After nine nights of exhilarating rides the Reno Rodeo ended with two bareback champions. Jayco Roper of Oktaha, Okla., had the ride of the night, scoring an 86 on Flying U Rodeo’s Little Red Hawk. That put him in the top spot, but Cole Reiner of Buffalo, Wyo. who went into the finals in the lead, scored an 81 on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Meat Sweats in the short go to match Roper’s 251 points on three head. Jacek Frost rounded out the leaderboard with 249 on three head.
A veteran bulldogger took home his third set of Silver Spurs in front of the sold-out crowd. J.D. Struxness, Haines, Ore., went 4.5 seconds in the short go, earning the fastest throw of the night and fastest average with 12.8 seconds on three head. Elko-native Dakota Eldridge and Olin Hannum of Malad, Idaho tied for second place with 13.8 on three head.
Team ropers Chris Francis (header) and Cade Passig (heeler) went into Saturday night in eighth position. They had the fastest time of the night, roping their calf in 5.8 seconds and giving them 18.9 on three head. It was just shy of what they needed for the win. That honor went to header Kaleb Driggers of Hoboken, Ga., and heeler Junior Nogueira of Presidente Prudente, Brazil with 18.4 seconds on three head. Keven Daniel and Travis Graves took third with 19.8 in the average.
Last year’s co-champion Statler Wright of Beaver, Utah, went into the night in fifth place on the leaderboard but an 88.5-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Indian Burn catapulted him into the lead with 252 on three. Just half a point behind was Kade Bruno whose 83.5-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Mama’s Boy was just short of what he needed to keep the lead. Rounding out the top three was Layton Green with an 85.5-point ride on Big Bend Rodeo’s Huckleberry.
In tie-down roping, Shad Ryan Mayfield of Clovis, N.M., wowed the crowd with the fastest time of the night, clocking in a 7.8-second run in the finals to score a 25.8-second average on three head to secure the win. The competition was close with defending Reno Rodeo champion Riley Webb of Buffalo, Texas missing the top spot by just two-tenths of a second following his 9.1-second run for an average of 26 on three. Luke Potter of Maple City, Kan. rounded out the final leaderboard with his 8.8-second run for an average of 27.4.
Women’s breakaway roping continues to be an electrifying event in just the third year as an official Reno Rodeo event. Shelby Boisjoli of Stephenville, Texas came into the night tied for second but pulled ahead following her blistering fast 2.2-second run and was crowned Reno Rodeo breakaway champion with 7.5 on three. Coming in second with 8.8 on three was Sarah Angelone of Lipan, Texas with Taylor Munsell of Alva, Okla. placing third with 9.5 on three.
Arguably the most exciting moment of the 2023 Reno Rodeo Championship was when Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, broke the arena record with her 16.70-second turn around the barrels and brought the cheering crowd to their feet. The previous arena record of 16.73 seconds by Terri Kaye Kirkland was set 17 years ago. Tonozzi has placed second in Reno multiple times but her 51.35 seconds in the average secured the record-setting barrel racer her first set of Silver Spurs. Hailey Kinsel’s consistently fast times put her in the lead going into Saturday night, but she missed taking home the win by just one one-hundredth of a second with 51.36 on three. Close behind was Sharin Hall with 51.52.
Going into the finals bull rider Hayes Weight was at the top of the leaderboard with the highest-scoring ride of the week – 83 points on Flying 5 Rodeo’s No. 516. That was until Colton Kelly, Rhome, Texas, scored 87 points on Rosser Rodeo’s Sweet Justice in the final round. That earned him a combined 168 points on two head and his first set of Silver Spurs. Weight would have to settle for second place with 166 on two. Brady Portenier ended the night in third place with 163 on two head. No other bull riders got a qualifying ride in the short go. That put Josh Frost in fourth with 82.5 on one head and the all-around title for bull riding and tie-down roping.
