Rodeo Should Corral Top Hands Nationally Prominent Riders Populate Entry Lists At Cheney
Everyone connected with the Cheney rodeo is holding their breath.
Barring breakdowns or scheduling snafus, the three-day Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event could be one of the best ones in recent years.
The rodeo begins at 7 p.m. Friday, but rodeo officials will know much earlier if Cheney is going to be the place to be.
Two top-15 steer wrestlers are scheduled to compete in slack - the extra session to accommodate overflow entries - at 3 p.m. today. That includes Frank Thompson of Cheyenne, Wyo., who is third in the most recent PRCA standings, and Birch Negaard of Buffalo, S.D., who is 12th.
Former world champion steer wrestler Brad Gleason, a Montanan who has moved to Touchet, Wash., is entered Friday.
The entries are even more impressive in calf roping. Third-ranked Blair Burk of Durant, Okla., is in slack and second-ranked Ty Hays of Weatherford, Okla., is in the main performance.
Saturday’s 7 p.m. show also has some big names, including team ropers Doyle Gellerman of Nampa, Idaho, a former world champion, and his heeler, Bucky Campell of Prosser, Wash., who now calls Stagecoach, Neb., home.
Also up Saturday is Amy Dale of Graham, Wash., the eighth-ranked barrel racer; 10th-ranked steer wrestler Teddy Johnson of Checotah, Okla.; and Ellensburg saddle bronc rider Chance Dixon, who is sitting 13th.
Sunday’s concluding 2 p.m. show has some big names, include Moses Lake bull rider Wade Leslie, the only cowboy to ever score a perfect 100 points.
Bareback riding is strong on Sunday with former world champion Clint Corey, seventh-ranked Sean Culver of Grandview, Wash., and young college hand Cody Jessee of Touchet.
Jessee, 22, was the big winner in Cheney last year, taking first in bull riding and tying for first in bareback riding to pocket more than $2,400. Jessee, who competes in college for UNLV, won more than $5,000 in one May weekend by winning the average at both the Red Bluff and Hayward, Calif., rodeos.
Most of the top cowboys and cowgirls on the Columbia River Circuit are entered, including familiar names from last winter’s Prorodeo Classic at the Arena.
Big Bend Rodeo Co. of Ritzville is providing the stock.
The Cheney rodeo committee has rebuilt the area with improved seating and new chutes.
There is a dance on the rodeo grounds after both night performances. Sunday is family day with children under 12 free.
This sidebar appeared with the story: COMING UP Cheney rodeo
Friday: First event at 7 p.m.
Saturday: First event at 7 p.m.
Sunday: First event at 2 p.m.