Buechner breaks through for second-place finish
LAS VEGAS – Rowdy Buechner of Sandpoint pocketed more than $12,000 during Saturday’s second round of bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo.
Buechner, aboard Tipped Off, scored 85 points to finish second among the 15 competing cowboys. Scott Montague of Fruitdale, S.D., won with an 85.5-point ride on Pop A Top.
Montague’s first victory in the last 21 NFR rounds earned him $15,649. Buechner won $12,368.
Buechner moved up to a tie for fourth place in the aggregate NFR standings with 166 points. Wes Stevenson of Kaufman, Texas, leads at 168, followed by Cimmaron Gerke of Fort Worth, Texas, and Kelly Timberman of Mills, Wyo., who are tied for second with 166.5.
Cheney’s Ryan Gray, who placed fifth during Friday’s opening round, scored 72.5 points aboard Wagon Box and earned no money. Gray slipped to 13th in the overall standings.
The action will continue for the next eight days.
In other second-day events, Mike Johnson grabbed the lead in the tie-down roping season standings and the team roping duo of Jake Barnes and Kory Koontz also topped the world leaders.
In tie-down roping, Cade Swor of Winnie, Texas, won with a run of 7.9 seconds. Blair Burk of Durant, Okla., and Monty Lewis of Hereford, Texas, tied for second at 8.0.
Johnson, from Henryetta, Okla., finished fourth in 8.1, to top the world standings with $125,980. Fred Whitfield of Hockley, Texas, was second at $125,116.
In team roping, Shain Sproul of Benson, Ariz., and Kinney Harrell of Brady, Texas, and Steve Purcella of Hereford, Texas, and Britt Bockius of Claremore, Okla., tied for first with times of 4.4 seconds. Barnes, from Scottsdale, Ariz., and Koontz, from Sudan, Texas, finished third in 4.6, to move past Clay Tryan of Billings, Mont., and Patrick Smith of Midland, Texas, for the world lead with $102,735 apiece.
Ronnie Fields of Oklahoma City won the steer wrestling in 3.2 seconds. Lee Graves of Canada was second in 3.4, and Dean Gorsuch of Gering, Neb., placed third in 3.6. Jason Lahr of Emporia, Kan., tied for fourth in 3.8 to maintain his lead in the world standings with $132,230.
Rusty Allen of Lehi, Utah, won the saddle bronc with an 89, while Cody Wright of Milford, Utah, was second with an 87.
In barrel racing, Shali Lord of Lamar, Colo., won in 13.96 seconds.
In all-around, Graves leads at the NFR with $21,706 in steer wrestling and tie-down roping, while three-time defending champion Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, leads the world standings with $175,945 in total winnings for steer roping, team roping and tie-down roping.