PublicationProRodeo Sports News - March 22, 2019

RODEOHOUSTON

A few months after missing the final four rounds of the 2018Wrangler NFR due to injury, bull rider Trevor Kastner found redemption at RodeoHouston. The 31-year-old, Oklahoma cowboy won the first round of Super Series 1 with 88 points on Cervi Brothers Rodeo’s Mercenary and tied for second in the third round with 87 points. He won the Championship Shootout with 90 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Smoke House. “He was a good bull, I’d seen him once or twice, and I was happy to have him,” Kastner said. “I think he normally goes left, but he went right with me.” Kastner had been to Houston a few times since his career started in 2008 and had made it as far as the short round. But this marked his first RodeoHouston win. “It helped some knowing how the format works,” Kastner said, adding that he couldn’t compare winning Houston to anything he’d experienced before. Winning Houston pushed Kastner up 21 spots in the world standings, from 22nd to first as of March 19. With RodeoHouston in the past, Kastner Kastner gets back on track

Only two bull riders made qualified rides in the final round and Trevor Kastner came out on top with his 90-point ride on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Smoke House in the Championship Shootout round March 16. Photo courtesy Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Garner wins Houston on first try already is looking ahead at the summer run and plans to take it a bit easier than previous seasons. –Matt Naber

T wo-tenths of a second made all the difference in steer wrestler Josh Garner nailing his biggest win 10 years after joining the PRCA, claiming RodeoHouston with a 4.6-second run during the Championship Shootout. “RodeoHouston is a prestigious rodeo, and it feels great to win,” Garner said, adding that it was his first time competing at RodeoHouston. The 28-year-old cowboy credited his RodeoHouston win to riding Buzz – a horse owned by Sterling Lambert and Clayton Anderson – and having Jacob Shofner as his hazer. “I’ve had a good history with the horse,” Garner said. “He scores good and he hauls butt, and especially for a short guy like me he gets my feet on the ground fast. Seems like I always do good on him.”

Garner stayed consistent throughout the rodeo. He won the second round of Super Series 3 with a 4.4-second run and placed second in the third round in 4.5 seconds. The California cowboy went on to place second in the Semifinals 1 segment with a 4.7-second run, the Championship in 4.5 seconds and the Championship Shootout in 4.6 seconds. Combined, his Houston runs were worth $57,000 – pushing him from 38th in the world standings with $9,096 to second with $66,096. “It’s a big jump in the world standings, and I’m not going to back off, I will keep going,” Garner said. “It’s a great opportunity to make the NFR, which is my ultimate goal.” –Matt Naber

ProRodeo Sports News 3/22/2019

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