Powell's Mumm wins bareback riding event

The Cowley arena drew in a crowd on Saturday for the annual Pioneer Day Rodeo, one of several rodeos in the Big Horn Rodeo Circuit.

The afternoon finished with a bang, as a miniature dust storm was kicked up during the wild horse race that was won by Moody Ranch followed by Ashe Sperry, Anthony Sperry and Justin O’Niel in second.

But first, some of the Big Horn Basin’s best cowboys and cowgirls competed in several events.

 Bareback and saddle bronc

Two local cowboys went head-to-head in the bareback event, Cowley’s TJ Willis and Powell’s Andy Mumm.

Mumm came out on top with a 72-point ride and Willis was close behind with 65.

Willis said his bronc got off to the right and he couldn’t get off his rigging so he drove his hips to center himself as his bronc kicked up a cloud of dust.

But, Willis was back in the chutes yet again for the saddle bronc event where he came out on top as the only rider to make 8 seconds. His second bronc didn’t make it an easy win though, behaving more like a bull than a bronc – he launched high out of the chute and brought a lot of spin to Willis’ ride.

“I didn’t expect that,” Willis said. “He was a lot of horse, it was a challenge.”

Roping

Only one cowgirl made a catch in ladies breakaway roping. Ashley Vanek of Silesia, Montana, would have had a 4.03-second time were it not for a 10-second penalty that set her back.

The same thing happened in the youth division of breakaway roping, six young riders burst into the arena and only Tyler Collingwood of Greybull made a catch with an impressive 6.78-second time.

Barrel racing

Competition was fierce in the ladies barrel racing with 21 cowgirls zipping around the arena. The top four rides were all within less than a second of each other.

JoDawn Leonhardt of Lovell was the fastest of the bunch with 17.583 seconds.

Missing the top spot by fractions of a second was Shoshoni’s Donna Daniels with 17.84 seconds and right behind her was Jeri Gillette of Cody with 17.927 and Greybull’s Jess West with 17.987 for fourth.

Everyone starts somewhere, and the same holds true for barrel racing as 23 young girls competed in the youth division.

Dusty Willis of Cowley left her competition in the dust with her first place ride of 18.67 seconds. Lovell’s Aspen Leonhardt was close behind in second with 18.87 seconds.

Tuesday Washakie of Ft. Washakie came in third with 19.06 seconds followed by Paige Flom of Park City, Montana, with 19.243.

The top four riders will need to stay on top of their game for future rodeos as 14-year-old Madison Koonce scored a 22.183 and it was only her second time ever competing.

“I did good for what I’ve been working on,” Koonce said. “He (her horse) was ready to go and pretty awesome. My turns were pretty good, but I could make them tighter after I make the pockets.”

Deaver’s Bailee Mulholland, 15, also had a better ride than expected since it was her first time riding the horse she competed with.

“It turned out way better than I thought,” McFarlane said of her 28.472-second ride. “It went faster than I thought it would – but I could have made my turns better.”

Some of the loudest cheering of the afternoon came during the junior youth barrels competition as local pint-size cowboys and cowgirls rounded the barrels.

Clayton Thompson of Cowley came out on top with a 29.914-second time followed by Powell’s Kindyle Floy with 51.727 and Kaysen Park with 86.641.

Steer and bull riding

Only one cowboy was able to take on the steers, and it was Cody’s Zain Fitzgerald with his 70-point ride.

As for the bull riding, it was bulls 10 and riders zero as no qualified rides were made.

Team Roping

The team roping event proved to be just as popular and just as competitive as the barrel racing as 23 teams duked it out for the fastest time. However, penalties set most of the riders back.

Bob and Jordan Herman made the fastest catch despite a 5-second penalty with 11.92 seconds for their official time.

Close behind them were Jim Johnson and Shiloh Wallingford, who managed to place second despite also receiving a 5-second penalty for a 13.21-second time. Then Trevor Lytle and Clark Hufty made a 13.76-second time, also due to a 5-second penalty. In fourth was Sam Good and Colt Billy, who would have had a 7.51-second time had they not received a 10-second penalty.