The ProRodeo Sports News - April 19, 2019

Hughes plans on making NFR debut in 2019 Ready to Go

BY MATT NABER W estyn Hughes has been on the cusp of qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo multiple times since being the 2016 PRCA | Resistol Tie-down Roping Rookie of the Year. But injuries have set him back in qualifying for a trip to Las Vegas. Now, he’s back in the saddle and on a roll, winning the Oakdale (Calif.) Saddle Club Rodeo. “Growing up, you always hear about Oakdale and see the older guys with Oakdale buckles,” said Hughes, 21. “It’s definitely one to check off the bucket list. It means a ton to me, even more so because when I come to California I rodeo out of Oakdale from (ProRodeo Hall of Famer) Jerold Camarillo’s house. It’s cool to stay at their place and win their hometown rodeo. It’s even cooler to get the win with him there, that made it even sweeter.” Hughes broke his right (roping) armMarch 28, 2018, while making a practice bareback ride. At the time of his injury, he was 16th in the world standings for tie-down roping. The injury put him out of competition for eight weeks. Soon after returning to competition, Hughes injured his back and missed the bulk of the summer run. He received a series of injections in his back, and his roping arm is fully healed. “Going into the spring and summer, it’s going up,” Hughes said. “I’ll try to keep it rolling.” The Texas cowboy placed second in Oakdale’s first round with an 8.8-second run and tied for first place in the second round with a 9.3-second run. All told, his 18.1 seconds on two head added up to a $3,332 payday. Before Oakdale, Hughes was 19th in the April 1 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. Now, he’s 13th with $28,292. “This year, I’m trying to stay more level-headed and positive in my roping and to not get too down on myself and to try to rope without any emotion,” Hughes said. “I treat it like a business and go at each calf one at a time. I try not to let the rodeos in the past get me down and just look forward to the next one.”

ALL-AROUND Doyle Hoskins, $568, Tie-down roping and team roping TOP SCORES

Hoskins

BAREBACK RIDING 1. Devan Reilly 85.5 pts. 2. Austin Foss 85 3. Trenten Montero 83

STEER WRESTLING 1. Hunter Cure 8.4 sec. on two

2. Stetson Jorgensen 9.3 3. Sterling Lambert 9.6

TEAM ROPING 1. L. Brown/J. Corkill 13.5 secs. on two 2. P. Mullins/R. Kennedy 14.9 3. S. Duby/J. Duby 15.2

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Jesse Wright 88 pts. 2. (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw 84 Mitch Pollock 84

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Westyn Hughes 18.1 sec. on two 2. Riley Pruitt 18.2 3. Taylor Santos 19.0 BARREL RACING 1. Megan Champion 17.20 sec. 2. Carly Taylor 17.36 3. Cheyenne Wimberley 17.40

IN BRIEF DOUBLING UP

This was the second time saddle bronc rider Jesse Wright won the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo. In 2013, he made an 87-point

BULL RIDING 1. Aaron Williams 89 pts. 2. Boudreaux Campbell 86.5 3. J.T. Moore 86

ride on Rosser Rodeo Company’s Flood Dam- age for the win, while this year, he won with 88 points on C5 Rodeo’s Bad Intentions. Wright

Complete results/Page 41

Stu Hagen photo

ProRodeo Sports News 4/19/2019

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