Top rides on final night of fair rodeo

It was the best saddle bronc ride of the weekend, and the man in the saddle, Jacobs Crawley, barely broke a sweat.

The 22-year-old cowboy from College Station, Texas, held on for dear life atop the feisty Star Burst and showed the capacity crowd what a professional ride is all about on the final night of the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo at the Flathead County Fairgrounds on Saturday.

"I had a blast," Crawley said afterward. "It's my first time in Montana and to have a great horse and nice weather, I mean, I'm from Texas so this time of year you're sweating through everything. But up here it's kinda nice. I barely broke a sweat."

Riding in his 10th rodeo in 14 days, Crawley bounced around the arena with an affirming hand held high in the sky with Sun Burst kicking up dirt in the distance and the crowd cheering on well past the exciting eight seconds.

Crawley hopped off Star Burst and gave a cowboy gesture, tipping his hat to the first Montana crowd he's ever had. Moments later, his winning score of 85 flashed up on the screen and the announcer said what everyone already knew - "Now that's the best ride we've seen all weekend, folks."

"She was really bucking but when they're bucking good and hard it's a lot better than if they have any ducks or dives," Crawley said. "You just have to kind of do your part."

Crawley, one of many professional riders to appear in this year's three-day rodeo, took home a check for $1,980.

But it wasn't all about the earnings on Saturday. For Kalispell native Jay Hanson, it was about keeping the hometown proud at the place it all started.

"All summer long, struggled through some good times and bad, but it was a great time to just get something at the hometown rodeo. That's a lot of pressure, more than you think," Hanson said. "It means a lot."

Competing in the team roping event with Shawn Little of Essex, Hanson fired a laser lasso from his hip and snagged their steer's hind legs, earning the duo third place and a home crowd cheer.

"I passed up a shot knowing that there's money to be made and I didn't want to take my chances at jeopardizing some winning, so I just took a shot that usually works 90 percent of the time for me," Hanson said.

Cody Four Colors of Box Elder was the overall winner in the bull riding with a score of 80. Shelly Anzick of Livingston won the ladies barrel race with a time of 17.26. Jason Havens of Prineville, Ore., was the winner in the bareback with a score of 88. Rian Conway won the steer wrestling with a 5.2. Tyson Durfey of Colbert, Wash., won the tie down roping with a 8.1.

Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo

Saturday's Results

Bareback - 1. Jason Havens, Mullen, Neb., 88; 2. George Gillespie, Midland, Ore., 78; 3. Ben Wrzesinski, Boulder, Mont., 76; 4. Chase Redfield, Opheim, Mont., 64; Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 0; Ryan Gray, Cheney, Wash., 0.

Saddle bronc - 1. Jacobs Crawley, College Station, Texas, 85; 2. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 77; 3. Jake Costello, Newell, S.D., 76; 4. Roy Johnson, Etna, Calif., 68; 5. Blaze Hamaker, Centennial, Wyo., 62.; Colter Heckman, Helena, Mont., 0.

Steer wrestling - 1. Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore., 5.2; 2. Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 6.3; 3. Shawn Downing, Silver Star, Mont., 7.0; 4. Trevor Knowles, Mt. Vernon, Ore., 7.4; 5. Jim Pat Smith, Melrose, Mont., 8.3; 6. Brad Johnson, Reva, S.D., 8.9; 7., Bode Scott, Pryor, Mont., 15.3; Jabe Anderson, Dillon, Mont., 0; Caleb Ray, Ironside, Ore., 0; Ken Holland, Dillon, Mont., 0.

Team roping - 1. Shane Schwenke, Zortman, Mont./Kory Mytty, Lolo, Mont., 6.8; 2. Cody Tew, Harlowton, Mont./John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 7.4; 3. Jay Hanson, Kalispell, Mont., Shawn Little, Essex, Mont., 8.7; 4. Cy Murer, Bigfork, Mont./ Donnie Benson, Dillon, Mont., 12.4; Damon Ward, Darby, Mont./Randy Sacks, Hamilton, Mont., 0.

Tie down roping - 1. J.D. Kibbe, Portales, N.M., 8.5; 2. (tie) Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 19.4; Bode Scott, Pryor, Mont., 19.4; 4, Donnie Benson, Dillon, Mont., 23.6; Shank Edwards, Tatum, N.M., 0.

Ladies barrel race - 1. Brooke Ramsay, Cochrane, Alberta, 17.29; 2. Jessica Robertson, Polson, Mont., 17.46; 3. Julie Lenoir, Cutbank, Mont., 17.81; 4. Matea Meilicke, Kalispell, Mont., 17.83; 5. Darcy Aspinall, Charlo, Mont., 17.92.

Bull riding - Travis Blue, Springfield, S.D., 0; Mark Johansen, Strathmore, Alberta, 0; Corey Maier, Timber Lake, S.D., 0.