Bareback riding: First round: 1. Rocker Steiner, 87 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Two Buck Chuck, $5,405; 2. Kade Sonnier, 86, $4,144; 3. Wyatt Denny, 85, $3,063; 4. Cole Reiner, 84.5, $1,982; 5. (tie) Jacek Frost and Kody Lamb, 83, $1,081 each; 7. Keenan Hayes, 82.5, $721; 8. Dean Thompson, 82, $540. Second round: 1. Orin Larsen, 87 points on Flying 5 Rodeo’s Miss Major, $5,405; 2. (tie) Taylor Broussard and Keenan Hayes, 86, $3,603 each; 4. Cole Reiner, 85.5, $1,982; 5. Jayco Roper, 84.5, $1,261; 6. (tie) Richmond Champion and Gauge McBride, 84, $811 each; 8. Luke Thrash, 83, $540. Finals: 1. Jayco Roper, 86 points on Flying U Rodeo’s Little Red Hawk, $1,650; 2. Jacek Frost, 84.5, $1,250; 3. Kaycee Feild, 83, $900; 4. Ty Pope, 81.5, $600; 5. Cole Reiner, 81, $350; 6. Kade Sonnier, 79.5, $250. Average: 1. (tie) Jayco Roper and Cole Reiner, 251 points on three head, $7,161 each; 3. Jacek Frost, 249, $4,594; 4. Kaycee Feild, 245.5, $2,973; 5. Ty Pope, 243, $1,892; 6. Kade Sonnier, 242, $1,351; 7. Dean Thompson, 241.5, $1,081; 8. Wyatt Denny, 239.5, $811.
Steer wrestling: First round: 1. (tie) Olin Hannum and Don Payne, 3.8 seconds, $5,763 each; 3. Kyle Irwin, 4.0, $4,557; 4. (tie) Walt Arnold and J.D. Struxness, 4.1, $3,350 each; 6. Gavin Soileau, 4.5, $2,144; 7. Justin Shaffer, 4.6, $1,340; 8. Cameron Morman, 4.8, $536. Second round: 1. Dakota Eldridge, 3.6 seconds, $6,165; 2. Tyler Willis Ravenscroft, 3.9, $5,361; 3. Olin Hannum, 4.1, $4,557; 4. J.D. Struxness, 4.2, $3,752; 5. (tie) Trell Etbauer, Joshua Hefner and Remey Parrott, 4.3, $2,144 each; 8. Clayton Hass, 4.4, $536. Finals: 1. Jacob Talley, 4.1 seconds, $1,363; 2. (tie) Tyler Willis Ravenscroft and J.D. Struxness, 4.5, $1,011 each; 4. Clayton Hass, 4.8, $658; 5. Justin Shaffer, 5.0, $423; 6. Dakota Eldridge, 5.3, $235. Average: 1. J.D. Struxness, 12.8 seconds on three head, $9,247; 2. (tie) Olin Hannum and Dakota Eldridge, 13.8, $7,438 each; 4. (tie) Clayton Hass and Jacob Talley, 14.7, $5,026 each; 6. Gavin Soileau, 14.8, $3,216; 7. Justin Shaffer, 15.1, $2,010; 8. Tyler Willis Ravenscroft, 15.3, $804.
Team roping: First round: 1. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 4.5 seconds, $6,177 each; 2. (tie) Derrick Begay/Colter Todd and Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.9, $4,968 each; 4. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 5.1, $3,760; 5. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 5.4, $2,954; 6. (tie) Keven Daniel/Travis Graves and Rhen Richard/Jeremy Buhler, 5.5, $1,746 each; 8. Clint Summers/Jake Long, 5.6, $537. Second round: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 4.6 seconds, $6,177 each; 2. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 5.2, $5,371; 3. Cutter Machado/Dalton Pearce, 5.6, $4,566; 4. Jaxson Tucker/Justin Davis, 5.7, $3,760; 5. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 5.8, $2,954; 6. Dallas Owen/Chase Helton, 5.9, $2,149; 7. (tie) Peter Bennett/Jake Rodriguez, Zach Kilgus/Tyler McKnight and Aaron Tsinigine/Ryan Motes, 6.0, $627 each. Finals: 1. Chris Francis/, 5.8 seconds, $1,370 each; 2. Kaleb Driggers/, 7.7, $1,134; 3. Keven Daniel/, 7.9, $898; 4. Riley Minor/, 8.9, $662; 5. (tie) Kellan Johnson/ and Tanner Tomlinson/, 10.8, $331 each. Average: 1. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 18.4 seconds on three head, $9,266 each; 2. Chris Francis/Cade Passig, 18.9, $8,057; 3. Keven Daniel/Travis Graves, 19.8, $6,848; 4. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 23.3, $5,640; 5. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 24.4, $4,431; 6. (tie) Riley Minor/Brady Minor and Zach Kilgus/Tyler McKnight, 25.2, $2,619 each; 8. Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 26.5, $806.
