ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 7, 2018

people got teared up yesterday.” Before winning Ellensburg, Riley and Brady ranked ninth and 11th in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings for heading and heeling, respectively. The $5,911 they won at their hometown rodeo bumped them up to sixth and seventh as of Sept. 4. “The money is great, but it felt like $60,000,” Brady Minor said. “I’ve been entering that rodeo since 2005, and I think I’ve made third or fourth a time or two. It was darn sure one for the books, and I was glad to have it in the bag. “It’s tough to win any rodeo, let alone a big one. It’s a big, open arena and anything can happen. Usually we are just roping for money and make third or fourth and safety up. But this year we drew good in the second go round and made three pretty similar runs at the same spot in the arena. It just played out perfectly. It tops it off up there. We wonThe American two years ago and some NFR go rounds, and this feels huge.” MAKING IT HAPPEN The Minors clocked in with runs of 5.2 seconds, 5.3 and 5.4 at Ellensburg. Placing seventh in the first two rounds and third in the finals, gave them the average win in 15.9 seconds on three head. The Minors brought their best horsepower with Riley riding Bob and Brady riding Sug. “We rode them all year, basically,” Brady Minor said. “He’s the best horse I’ve got, and it’s a big rodeo, so we ride our best horses at the best rodeos. I rode him all last year too, and he’s just been a blessing.” Riley feels the same about his horse, Bob. “Bob’s my good horse and sure makes my job easier,” Riley Minor said. “He just fits my style, I guess. He tries hard every time, and he rarely takes a shot away fromme. He’s pretty quick, so you can be pretty snappy. He’s been a good one for me for a few years now.” The Minors didn’t go into the short round totally blind, as their draw was the same

spoke highly of Riley’s roping. “Riley got a good start at the barrier, and it fell into play perfectly,” Brady Minor said. UP NEXT The Minors basically had their qualification to the Justin Finale in the bag before Ellensburg, each ranking eighth in the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Standings. Now with Ellensburg’s points added in, they’re each fifth in the Tour Standings and heading to the Finale. “Oh, man, it’s a good one, and it’s going to pay a lot of money, too,” Riley Minor said. “Hopefully we can stay on a roll and get some good money won in Puyallup.” Brady shared his brother’s enthusiasm. “Puyallup has lots of money to win this year, and it’s always fun for us because it’s only two hours frommy house,” Brady Minor said. “I know a lot of people from there, as well, and there are only 24 guys, so I’m looking forward to it.” Winning Ellensburg changed the Minors’ plans for the final month of the season. Instead of competing hard between now and the end of the month, they’re going to take it easy. “I’ve been down there trying to make the NFR in Stephenville (Texas) and Amarillo (Texas), and it’s stressful,” Brady Minor said. “Winning Ellensburg was enough to clinch the deal, so we will come home for the fall. We have a ranch here, we ship our calves in October and we have some processing to do, so my dad will be glad we’re home.” The Minor brothers also qualified for the Canadian Finals Rodeo, so they’ll compete there before going to Arizona to practice for the Wrangler NFR. “I keep saying I’m on the verge of staying home,” Brady Minor said. “But as long as our horses are good – my horse is 13 and Riley’s is 16 – we will keep rodeoing.”

on which Tyler Wade and Tyler McKnight made a 6.0-second run earlier in the rodeo. “They told me he was kind of middle of the road and a medium speed, and they were just straight down the pen. Brady pulled off a good shot and the steer handled a bit wild, but he did a good job to catch him.” Brady also right,” Riley Minor said. “He was

video

Complete results on Page 53

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Cort Scheer ................ 170 pts. on two 2. Ryder Wright .............................. 166.5 3. Zeke Thurston ............................... 166 4. Colt Gordon ................................ 165.5

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Ryan Jarrett ............ 25.4 sec. on three 2. Cimarron Boardman ..................... 25.9 3. Shane Hanchey ............................. 26.1 4. Matt Shiozawa .............................. 26.3

STEER ROPING 1. J. Tom Fisher ............. 25.2 sec. on two 2. Tuf Cooper .................................... 27.1 3. Bryce Davis .................................. 28.2 4. Scott Snedecor ............................. 28.4

BULL RIDING 1. Aaron Williams ........... 163 pts. on two 2. Riker Carter ................................... 162 3. (tie) Jeff Askey ................. 86.5 on one Chase Dougherty .......................... 86.5

ProRodeo Sports News 9/7/2018

ProRodeo.com

31