Star-Studded Field Dazzles San Angelo Crowd at Nightcap

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The talk of Saturday’s two performances at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo was the veteran presence which caused a bit of a shake up in the standings during the nightcap.

During the matinee, San Angelo natives Bridget Jones Carr and Ty Harris struggled to post times to get into the short round next week. It was a trend that would continue through the rodeo.

Carr turned in a time just north of 15 seconds to keep her out of the money.

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Above: Bridget Jones Carr talks about her run at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo

Harris needed a sub 10-second run during Saturday afternoon’s performance, but a pair of penalties shot Harris’ time up well beyond what he needed.

Canadian cowboy Scott Guenther put together a 3.8-second run during the afternoon, which made his path to next week's final easy. He would then throw his second calf down in 4.4 seconds to tie the average lead with Tucker Allen.

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Above: Canadian cowboy Scott Guenthner recaps his 3.8-second run in steer wrestling

With no big shake up in the standings after the afternoon run, a solid slate of veterans like defending Cinch Chute Out champion JW Harris, 24-time world champion Trevor Brazile, Marty Yates and saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright took to the Coliseum in the nightcap and dazzled the crowd.

One night after his brothers Ryder and Stetson Wright threw their names in the running for a San Angelo title, Rusty Wright blew the saddle bronc competition away with an 87.5-point ride on Northcott Macza’s Banshee for the round lead ahead of Cody Demoss and Colt Gordon.

“That’s what I love about this rodeo so much,” Rusty said. “It doesn’t matter what horse you draw from what stock contractor, because you know all these guys here got good horses that you can win on. You’ve just gotta ride good … It’s not so much a drawing contest. It’s a riding contest. That’s what I like.”

Rusty flipped the script from last year, when he was chasing his brother at the top of the leaderboard. But the Milford, Utah, native knows he’s not safe from Ryder.

“He rides so good, it’s anybody’s game, especially with Ryder in there,” the two-time San Angelo champ said. “He rides so dang good, you can’t start counting your money until he gets off … I don’t really feel like I have the upper hand, but being higher in the round going into the short round will help me out a little bit anyway.”

The Wrights know the importance of winning or even placing at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. Rusty won in his debut in 2014 and qualified for the NFR the very next year. Ryder won in his debut back in 2016 and won the world that same year. Right now, San Angelo debutant Stetson sits atop the bull riding standings with his 89-point ride from Friday.

So, high finishes or a win would go a long way to helping the Utah cattle-ranching brothers back to Las Vegas.

“It’d be huge,” said Wright. “This rodeo is at the beginning of the year and it gives you not only a jump in the world standings, but [to] your confidence. It’s huge on your confidence. Like today getting off that bronc, my confidence shot through the roof. It’s awesome to make a good ride at a rodeo like this.”

Oregon cowboy Austin Foss kicked the nightcap off in bareback bronc riding by continuing his hot start to 2019. The native of Terrebonne, Oregon, saddled Northcott Macza’s Alberta Wildcat for 85 points and third place in the overall standings.

“It’s a big confidence booster,” the 2015 San Angelo champion said. “Winter rodeo are kinda slow, kinda come-and-go and hit-or-miss. But I’ve done well here at San Angelo and it feels good to come back and do well again.”

Foss, a three-time NFR qualifier, has yet to get bucked on nine tries in 2019, but it’s been tough sledding for the Oregonian.

Three of Foss’ nine rides were at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo last week. A pair of rides in the 70s and an 82-point ride on his final try kept the 26-year-old out of the running there. Nearly two weeks prior, Foss experienced similar luck in Denver with a 79-point ride to start and an 83 to finish out the rodeo without anything to show for his efforts.

“[That ride] really helps because you don’t know what dime boils down and what dollar comes from it,” Foss said. “Anything counts out here. You know, this winter and San Angelo might really help, might really count here come September and the end of the season. So, it’s a huge factor, a big piece of the game coming out here.”

Crowd favorite and defending all around world champion Trevor Brazile highlighted the star-studded night with a 7.5-second run and moving into the first round’s top four in tie down roping.

“Anytime you do good here in San Angelo it’s a lot of fun,” the four-time San Angelo champ said. “Because these fans -- you can’t fake it in front of them. They’re calf roping fans and have been from the [Cinch Roping] Fiesta to the stock show every year. So, it’s fun to do well in front of fans who know what’s going on.”

The 42-year-old Decatur native has stepped away from full-time rodeo and has made it a point to focus on the big rodeos like San Angelo. That doesn’t mean the wylie veteran is slowing down though, especially given the nature of the competition in San Angelo.

“You can’t be safety up in anywhere, because this is already a tough ropin’ and it’s only going to get tougher as the week goes,” Brazile said. “So, I’m just gonna pull my hat down and go as hard as I can the next time.”

The San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo will wrap up the second week with its eighth performance on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo
Feb. 1-3, Feb. 8-10, Feb. 13-15

Bareback Leaders:1. Bill Tutor, 88 points on Lancaster and Jones’ Highway Man; 2. Caleb Bennett, 85.5; 3. Austin Foss, 85; 4. (tie) Taylor Broussard and Jake Vold, 84; 6. (tie) Hunter Brasfield and David Peebles, 83; 8. Zach Hibler, 82; 9. Jesse Pope, 81; 10. (tie) Tony Barrington and Cody Cabeen, 79; 12. Grant Denny, 78.5.