Saddle bronc riding: First round: 1. Layton Green, 86 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Party Planner, $5,381; 2. (tie) Spencer Wright and Statler Wright, 84.5, $3,587 each; 4. Brandon Lansford, 84, $1,973; 5. (tie) Ross Griffin and Ryder Wright, 83.5, $1,076 each; 7. (tie) Kade Bruno and Dawson Hay, 83, $628 each. Second round: 1. Kade Bruno, 85 points on Flying 5 Rodeo’s Major Spirit, $5,381; 2. Sage Newman, 84, $4,125; 3. (tie) Sterling Crawley and Ross Griffin, 83.5, $2,511 each; 5. Dawson Hay, 81.5, $1,255; 6. Q Taylor, 80.5, $897; 7. (tie) Layton Green and Wade Sundell, 79.5, $628 each. Finals: 1. Statler Wright, 88.5 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Indian Burn, $1,650; 2. (tie) Sage Newman and Stetson Dell Wright, 88, $1,075 each; 4. Dawson Hay, 86, $600; 5. Layton Green, 85.5, $350; 6. Kade Bruno, 83.5, $250. Average: 1. Statler Wright, 252 points on three head, $8,071; 2. Kade Bruno, 251.5, $6,188; 3. Layton Green, 251, $4,574; 4. Dawson Hay, 250.5, $2,959; 5. Sage Newman, 249, $1,883; 6. Ross Griffin, 247, $1,345; 7. Stetson Dell Wright, 243.5, $1,076; 8. Spencer Wright, 239.5, $807.
Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Haven Meged, 8.1 seconds, $6,312; 2. Riley Mason Webb, 8.2, $5,489; 3. Marcos Costa, 8.8, $4,665; 4. Cash Hooper, 8.9, $3,842; 5. Lucas Potter, 9.0, $3,019; 6. (tie) Beau Cooper and Kincade Henry, 9.2, $1,784 each; 8. (tie) Reese Riemer, Owen Wahlert and Colten Wallis, 9.3, $183 each. Second round: 1. (tie) Dakota Felton and Brush Minton, 8.3 seconds, $5,900 each; 3. Shad Mayfield, 8.4, $4,665; 4. Jerry Adamson, 8.5, $3,842; 5. (tie) Justin Brinkerhoff, Tuf Case Cooper, Jake Pratt and Riley Mason Webb, 8.7, $1,784 each. Finals: 1. Shad Mayfield, 7.8 seconds, $1,450; 2. Lucas Potter, 8.8, $1,200; 3. Riley Mason Webb, 9.1, $950; 4. (tie) Brush Minton and Reese Riemer, 9.4, $575 each; 6. Chet Weitz, 9.6, $250. Average: 1. Shad Mayfield, 25.8 seconds on three head, $9,468; 2. Riley Mason Webb, 26.0, $8,233; 3. Lucas Potter, 27.4, $6,998; 4. Brush Minton, 27.7, $5,763; 5. Reese Riemer, 28.5, $4,528; 6. Kincade Henry, 28.6, $3,293; 7. Chet Weitz, 29.5, $2,058; 8. Chase Webster, 29.9, $823.
