Eash cashes in at fair rodeo

LeRoy Eash pumped his fist in an uppercut motion and produced a beaming smile as he strided out of the office of the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Saturday.

The 26-year-old leaned in toward his waiting girlfriend to show her the check he'd just been handed, and the two embraced.

It was pay day, and the saddle bronc rider from Fortine earned a third place finish and $1,055 with one of the best performances of the day while riding a horse named Bookmark.

His score of 81 represented one of the finest performances of the day across the board.

"I'm just kind of working my way up through the ranks and getting started," said Eash, who has been competing in the event for about five years. "Third place finish at this size of a rodeo is pretty good."

He finished behind only first place finisher Sterling Crawley of College Station, Texas, and Roy Johnson of Etna, Calif., both of whom competed during the first two days of the rodeo.

"My horse came out and actually hit my leg pretty hard on the post," Eash said. "If I would have just declared myself they would give me a re-ride. But I knew I had a good horse so I just went out and tried to get it done."

His decision resulted in a successful night as well as some cash he plans to use to buy a new saddle.

"Its been a very good day for me today," Eash said while smiling and tucking his check into his pocket.

It wasn't such a good day for the bull riders.

Only Sean Case of White Sulphur Springs managed to extend his ride to the requisite eight seconds.

All other comers were tossed from their bulls in quick order.

Case's ride on Canadian Rocket resulted in a score of 69, an eighth-place finish and a paycheck of $196.08, not exactly what he was looking for but better than the rest of Saturday's bull riders.

"You win some, you lose some," he said. "All you gotta do is go out and take care of business every single time, stay on for eight seconds, and leave everything else up to the judges."

He credited the relatively bad night for bull riders, at least in part, to the quality stock provided by the Kesler Rodeo Company.

"Yeah, Kesler actually has some really good bulls," he said. "Obviously, based on my score, he wasn't the best bull here. I certainly feel it was better than that based on just how hard I had to try to stay on him."

Bryan Richardson of Dallas, Texas, won the bull riding with a score of 81 on Quick Drop to take home $1,812. Tyler Pankewitz of Ponoka, Alberta, Canada came in second with his score of 80 on Snuck In.

Matt Triplett of Columbia Falls finished in a three-way tie for third with Jacob O'Mara and Tyler Thompson with the score of 79 that he earned on King of the Road Friday.

Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo

Final results

Bull riding - 1. Bryan Richardson, Dallas, Texas, on Quick Drop, 81, $1,960.80; 2. Tyler Pankewitz, Ponoka, Alberta, on Snuck In, 80, $1,503.28; 3. (tie) Tyler Thompson, Black Diamond, Alberta, on Cuttin Corners, 79, $762.53; Jacob O'Mara, Prairieville, La., on Whirl Wind, 79, $762.53; Matt Triplett, Columbia Falls, on King of the Road, 79, $762.53; 6. Gerald Eash, Trego, on Rent a Wreck, $326.80; 7. Luke Gee, Stanford, on Rent a Wreck, 71, $261.44; 8. Sean Case, White Sulphur Springs, on Rent a Wreck, $261.44.

Bareback riding - 1. Chance Madsen, Pine Bluffs, Wyo., on Wish List, 78, $1,761.87; 2. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., on Seat Sale, 77, $1,147.88; Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, on High Noon, 77, $1,147.88; 4. Justin Miller, of Billings, on Sno Cone, 72, $640.68; 5. Ben Wrzesinski, Boulder, on Cool Pieces, 69, $373.73; 6. Justin King, Sagle, Idaho, on Alley Trail, 68, $266.95.

Steer wrestling - 1. Shawn Downing, Silver Star, 4.5, $1,638.75; 2. (tie) Rian Conway, Browning, 4.8, $1,318.12; Jim Pat Smith, Melrose, $1,318.12; 4. Ty Erickson, Helena, 5.1, $9997.50; 5. Ted Gollaher, Cascade, 5.8, $783.75; 6. Mike Gollaher, Cascade, 6.2, $570; 7. (tie) Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 7.0, $249.37; Roddy Cameron Townsend, 7.0, $240.37.

Tie down roping - 1. (tie) Shane Slack, Idabel, Okla., 9.6, $1,812.60; Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 9.6, $1,812.60; 3. Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 10.5, $1,299.60; 4. Clint Arave, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.6, $957.60; 5. Logan Hofer, Magrath, Alberta, 10.9, $615.60; 6. Trent Creager, Stillwater, Okla., 12.2, $342.

