ProRodeo Sports News - September 1, 2023

CALDWELL, IDAHO

Win has Boquet climbing up standings Plugging Along BY ALEX RILEY, Special to ProRodeo Sports News W hen Dustin Boquet looks back, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023 could turn out to be a very important milestone in his rodeo career. Things have been extremely difficult for the Bourg, CALDWELL NIGHT RODEO

TOP SCORES

TOP MONEY EARNER Stephen Culling ($9,995, steer wrestling) BAREBACK RIDING

La., bull rider, since December 2021. During Round 6 of the 2021 National Finals Rodeo, Boquet suffered a shoulder injury that ended his run at the season-culminating event and ultimately impacted 2022. He was limited to just one win and less than $8,000 in earnings last year. Getting back on track in 2023 was the plan, but that has proven difficult. A chipped femur bone during the winter kept him sidelined for almost two months, putting him behind from the start. A pair of Idaho rodeos in August could be the turning points for his season and potentially his career. Boquet secured a win at the Caldwell Night Rodeo thanks to an 88.5-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Boo Ray. Coupled with a runner-up finish at the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo, Boquet finally has something to feel good about when it comes to bull riding. “It was real important, especially for my confidence anyway. Shoot, I won $15,000 this past weekend between Caldwell and Burley. That jumped me from mid-30s to the mid-20s in the world standings,” Boquet said. “To win that much money in one weekend, you just can’t beat it.” Rollercoasters of momentum are nothing new for Boquet, including the latest up and down swing. After winning significant money in Spanish Fork, Utah and Salinas, Calif., in mid-July, he took a few days to recover from a lower body injury. Following some much-needed rest to heal physically and fishing to reset mentally, Boquet went without any money won to start the month of August. That changed the weekend of Aug. 12 at the Summit County Fair & Rodeo in Coalville, Utah, as he placed third to pick up almost $2,600. Boquet parlayed that success into nearly $9,600 at Caldwell alone, his second-biggest haul at a rodeo this season. “When I saw my draw for Caldwell and Burley, I knew there was a chance I could win both of them if I could just stay my butt on,” Boquet said. “I’ve seen that bull out a couple times now, so I knew exactly what I had, and I was going into it thinking, ‘Just stay on him and you’re going to win this sucker.’” While he sits 23rd in the PRCA | RAM World Standings, Boquet knows he has a long way to go to reach NFR-qualifier status. The gap between 23rd and 20th is more than $22,000, making success the next few weeks critical if the turnaround is going to continue. Boquet has no plans of slowing down in his quest to return to Las Vegas. He intends to hit about 4-5 rodeos each week, focusing on winning enough money now to qualify for the CINCH Playoff Series Championship in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the end of September. The prize money there has the potential to vault a competitor in the world standings quickly. Until then, it’s all about perseverance and getting back up on the horse – or in Boquet’s case, the bull. “The confidence is where I want it for dang sure. We can’t complain with that,” Boquet said. “We’re just going to keep rocking and rolling and hopefully get some good draws this week and make some good bull rides and keep the momentum going.”

Culling

1. Taylor Broussard .......... 174 pts. on 2 2. Dean Thompson .......................... 173 3. Cooper Cooke ........................... 172.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Stan Branco ................ 13.2 sec. on 3 2. Stephen Culling .......................... 13.5 3. Josh Garner ............................... 13.9 TEAM ROPING 1. T. Wade/W. Thorp ........ 15.7 sec. on 3 2. T. Tomlinson/P. Smith ................. 15.9 3. P. Tierney/T. Braden .................... 16.5 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Ryder Wright ............. 176.5 pts. on 2 2. Stu Wright ................................... 173 3. Three tied at ............................. 170.5 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Haven Meged .............. 25.8 sec. on 3 2. Cory Solomon ............................ 26.5 3. Shane Hanchey .......................... 26.9 BARREL RACING 1. B. Pozzi Tonozzi ........ 50.90 sec. on 3 2. Halyn Lide ................................ 51.75 3. Leslie Smalygo ......................... 51.83 BULL RIDING 1. Dustin Boquet ..................... 88.5 pts. 2. JB Mauney ................................. 84.5 3. Hayes Weight ................................ 83

Complete results/Page 117

Thomas Duncan photo

Bull rider Dustin Boquet made a push to get back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by winning the Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo with an 88.5-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Boo Ray.

ProRodeo Sports News 9/1/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 9/1/2023

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