Horse Helps Put Lummus At The Top

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Will Lummus understands as well as any steer wrestler the importance of having a good mount underneath him.

He’s enlisted the services of Benz, a quick bay owned by fellow bulldogger Clayton Hass of Weatherford, and the horse is already paying dividends in west Texas for Lummus. He is placing in both the first and second rounds and sits No. 1 in the two-run aggregate race with 9.2 seconds after the opening weekend of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

“Especially in Angelo because the start’s so fast, horsepower is everything,” said Lummus, 29, a three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Byhalia, Mississippi. “If you’re anybody, you’re going to be entered in Angelo, so horsepower is the key to being able to be successful when you have so many guys in the field.”

Benz is doing his part, but so is the cowboy. Lummus was 5.2 Friday night, then followed with a 4.0-second run Sunday afternoon at Foster Communications Coliseum. That should enable him to return to Tom Green County on Friday, April 23, as one of 12 bulldoggers competing in the championship round.

“You’ve got to do good at the big rodeos and the tour rodeos,” he said. “I feel like every steer’s as important as the last one and just as important as the next one. You never know if things are going to shut down again, so you need to roll with the momentum when you can.”

Lummus sits third in the world standings with $20,684. He had wins earlier this season in Kissimmee, Florida, and Odessa, Texas, and he’s well on his way to earning his first paycheck in San Angelo.

“I’ve made a lot of good runs, but I’ve never made it back to the short round,” he said. “I finished 13th (in the two-run aggregate) once, but I’ve never won a dollar.”

His best chance at winning money comes with a tip of the hat to Hass, one of his traveling partners along with Ty Erickson of Helena, Montana. Hass also serves as Lummus’ hazer, riding alongside the bulldogger to keep the steer running in a straight line.

“I personally think the key to my success this week was having good traveling partners and having good horses,” Lummus said. “I’m getting to ride Benz, and having Clayton on the other side riding Quatro makes everything better.

“Benz is as simple as it gets. He’s going to be on the start when you drop your hand, and with Clayton hazing, the steer’s going to be right where I need him to get my hands on him.”

As a veteran, he’s competed inside the coliseum many times. Before and after each run, he stands amazed at the experience the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo provides all competitors.

“There’s a lot of electricity in that building,” he said. “It’s nice to go to a rodeo that has fans are that way. We haven’t been to many rodeos that had electricity like that this year.

“I think you can have a rodeo any day of the week, and that building will be full. It’s always been a big thing in Angelo. This rodeo’s usually in February, and even moving it back two months, they still pack it out.”a

San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo - Standings after Performance 4 on April 11, 2021

Bareback riding leaders: 1. Cole Franks, 88 points on Macza Pro Rodeo’s Hot Flash; 2. Tilden Hooper, 87; 3. Caleb Bennett, 86.5; 4. Tim O’Connell, 86; 5. Chad Rutherford, 85.5; 6. Luke Creasy, 85; 7. Cauy Pool, 84; 8. Trenton Montero, 81.5; 9. Will Martin, 80; 10. (tie) Jacob Lees and Bronc Marriott, 77.

Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Wyatt Jurney, 4.0 seconds; 2. Jason Thomas, 4.6; 3. (tie) Clayton Hass and J.D. Struxness, 5.0; 5. (tie) Will Lummus and Kodie Jang, 5.2; 7. Bubba Boots, 5.4; 8. Zack Jongbloed, 6.1. Second round leaders: 1. Jay Williamson, 3.8 seconds; 2. (tie) Will Lummus and Tucker Allen, 4.0; 4. (tie) Blake Knowles and Stetson Jorgensen, 4.1; 6. Kodie Jang, 4.5; 7. (tie) J.D. Struxness and Mike McGinn, 4.6. Average leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 9.2 seconds on two runs; 2. Jason Thomas, 9.4; 3. J.D. Struxness, 9.6; 4. Kodie Jang, 9.7; 5. Bubba Boots, 10.3; 6. Tucker Allen, 10.9; 7. Blake Knowles, 11.2; 8. Zack Jongbloed, 11.3; 9. Jace Melvin, 11.5; 10. Clayton Hass, 13.6; 11. Wyatt Jurney, 18.3; 12. Dirk Tavenner, 18.7.

Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 4.2 seconds; 2. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.3; 3. Hayes Smith/Justin Davis, 4.4; 4. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 4.6; 5. (tie) Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan and Aaron Tsinigine/Kyle Lockett, 4.7; 8. Nick Sartain/Reagan Ward, 5.2; 4. Levi Simpson/Tyler Worley, 7.7; 5. Derrick Begay/Jake Edwards, 10.2; no other qualified times. Second round leaders: 1. Clay Tryan/Jake Long, 3.6 seconds; 2. Jr. Dees/Rich Skelton, 3.7; 3. Aaron Tsinigine/Kyle Lockett, 4.2; 4. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.3; 5. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 5.2; 6. Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan, 5.3; 7. Nelson Wyatt/Levi Lord, 8.7; 8. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 9.7. Average leaders: 1. Clay Tryan/Jake Long, 8.4 seconds on two runs; 2. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 8.6; 3. Aaron Tsinigine/Kyle Lockett, 8.9; 4. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 9.4; 5. Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan, 10.0; 6. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 14.3; 7. Jr. Dees/Rich Skelton, 3.7 seconds on one run; 8. Hayes Smith/JustinDavis, 4.4; 9. (tie) Nick Sartain/Reagan Ward and Tanner Green/Clay Futrell, 5.2; 11. Luke Brown/Cory Petska, 5.9; 12. Levi Simpson/Tyler Worley, 7.7.

Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. (tie) Cort Scheer, on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s The Darkness, and Isaac Diaz, on Macza Pro Rodeo’s Lucky Cab, 83.5 points; 3. Allen Boore, 83; 4. Lucas Macza, 82.5; 5. Cash Michael Wilson, 82; 6. Brody Cress, 81.5; 7. Mitch Pollock, 81; 8. Jade Blackwell, 80; 9. Brody Wells, 79; 10. Rhett Fanning, 78.

Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Tuf Cooper, 7.3 seconds; 2. Riley Pruitt, 8.0; 3. Cooper Martin, 8.6; 4. Westyn Hughes, 8.7; 5. (tie) Blane Cox and Shane Hanchey, 8.9; 7. Chris McCuistion, 9.4; 8. Catfish Brown, 9.8. Second round leaders: 1. Cooper Martin, 8.0 seconds; 2. (tie) Tuf Cooper and Caleb Smidt, 8.1; 4. Zack Jongbloed, 8.4; 5. Ty Harris, 8.6; 6. Marcos Costa, 8.8; 7. Tyler Milligan, 9.0; 8. (tie) Westyn Hughes and Chris McCuistion, 9.7. Average leaders: 1. Tuf Cooper, 15.4 seconds on two runs; 2. Cooper Martin, 16.6; 3. Westyn Hughes, 18.4; 4. Chris McCuistion, 19.1; 5. Caleb Smidt, 19.4; 6. Riley Pruitt, 20.2; 7. Tyler Milligan, 24.8; 8. Michael Otero, 25.4; 9. Ty Harris, 26.6; 10. Marcos Costa, 26.6; 11. Shane Hanchey, 27.8; 12. J.T. Adamson, 30.2.

Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Megan Champion, 14.28 seconds; 2. (tie) Kelly Bruner and Jimmie Smith, 14.36; 4. Liz Pinkston, 14.41; 5. Keyla Polizello Costa, 14.44; 6. Sissy Winn, 14.45; 7. Kriss Griffin, 14.46; 8. Sherry Cervi, 14.48; 9. McKenzie Morgan, 14.51; 10. Lois Ferguson, 14.52. Average leaders: 1. Megan Champion, 30.24 seconds on two runs; 2. Kelly Bruner, 30.28; 3. Keyla Polizello Costa, 30.62; 4. Andrea Busby, 30.67; 5. Steely Steiner, 30.68; 6. Savannah Bennett, 30.73; 7. Liz Pinkston, 30.78; 8. (tie) Sherry Cervi and Stevie Perkins, 30.81; 10. Sissy Winn, 30.85; 11. Mindy Goemmer, 30.86; 12. Cassidy Champlin, 30.89.

Bull riding leaders: 1. Laramie Mosley, 89 points on Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Final Rainbow; 2. Maverick Potter, 86; 3. Dakota Eagleburger, 84; 4. J.C. Mortensen, 83.5; 5. Fulton Rutland, 82.5; 6. Clayton Sellars, 81; 7. Gavin Michel, 80; 8. J.W. Griffin, 71; no other qualified rides.

Photo credit: from Will Lummis' Facebook page