Daily Archives: January 12, 2010

1. Cold weather suits Montana bull rider just fine at Okeechobee Xtreme Bulls

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – When the 40 cowboys who entered the Seminole Hard Rock Xtreme Bulls Tour event, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, called PROCOM to enter, they probably had visions of swaying palm trees and sunny skies in their heads.

Instead, central Florida on Jan. 10 greeted them with 30-degree temperatures and wind chills below freezing. For some cowboys from traditionally cold-weather states like Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, it was likely warmer at home than on the Seminole Reservation.

Nonetheless, they came to ride, and Tyler Johnston from Bridger, Mont., topped them all with 172 points on two head and won $13,513.

“I always do well in the winter,” Johnston said, “and it’s always good to get off to a good start.”

Johnston, 25, shared first place in both rounds. He had an 85-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Money Maker to tie for the lead in the first round with Jason Beck and then had an 87-pointer on Frontier’s Motown to tie Marcus Michaelis for the high score in the finals.

It was enough to hold off Beck and Michaelis by a single point and assure Johnston of the biggest win of his five-year PRCA career.

“I knew a couple of the short-round bulls, like Leprechaun or California Dreamin’, and if I had to pick, I would have picked one of those two,” Johnston said. “But my bull was just as good as those two, if not better. I got a little ahead of him at the end just waiting on the whistle. It turned out to be just what I needed.”

First round: 1. (tie) Tyler Johnston on Frontier Rodeo’s Money Maker and Jason Beck on Frontier Rodeo’s Chucky, 85 points, $3,737 each; 3. (tie) Howdy Cloud and Justin Koon, 84.5, $1,974 each; 5. Marcus Michaelis, 84, $987; 6. (tie) Brandon Reynolds and Chad Denton, 83.5, $705 each; 8. D.J. Domangue, 81.5, $423. Final Round: 1. (tie) Tyler Johnston on Frontier Rodeo’s Motown and Marcus Michaelis on Frontier Rodeo’s California Dreamin, 87 points, $2,726 each; 3. (tie) Jason Beck and Ardie Maier, 86, $1,410 each; 5. D.J. Domangue, 85, $658; 6. Ryan Shanklin, 83.5, $470. Average: 1. Tyler Johnston, 172 points on two head, $7,050; 2. (tie) Jason Beck and Marcus Michaelis, 171, $4,700 each; 4. D.J. Domangue, 166.5, $2,585; 5. Ardie Maier, 162.5, $1,645; 6. Ryan Shanklin, 162, $1,175; 7. (tie) Howdy Cloud and Justin Koon, 84.5 on one head, $823 each.

2. Outhier hoping Dodge Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo triumph proves good omen

If he is the least bit superstitious, Mike Outhier has to see his saddle bronc riding triumph in the Jan. 7-9 Dodge Texas Circuit Finals Rodeo in Waco, as the best sort of omen.

Outhier was the Texas circuit’s year-end champion in both 2003 and 2004 and went on to make his only two appearances in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in those years….(read more)