Breding best in bulls at Fair PRCA Rodeo
Second place isn’t good enough for Parker Breding anymore.
A year ago the Edgar bull rider posted a score of 88 at the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo only to see West Glacier’s Beau Hill follow with a 91 in the final ride of the night.
This year Breding opened the final go of the three-day rodeo with a 91 of his own. Brett Stall of Detroit Lakes, Minn., followed with an 85, Helena’s Sean Case did one better with an 86, but none of the four other riders could top Breding, who received a first-place check of $1,739.92 Saturday evening at Flathead County Fairgrounds.
“Shoot, I just had a really good bull,” Breding said.
“I’ve seen him around for a few years now and I’ve never actually got to get on him. Just really good, really fast right there. The kind a guy wants to get on every time.”
The bull, Grand Slam, proved it could help a rider score high when J.B. Mauney posted a 92 on it at the Calgary Stampede in July.
And this time there was no chance of Hill sneaking in front of Breding. The West Glacier rider competed in the first go on Thursday and was tossed off White Devil before the eight-second whistle.
“It feels good,” Breding said.
“Beau got hurt I guess the other night here. I wish he could’ve been right here with me in second. I watched Beau ride (Grand Slam) at the (Montana) Circuit Finals last year to beat me for the circuit championship. He won the first round on him and that helped him beat me in the end by $300.”
Case finished second and Stall was third. Billings’ Kane Crook, who competed in the second go on Friday, was fourth with an 83.
Luke Butterfield of Ponoka, Alberta, walked away with the saddle bronc title, injecting some energy into what had been a lackluster event before he entered the chute as the final rider. Five riders had posted scores in the three days of competition, but none topped 80 until Butterfield posted an 81 atop a horse named Dark Shadow.
“It’s almost hard because you’ve got to still be aggressive,” Butterfield said of riding last.
“You can’t just safety-up, that’s the worst thing you could do. Sometimes guys just want to stay on and get a check, but I just went at it like any other horse.”
Dustin Bird of Cut Bank and Paul Eaves of Londell, Mo., took first in team roping, stringing up their calf in 4.9 seconds.
The PRCA’s third-ranked steer wrestler, Hunter Cure of Holliday, Texas, looked like he was going to beat the 4.3-second mark Helena’s Jason Armstrong posted on Thursday, but Cure was flagged for breaking the barrier and the 10-second penalty put his time at 13.9.
None of the tie-down ropers could beat the 8.6-second standard Randall Carlisle of Castor, La., set on Friday. The same was true of the barrel racers, who couldn’t beat the 17.44-mark Brenda Mays of Terrebonne, Ore., set on Thursday. Mary Walker of Ennis, Texas, came close, crossing the wire in 17.16 seconds, but she was assessed a five-second penalty for knocking over the third barrel.
Northwest Montana
Fair PRCA Rodeo
Saturday’s Results
Bareback riding — 1. Kyle Bowers, Brooks, Alberta, 78 on Mile Away.
Saddle bronc riding — 1. Luke Butterfield, Ponoka, Alberta, 81 on Dark Shadow; 2. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, 79; 3. Zeke Thurston, Sheridan, Wyo., 74; Dustin Flundra, Pincher Creek, Alberta, 73.
Steer wrestling — 1. Mike Gollaher, Cascade, 5.3; 2. Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 6.4; 3. Ross Eickhoff, Grass Range, 8.1; 4. Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas, 13.9; Ross Mosher, Augusta, no time; Josh Granell, Havre, no time; Reef Mills, Augusta, no time.
Team roping — 1. Dustin Bird, Cut Bank/Paul Eaves, Londell, Mo., 4.9; 2. Jade Stoddard, St. Anthony, Idaho/Ike Folsom, Dillon, 6.0; 3. Mark Cassel, Shelby/Casey Bird, Cut Bank, 7.9; 4. Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo./Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D., 10.1; 5. Delon Parker, Worden/Charlie Lenning, Columbia Falls, 11.4; 6. Levi Simpson, Claresholm, Alberta/John Robertson, Polson, 12.6; 7. Shawn Little, Essex/Keith Richmond, Kalispell, 21.0; Tate Kirchenschlager, Bluffdale, Texas/Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas, no time; Shawn Bessette, Vaughn/Sid Sporer, Cody, Wyo., no time.
Tie-down roping — 1. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 9.7; 2. Donnie Benson, Dillon, 11.0; Clif Cooper, Decatur, Texas, no time; Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, no time; Shane Slack, Idabel, Okla., no time; Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, no time.
Barrel racing — 1. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 17.61; 2. Lindsay Kruse, Great Falls, 17.81; 3. Carmel Wright, Roy, 17.87; 4. Darae Larson, Belt, 18.01; 5. Torie Briese, Helena, 18.08; 6. Donna Heinen, Mesa, Wash., 18.15; 7. Kava Huestis, Ulm, 18.37; 8. Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 18.80; 9. Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 22.16.
Bull riding — 1. Parker Breding, Edgar, 91 on Grand Slam; 2. Sean Case, Helena, 86; 3. Brett Stall, Detroit Lakes, Minn., 85; 4. Matt Pojanowski, Woodbury, Minn., 79; Maverick Busnell, Red Lodge, 0.
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Overall top-3 finishers
Bareback riding — 1. Matt Lait, Stavely, Alberta, 88; 2. Jessy Davis, Power, 83; 3. Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., 82.
Saddle bronc riding — 1. Luke Butterfield, Ponoka, Alberta, 81; 2. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, 79; 3. Brian Dawson, Wisdom, 76.
Steer wrestling — 1. Jason Armstrong, Helena, 4.3; 2 (tie). Tait Kvistad, Grover, Colo., and Jacob Shofner, Jasper, Texas, 4.5.
Team roping — 1. Dustin Bird, Cut Bank/Paul Eaves, Londell, Mo., 4.9; 2. Chace Thompson, Munday, Texas/Twister Cain, Gonzales, Texas, 5.1; 3. Jade Stoddard/St. Anthony, Idaho/Ike Folsom, Dillon, 6.0.
Tie-down roping — 1. Randall Carlisle, Castor, La., 8.6; 2. Nolan Conway, Browning, 9.6; 3. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 9.7.
Barrel racing — 1. Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 17.44; 2. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 17.61; 3. Wendy Wilson, Pendleton, Ore., 17.68.
Bull riding — 1. Parker Breding, Edgar, 91; 2. Sean Case, Helena, 86; 3. Brett Stall, Detroit Lakes, Minn., 85.