RAMRodeo Permit Standings with $9,707. Well, Betony defied the odds. Betony, 20, won the three-head average at the RAM TCFR with 221.5 points, besting second-place finisher Earl Tsosie Jr. by 12.5 points. “I just tried to do the best that I could,” said Betony, who was competing at the RAMTCFR for the first time. “It was a great experience.” Betony placed third in the first round, won the second with a 79.5-point ride on Salt River Rodeo’s Grit Your Teeth and clinched the average crown aboard Salt River Rodeo’s Up &Away in the third round. “When I got off the pickup man (after the third- round ride), it didn’t hit me that I won, and then I heard the crowd get loud and it hit me,” said Betony, who was the last cowboy to ride in the third round. “I surprised myself. And then when I was taking off my gear, I had a sudden burst of emotion.” Betony earned $6,020 in Prescott Valley – easily the biggest payday of his career. That effort also helped him win the Turquoise Circuit year-end title with $16,581. By way of his two victories, Betony qualified for the RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., April 2-4. “I’m excited to get to go (to Kissimmee),” Betony said. “I’ve only traveled as far as Texas. It will be one for the books for me to go to Kissimmee. I plan on winning it. It will just come down to how bad I want it.” Betony grew up around rodeo. His father, Philbert, and uncles competed as bareback riders. Evan’s older brother, Wyatt, 23, also has competed in the PRCA as a bareback rider and bull rider. “I enjoy the intensity of bareback riding, and the fight to make the ride,” the 5-foot-7, 140-pound Betony said. “It’s unlike anything else I have ever done.” Betony plans to ProRodeo full time in 2020, and his earnings at the RAMTCFR gave him a boost to achieve that goal. “I know for sure I’m going to compete in the Turquoise Circuit again,” Betony said. “I recently got a job in construction, and when I’m not working, I’m working out and exercising so I can stay mentally prepared to compete in rodeo. I’m excited to see what I can do (in the 2020) season.”

IN BRIEF

William Kierce photo

FOUNTAIN HEADED BACK TO RAM NCFR Leon Fountain, above, is headed back to the RAM NCFR thanks to winning the average at the RAM TCFR with 232 points on three head. A year ago, at the RAM NCFR in Kissimmee, Fla., Fountain won the first round with an 87-point ride on Hi Lo ProRodeo’s Billie and earned $6,254. Fountain earned $5,329 in Prescott Valley, Ariz., high- lighted by winning Rounds 2 and 3. MAYFIELD ROLLING A week after clinching his first bid to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield kept his foot on the throttle. The Clovis, N.M., cowboy won the average at the RAM TCFR in 24.4 seconds on three head. Mayfield earned $7,482 for his per- formance. Mayfield finished the 2019 regular season PRCA | RAM World Standings in 13th with $90,421.

William Kierce photo

ProRodeo Sports News 10/18/2019

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