Barrel racing: First round: 1. Sharin Hall, 17.09 seconds, $4,625; 2. Amanda Welsh, 17.12, $3,964; 3. Ashley Castleberry, 17.17, $3,304; 4. Summer Kosel, 17.22, $2,863; 5. Ilyssa Riley, 17.25, $2,202; 6. Sue Smith, 17.26, $1,762; 7. (tie) Stevi Hillman and Hailey Kinsel, 17.27, $1,101 each; 9. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 17.28, $661; 10. Anita Ellis, 17.29, $440. Second round: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 16.91 seconds, $4,625; 2. Bryana Lehrmann, 16.97, $3,964; 3. Megan McLeod-Sprague, 17.04, $3,304; 4. Ilyssa Riley, 17.11, $2,863; 5. Emily Beisel, 17.14, $2,202; 6. Wenda Johnson, 17.17, $1,762; 7. Sharin Hall, 17.19, $1,321; 8. Darby Fox, 17.22, $881; 9. Sue Smith, 17.23, $661; 10. Taylor Johnson, 17.27, $440. Finals: 1. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 16.70 seconds, $3,426; 2. Megan McLeod-Sprague, 17.13, $2,569; 3. Hailey Kinsel, 17.18, $1,713; 4. Stevi Hillman, 17.21, $856. Average: 1. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 51.35 seconds on three head, $6,937; 2. Hailey Kinsel, 51.36, $5,946; 3. Sharin Hall, 51.52, $4,955; 4. Ilyssa Riley, 51.66, $4,295; 5. Stevi Hillman, 51.77, $3,304; 6. Megan McLeod-Sprague, 51.80, $2,643; 7. Taylor Johnson, 51.97, $1,982; 8. Meghann McNulty, 52.01, $1,321; 9. Darby Fox, 52.08, $991; 10. Sue Smith, 52.50, $661.
Bull riding: First round: 1. Hayes Weight, 83 points on Flying 5 Rodeo’s No. 516, $9,458; 2. Josh Frost, 82.5, $7,251; 3. Canyon Bass, 82, $5,360; 4. Colton Kelly, 81, $3,468; 5. Parker McCown, 80.5, $2,207; 6. (tie) Ruger Piva and Brady Portenier, 80, $1,419 each; 8. Grayson Cole, 79.5, $946. * Finals: 1. Colton Kelly, 87 points on Rosser Rodeo’s Sweet Justice, $2,050; 2. (tie) Brady Portenier and Hayes Weight, 83, $1,475 each; no other qualified rides. Average: 1. Colton Kelly, 168 points on two head, $10,178; 2. Hayes Weight, 166, $7,803; 3. Brady Portenier, 163, $5,768; 4. Josh Frost, 82.5 on one head, $3,732; 5. Canyon Bass, 82, $2,375; 6. Parker McCown, 80.5, $1,696; 8. Grayson Cole, 79.5, $1,357; 9. Tristen Hutchings, 78, $1,018. *(all totals include ground money).
Total payoff: $696,442. Stock contractor: Flying U Rodeo. Sub-contractors: Western Rodeos, Andrews Rodeo, All In Pro Rodeos, Flying 5 Rodeo, Big Bend Rodeo, Powder River Rodeo, Bridwell Pro Rodeos, Rosser Rodeo and Diamond G Rodeo. Rodeo secretary: Cindy Rosser. Officials: Terry Carlon, Todd Fike, Bobby Davis and Butch Kirby. Timers: Robin Yerxa and Molly Jane Twitchell. Announcers: Wayne Brooks and Bob Tallman. Specialty act: Maddie MacDonald. Bullfighters: Cody Webster and Dusty Tuckness. Clown/barrelman: Denny Halstead. Flankmen: Tony Amaral, Julio Moreno, Sammy Andrews, Dusty Duba and Wes Ibrahimi. Chute boss: Tony Amaral. Pickup men: Matt Twitchell, Bronc Boehnlein, Bobby Marriott and Jeffrey Shearer. Music director: Austin Lopeman. Photographers: Fernando Sam-Sin, Click Thompson, Mark DeCoudres and Jake Hodnett.
