The ProRodeo Sports News - April 19, 2019

CLARK COUNTY FAIR & RODEO LOGANDALE, NEV. Foss looking better than ever in victory Now Healthy BY TRACY RENCK O ver the last three years, injuries have sabotaged the career of bareback rider Austin Foss. Foss, who qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2013-15, was healthy and riding in top form at the Clark County Fair & Rodeo in Logandale, Nev., April 14, winning the average with 172 points on two head to claim the title at the ProRodeo Tour event. “It’s huge to get this win, and it also helps in the ProRodeo Tour, which is great,” Foss said. “This is a huge stepping stone for me. I got on a couple of horses in Logandale that a guy loves to get on because they give you such a good shot to win.” Foss set the tone for his inaugural Logandale win by capturing the first-round Wright ALL-AROUND COWBOY TOP SCORES Stetson Wright, $5,734, saddle bronc riding and bull riding

BAREBACK RIDING 1. Austin Foss 172 pts on two head 2. (tie) R.C. Landingham 171 Steven Peebles 171 STEER WRESTLING 1. Taz Olson 14.5 sec. on three 2. Josh Clark 14.7 3. Stetson Jorgensen 16.7 TEAM ROPING 1. G. Rogers/J. Minor 15.9 sec. 3 head 2. K. Driggers/J. Nogueira 16.0 3. L. Brown/J. Corkill 16.8

victory with an 89-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & PhenomGenetics’ Prarie Rose. He added an 83-point ride in the finals on Northcott Macza’s Alberta’s Wildcat to secure the average. “I had never been on Prarie Rose, and it was a great ride,” Foss said. “That horse is an athlete and a young one, and he really got in the air and had a lot of direction. He was enough to challenge a guy, but one you wanted to win on. I had been on Alberta Wildcat before in the long round at San Angelo (Texas) this winter and was 85 on him, so I was familiar with him. This time, he went straight across the arena and was really rider-friendly and let me dress him up and show off and go ahead and win on him.” Foss, of Terrebonne, Ore., earned $6,020 after winning the first round, tying for fifth in the finals and winning the average. Foss moved up to seventh in the April 15 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $43,174. A year ago, Foss finished 26th in the world standings with $44,329. Among the injuries that limited him the last few years were a pulled groin and cartilage broken off the front part of his ribs. This season, Foss also has battled bumps and bruises, including missing the four-man finals of the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla. Still, he didn’t leave the Sunshine State empty-handed. He departed town after earning $18,358, which has him in the mix to qualify for his fourthWrangler NFR. “It would mean everything in the world to me if I could get back to the Finals,” Foss said. “I have been there three times, and you try as hard as you can every time and sometimes you get set back. You realize it takes a little bit more. You just have to keep trying and you can’t give up. I want to do what I can to win a world championship.” IN BRIEF TUF COOPER WINS LOGANDALE FOR 3RD TIME

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Isaac Diaz 174 pts on two head

2. Ryder Wright 170.5 3. Layton Green 168

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Tuf Cooper 27.6 sec. on three

2. Ty Harris 28.5 3. Bo Pickett 31.5

BARREL RACING 1. Leia Pluemer 35.01 sec. on two head

2. Stevi Hillman 35.10 3. Teri Bangart 35.11

Tuf Cooper, a four-time world champion (tie-down roping in 2011-12, 2014 and all- around in 2017) is now a three-time cham- pion in Logandale. Cooper won the average with a 27.6-second time on three head. He also was the Logandale average champion in 2008 (41.9 seconds on four head) and 2011 (16.9 seconds on two head). Cooper earned $6,365. He moved up to fifth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $52,535 as of April 15.

BULL RIDING 1. Stetson Wright 174 pts. on two head 2. J.T. Moore 158.5 3. Brady Portenier 157.5

Complete results/Page 38

Cooper

ProRodeo Sports News 4/19/2019

ProRodeo.com

26