Crawley cool on Copper Cat

It was going to take a world-championship ride to take the lead in saddle bronc riding at the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo and Jacobs Crawley rose to the occasion on Friday night at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

With his ride on Copper Cat, Crawley, of Boerne, Texas, scored 90 and bested Jesse Kruse’s 86-point score from Thursday night’s event. He sits solidly in first place with one more night of action still to go.

In 2015 Crawley, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the PRCA standings, won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world title in saddle bronc riding and Kruse did the same in 2009.

The only cowboy who came close to matching Crawley’s score Friday was Sterling Crawley, Jacobs’ younger brother, who nipped at Kruse’s heels with his 85-point ride on Flash Dance.

In bareback bronc riding, Clements, California, native Clayton Biglow moved into second place with his 86-point ride on Alley Street. Thursday night’s leader Orin Larsen is still safe in first place with 88 points.

Texan Ty Harris moved into first place in tie-down roping, edging Thursday night’s leader Riley Pruitt by two hundredths of a second, with a time of 9.4 seconds.

The team of Colton Campbell of Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Jordan Ketscher of Squaw Valley, California, are in third place in team roping with a time of 8.9 seconds. Shawn and Dustin Bird of Cut Bank posted a time of 11.13 seconds and were the only other team to collect a time besides Campbell and Ketscher.

Miles City cowboy Josh Davison posted the third-best score of the night in saddle bronc with 77 points.

Heidi Schmid of Kalispell, who competed Thursday, is tied for fifth in barrel racing with Jessi Fish. Both have a time of 17.76 seconds.

Today’s rodeo finale starts at 7:30 p.m.

Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo

Leaders after Friday

At Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Bareback riding: 1. Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 88 points Critical Smile; 2. Clayton Biglow, Clements, California, 86; 3. Seth Lee Hardwick, Ranchester, Wyoming, 85; 4. Zach Hibler, Wheeler, Texas, 83.5; 5. Pascal Isabelle, Okotoks, Alberta, 80; 6. Chase Erickson, Helena, 78.5.

Steer wrestling: 1. (tie) Josh Boka, Dillon, and Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 4.6 seconds each; 3. Jesse Brown, Baker City, Oregon, 5.2; 4. Scott Guenthner, Provost, Alberta, 5.3; 5. Luke Gee, Stanford, 5.5; 6. Nick Guy, Sparta, Wisconsin, 5.7.

Team roping: 1. Jade Stoddard, Sugar City, Idaho/Matt Williams, Rexburg, Idaho, 7.4 seconds; 2. Brady Tryan, Huntley/Kasper Roy, Mossleigh, Alberta, 7.8; 3. Shane Schwenke, Zortman/Mike Beers, Kamloops, British Columbia, 7.9; 4. Colton Campbell, Klamath Falls, Oregon/Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, California, 8.9; 5. Shawn Bird, Cut Bank/Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, 11.3; 6. Kyle Callaway, Blue Creek/Beau Hutchison, Rosette, Wyoming, 18.8.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 90 points on Copper Cat; 2. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, 86; 3. Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 85; 4. Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 84; 5. Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 78; 6. (tie) Ryder Wright, Milford, and Josh Davison, Miles City, 77 each.

Tie-down roping: 1. Ty Harris, San Angelo, Texas, 9.4 seconds; 2. Riley Pruitt, Gering, Nebraska, 9.6; 3. Tyler Milligan, Pawhuska, Oklahoma, 10.6; 4. Trent Creager, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 11.2; 5. Taylor Santos, Creston, California, 11.3; 6. Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas, 11.8.

Barrel racing: 1. Tracy Nowlin, Nowata, Oklahoma, 17.23 seconds; 2. Nikki Hansen, Dickinson, North Dakota, 17.40; 3. Brittney Barnett, Bakersfield, California, 17.48; 4. Heather Crowley, Poplar, 17.56; 5. (tie) Heidi Schmid, Kalispell, and Jessi Fish, Franklin, Tennesse, 17.76 each.

Bull riding: 1. J.T. Moore, Alvin, Texas, 82 points on Rapid Fire (No. 321); 2. Nevada Newman, Melstone, 77; 3. Colby Hill, Del Rio, Texas, 71; no other qualified rides.

Total payoff: $69,816. Stock contractor: Kesler Championship Rodeo. Sub-contractor: Kesler Rodeo.