Barrel racing - 1. Darcy Mapston, Belt, 18.04, $1,508.22; 2. Maegan Reichert, Mount Pleasant, Texas, 18.08, $1,292.76; 3. Chloe Hoovestal, Helena, 18.09, $1,077.30. 4. Shelly Anzick, Livingston, 18.12, $933.66; 5. Mandy Hamilton, Manhattan, 18.22, $718.20; 6. Rylee McKenzie, St. Paul, Alberta, 18.24, $574.56; 7. Caset Wagner, Fromberg, 18.26, $430.92; 8. Katie Rasmussen, Choteau, 18.27, $287.28; 9. Lisa Warfield, Wolf Creek, 18.28, $215.46; 10. Erica Norwood, Carthage, Texas, 18.35, $143.64.

Saddle bronc - 1. Sterling Crawley, College Station, Texas, 86, on Three Stages, $1,861.05; 2. Roy Johnson, Etna, Calif., on Starbust, 82, $1,426.80; 3. Leroy Eash, Fortine, on Bookmark, 81, $1,054.59; 4. Kobyn Williams, Haughton, La., on Alley Inn, 80, $682.38; 5. James Irish, Lewistown, on Easy does It, 73, $434.24; 6. (tie) Jacobs Crawley, College Station, Texas, on Believe Me, 72, $248.14; Elliot French, Tres Pinos, Calif., on Royal Visit, 72, $248.14; Ad Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., on Avalanche, 72, $248.14.

Team roping - 1. Miles Kobold (Shepherd) and Matt Robertson (Augusta), 6.2, $1,274.19; 2. Jason Carlson (Two Dot) and John Robertson (Polson) 7.0, $1,054.50; 3. Drew Horner (Plano, Texas) and Trey Johnson (Canyon, Texas), 7.4, $834.81; 4. Bobby Mote (Culver, Ore.) and Mike Beers (Post, Ore.) 5.7, $615.13; 8 Scot Strauser (Havre) and JohnBoy Vermedahl (Ronan), 7.8, $395.44; 6. Ross Wagner (Fromberg) and Kyle DeSaveur (Joliet), 8.0, $219.69.

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Saturday's Results

Saddle bronc riding - Leroy Eash, Fortine, on Bookmark, 81; Kobyn Williams, Haughton, La., on Alley Inn, 80; James Irish, Lewiston, on Easy Does It, 73; Chris Klucas, Butte, on Three Stages, 0; Townsend Prince, Livermore, Colo., on Check Out, 0; Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, on Mystic River, 0; Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, on Alley Cone, 0; Delano Kjos, Sort St. John, British Columbia, on Stars Alive, 0; Jeremy Russell, Nanton, Alberta, on Bonus Alley, 0; Colt Haymaker, Centennial, Wyo., on Southern Lights, 0; Cod DeMoss, Helin, La., on Believe Me, 0; Curtis Garton, New Zealand, on Royal Visit, 0.

Bull riding - Sean Case, White Sulfur Springs, 69; Maverick Bushnell, RedLodge, 0; Chance Smart, Philadelphia, Miss.,0; Dalton Votaw, Liberty, Texas, 0; Shawn Coleman, Springfield, S.D., 0, Shawn Harris, Prairie City, S.D., 0; Dexter Smotherman, Jordan, 0; Colten Jensen, Bozeman, 0; Parker Breding, Edgar, 0; Chance Smith, Great Falls, 0; Tyler Dellen, Belgrade, 0; Ty Hamaker, Centenial, Wyo., 0; Shaun Halko, Bozeman, 0; Jake Kearns, Melrose, 0; Chance Murphy, Wright, Wyo., 0.

Barrel Racing - Shelly Anzick, Livingston, 18.12; Rylee McKenzie, St. Paul, Alberta, 18.24; Dillon McPherson, Wolf Point, 19.95; Candi Zion, Havre, 23.18; Sherrylynn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 25.11; Laura McPherson, Wolf Point, 28.64.

Tie-down roping - Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 9.6; Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 10.5; Trent Creager, Stillwater, Okla., 12.2; Jake Hanum, Plain City, Utah, 0; Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 0; Tyler Holland, Bozeman, 0.

Steer wrestling - Ty Erickson, Helena, 5.1; Nick Stubblefield, Choteau, 24, Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 7.0; Ted Gollaher, Cascade, 5.8; Eddy Getten, Boulder, 14.6; Roddy Cameron, Townsend, 7.0, Ken Holland, Dillon, 0; Tyler Holland, Dillon, 0; Josh Granell, Havre, 12.9; Mike Gollaher, Cascade, 6.2.

Team roping - Scot Strauser (Havre) and JohnBoy Vermedahl (Ronan) 7.8; Delon Parker (Worden) and Sid Sporer (Cody, Wyo.), 8.1; Cy Murer (Bigfork) and Shawn Little (Essex). 8.6; Ty Erickson (Darby) and Kory Mytty (Lollo), 0; Mel Coleman (Phoeniz, Ariz.) and Mike Gollaher (Cascade), 0; Shane Schwenke (Zortman) and Spider Ramone (Hays), 0; Shawn Bessette (Vaughn) and Shane Bessette (Vaughn), 0.