The Halfway Point in the PRCA - Courtesy of the PRCA

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Leaders in the timed events of steer wrestling, team roping (both heading and heeling), tie-down roping and barrel racing have far less breathing room than their brethren in the roughstock events. That should provide for quite an entertaining second half of the ProRodeo regular season, as no lead is safe and big paydays at a number of summer rodeos could propel most Top 15 cowboys and cowgirls into instant world-title contenders.
Last week, it was noted that RodeoHouston’s roughstock winners had used their $50,000-plus paydays to build leads that, in some cases, were twice as much as their nearest competitors.
It’s quite a different story on the other side of the arena. In fact, Houston team roping champions Brandon Beers and father Mike Beers, who each earned $27,500 in Houston, have already been caught in the world standings by Speed Williams, an eight-time world champion from Amarillo, Texas, and new partner Dean Tuftin of Prineville, Ore.
Houston steer wrestling champ Jule Hazen of Protection, Kan., remains on top, but only by some $12,500 over 2004 World Champion Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif.
In tie-down roping, Houston Hutto had no problems in Houston. However, his once-large lead atop the world standings has been pared to $9,000, thanks to another strong spring from Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, the four-time and reigning world champion all-around cowboy.
Barrel racer Codi Baucom of Carthage, N.C., took the final victory lap in Houston, but Brittany Pozzi-Pharr is close behind, not quite $10,000 off the pace.
The first half of the season has seen its share of highlights on the timed-event end of the arena.
In steer wrestling, both Branquinho and Bryan Fields of Alvin, Texas, set arena records in San Francisco and San Angelo, Texas, respectively, with blazing runs of 2.9 seconds. Shawn Greenfield of Lakeview, Ore., a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, sits in third place heading into the summer, thanks to a pair of marquee victories at the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, and the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Dean Gorsuch, the reigning world champion steer wrestler, took the first part of the season off and has lingered outside the top 15 but got his season going after claiming the average title at the Laughlin (Nev.) River Stampede on April 1. A name to watch this summer is Levi Wisness of Keene, N.D., who sits No. 5, highlighted by average titles in Rapid City, S.D.; Austin, Texas; and Red Bluff, Calif.
Williams and Tuftin sit on top of their respective team roping disciplines, thanks in large part to a share of the average title in Fort Worth and winning the crown outright in San Antonio. They are followed by the Beers father-son tandem. Tee Woolman of Llano, Texas, who has 22 Wrangler NFR berths under his belt, and partner Cody Petska of Lexington, Okla., enjoyed a nice spring and are ranked No. 3, thanks in part to their triumph in San Angelo. This event has plenty of “new” faces in the top 15, including Prairie Circuit cowboys Coleman Proctor and Jake Long, who won Corpus Christi, and Texas ropers Tommy Edens and Coby Jones.
Brazile took a chunk out of Hutto’s lead by winning the tie-down roping title in Tucson, Ariz., and also claimed the crown at the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco. But it’s far from a two-cowboy race in the event. Jake Hannum of Ogden, Utah, won tie-down roping titles in Denver and Red Bluff, and don’t forget about Cody Ohl of Hico, Texas, the reigning and five-time world champion tie-down roper. He came up big in Fort Worth and is ranked sixth heading into June.
While Baucom recorded her finest hour in Houston, Pozzi-Pharr had by far the most dominating spring among timed-event athletes. Pozzi-Pharr of Victoria, Texas, racked up an impressive list of accomplishments during the past five months, highlighted by average victories in Denver; Fort Worth, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.; Montgomery, Ala., and Red Bluff, Calif. Baucom and Pozzi-Pharr are threatening to run away and make the second half a two-cowgirl race; third-place racer Kelly Maben, the San Antonio champion, is some $26,000 behind Pozzi-Pharr.
The biggest paydays still lie ahead for steer roping, but early indications point toward seeing plenty of familiar faces at this year’s National Finals Steer Roping. Lawson Plemons of Chilton, Texas, won the average title in Odessa, Texas, and has remained in first place since with $16,675 in earnings. He’s hoping to return to the NFSR after making his debut in 2005. Brazile, the reigning world champion steer roper, won the title in San Angelo, Texas, and is about $2,500 behind Plemons heading into the summer run. J.P. Wickett of Sallisaw, Okla., the runner-up in 2006, sits in third place, not quite $5,000 off the pace.