ProRodeo Sports News - October 30, 2020

TOP STOCK OF THE YEAR

Top Flight, Womanizer, Chiseled take 2020 honors Best of Stock James Phifer photo Bareback rider Winn Ratliff had a 90-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight to win the 2016 All American ProRodeo Finals in Waco, Texas. After 2020, Top Flight will have competed at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for 11 consecutive years.

BY TRACY RENCK S tanding out among a crowd of exceptional roughstock requires a perfect balance of animal athleticism and the cowboys capable of showcasing that talent. The 2020 PendletonWhisky “Let ‘er Buck” Stock of the Year recognized Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight for Bareback Horse of the Year, The Cervi Brothers’ Womanizer for Saddle Bronc of the Year and Powder River Rodeo’s Chiseled for Bull of the Year.

TIME FOR TAKEOFF Top Flight is a cornerstone of Pickett Pro Rodeo. The 2020Wrangler National Finals Rodeo will mark her 11th consecutive trip to the Finals. Last year, TimO’Connell had a 91.5-point trip on Top Flight to place second in Round 10. Ty Breuer split second in the finals at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, Feb. 22, with an 89-point ride on the 16-year-old bucker who finished third in the 2019 Bareback Horse of the Year voting. “It means a lot to get this award,” said Cullen Pickett, owner of Pickett Pro Rodeo since its inception in 2008. “We have won a lot of things, but we have never won first (in Stock of the Year). This is a very hard award to get. I almost gave up on her (Top Flight) winning first. “We felt like for several years she was good enough, and you felt like she doesn’t have to win it to prove it to you. This is the icing on the cake for her. I told somebody the other day I don’t know if I deserve this honor, but I know for sure she deserves it. She can sleep in my house if she wants to.” Pickett said Top Flight’s personality doesn’t change regardless of the situation. “Her demeanor is really good,” he said. “She stays pretty much the same whether we are at a rodeo or at the house (in Fairfield, Texas). She is even keel. The only time her demeanor changes is when she gets in the chutes she knows it’s ‘Go Time.’ “She is a one-of-a-kind personality. She doesn’t mess with anybody, but nobody messes with her. She still likes to go (to rodeos), and we will probably buck her maybe another year or two.”

ProRodeo Sports News 10/30/2020

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