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This is itCHEYENNE, Jul 31, 2011 (Wyoming Tribune-Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Big names, local ties and three defending champions. That should make for an exciting and dramatic final today at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Action begins at 1 p.m. at Frontier Park Arena. Bull rider Wesley Silcox of Santaquin, Utah, steer roper Chance Kelton of Mayer, Ariz., and barrel racer Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alberta, will try to defend their titles. How hard is it to win consecutive years at CFD? The last person was steer roper Neal Wood in 2006-07. There have never been back-to-back winners in tie-down roping, which dates back to 1920, and none in team roping, which has been around since 2001. The last person that defended their titles in any of the three roughstock events was bull rider Tuff Hedeman in 1995-96. The last bareback bronc repeat winner was Marvin Garrett in 1994-95, but you have to go back to the 1930s to find one in saddle bronc. Sears will try for her third CFD win over the last four years. She enters the finals fourth, but the top 12 in the finals are separated by only .42 seconds. Saddle bronc is another close event as six points separate the top 12. Bull riding isn't so close as Silcox has a five-point lead in the aggregate after rides of 86 and 89 in his two go-rounds. An eight-second ride today should get him the win, unless someone behind him has a ride in the 90-point range. And, there are plenty capable of it, including current world leader Shane Proctor of Grand Coulee, Wash., who is seven points off of Silcox's lead. There are three Wyoming bull riders in the finals: Will Farrell of Thermopolis (fifth), Bobby Welsh of Gillette (eighth) and Tyler Willis of Wheatland (ninth). However, they are 11, 16 points and 17 points, respectively, out of first place. But a lot of money can be won today by placing in the finals, and finishing high in the aggregate. For the Wyoming contingent, a big payday will either solidify or give them a solid chance to be in the top 15 in the world standings at the end of the season, which would qualify them for the season-ending National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. But for the Wyoming guys, winning at CFD is about more than just the money. "I'd probably cry," said Welsh, who added he's qualified for the finals here seven of the nine times he's competed. "This is the 'Daddy' and everyone wants to win it. "I've got my family down here and this is like a little vacation for us. To win the buckle and saddle would mean a lot to all of us." Last year only two of the 16 bull riding finalists recorded scores in both go-rounds. Fifteen did this year. Speaking of Wyoming rodeo athletes, the top three in steer roping are former University of Wyoming rodeo team members: Jason Miller of Lance Creek, Wyo., K.C. Jones of Decatur, Texas, and Todd Suhn of Weatherford, Texas. Both of Miller's go-rounds came during morning slack. There will be about 17,000 more people in the stands to watch him in today's finals. Suhn also spent two years on the Laramie County Community College rodeo team in Cheyenne. His two go-rounds were Friday and Saturday, but he competed with a heavy heart Saturday because his hazing horse died Friday night of colic. "It was a real sudden and violent colic," said Suhn, who won at CFD in 2004 but made the finals for the first time since 2007. "It happened so fast he wasn't even sick. He was just dead when we got back (Friday night). "You have to put that behind you. It's just bad luck. You can dwell on it and have more bad luck, or get over it. ... We have a chance to win a lot of money (today). It's going to be fun." Suhn borrowed a hazing horse Saturday from hazer Linn Churchill, and will use the same horse again today. Another Wyoming steer wrestler in today's finals is Wheatland's Seth Brockman, who won the CFD title in 2005. "That first year I came here I had some luck, and the second year I kind of took it for granted," he said. "The finals here, the stands are packed. You never try to look up and see it, but it's pretty neat." CFD has been neat for some of the younger guys in rodeo as well. Rookie Jacobs Crawley of College Station, Texas, won the saddle bronc title at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper last month. He's in today's finals for the first time, and is only two points out of first place. "I'm excited," he said. "There's going to be some dang sure good horses. I wouldn't mind seeing some of them next to my name." Tie-down roper Ace Sloan of Cuero, Texas, turned pro last year and entered the year with a little over $50,000 in career earnings. He can make about half of that today as he's first in the aggregate at 26.10 seconds, and had a 2.3-second lead over second place. To see more of Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wyomingnews.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Cheyenne Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |