WATCH: Some Horses are Trained Others Are Wild

SAN ANGELO, TX — Thursday night, April 7, 2022, the San Angelo Rodeo showed the how a true cowboy plays with his horses. It was the fifth performance.

Maybe Pickett Pro Rodeo should call Double Dan James Horsemanship (the specialty act this week) because at tonight’s performance five, the bareback broncs were bucking. More importantly, it was how the bronc rode. That’s actually a bronc rider’s name — “Bronc.” Utah cowboy Bronc Marriott from Woods Cross won the overall second place spot with an 84-point ride.

Where the two-time international colt starter was not needed was the team roping. The 2019 NFR Champion ropers, California and Texas Cowboys Cody Snow and Wesley Thorp, were on the money throwing for a 3.7-second time putting the duo in first place in the first-round team roping. 

“It helps to know what we needed to do,” said Snow of Los Olivos, California. “We knew we had to be aggressive tonight. That rodeo’s always fast.”

Each man has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo six straight times and won the average championship there in 2019. That year, Snow finished second in the heading world standings; Thorp won the world championship.

A year ago, the tandem finished third in San Angelo, and the $8,533 each man earned helped them get back to the NFR. They finished the campaign among the top 10 in their respective events: Snow was 10th, while Thorp, of Throckmorton, Texas, was ninth among the heelers.

It was a good night for the team ropers. Reigning world champions Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira were just a 10th of a second behind, while Aaron Tsinigine and Paul Eaves were 4.2 to move into a tie for sixth place in the opening round. Luke Brown and Hunter Koch were 4.4 and sit eighth.

Each team will return to the coliseum for Friday’s sixth performance to run their second steers.

The top 12 teams with the best two-run cumulative times will advance to the championship round, which takes place next Friday, April 15.

Of their six NFR qualifications, they’ve roped together at Las Vegas four times. They’ve also partnered at various times when they roped with other cowboys at the finale. They know how to communicate and work together, which is a big reason they’re so successful.

“We’ve run a lot of steers together,” said Snow, now 27th in the world standings while his partner is 26th in heeling. “We’ve been roping together for five years and know each other pretty well.”

In the Steer Wrestling contest, the competition looked tough. World champions from 2019 and 2020 Ty Erickson and Jacob Edler were in the building looking to make it to the short-go championship night. However, another cowboy ended up tackling his way into the third spot. Texas Native Brandon Harrison is not your typical bulldogger and he tells San Angelo LIVE!’s Manny Diaz exactly why. 

It’s steer wrestling presented by vehicle accessories and supply. Watch the highlights and interview with Harrison above.