Tarleton Rodeo brings home titles from Ranger College Rodeo

BY KILEY MORGAN / Multimedia Journalist

Reserve Champion and Reserve Champion All Around Titles, as well as several placings were brought home by Tarleton Rodeo athletes after competing at the Ranger College Rodeo in Sweetwater, Texas, March 21-23. 

Danielle Bussey was named Reserve Champion All-Around Cowgirl of the Ranger College Rodeo. Bussey competed in two events, goat tying and barrel racing, which put her in the position to win this title. 

In the rough stock events, two Tarleton athletes placed in the Bareback Riding and four placed in the saddle bronc riding. 

Placing sixth in the bareback riding, Roedy Farrell had a good first out, scoring an 83 on his ride in the long-go. He came back to the short-go March 23 to score a 69-point ride. Devon Moore had a 78-point ride in the long-go that secured him a spot in the short-go, but unfortunately did not have any luck. This put him in tenth place in the bareback riding. 

In the saddle bronc riding, Gus Gaillard took home the title of Reserve Champion, behind Western Texas College’s Carson Bingham. Gaillard had two solid 78-point rides. His teammate, Ira Dickenson, was 6.5 points behind him in the average. Dickenson ended up splitting fifth and sixth with Joe Macqueen of Clarendon College. Bailey Small, a Tarleton cowboy, scored a 72 on his first out in the long-go but came back with a higher scoring ride of 75.5 in the short-go. Small was seventh in the average, right in front of another Tarleton athlete, Travis Handley. Handley, who came in eighth, had a better long-go than some of his fellow teammates. Unfortunately he scored a 70 in the short-go, which put him behind in the average. 

Two Tarleton athletes placed in the Team Roping. Mason Bice and his partner, Cayden Harmon of Weatherford College, placed seventh. In the long-go, Bice and Harmon tied with three other teams with a 6.2 second run. Unfortunately, the team got a no time in the short-go. Wyatt Crandall and his heeler, Nathan Clawson of South Plains College, placed tenth in the Team Roping. Crandall and his partner had a solid 6.5 second run in the long-go. Coming back to the short-go, Crandall had the same luck as his fellow teammate, Bice and he and Clawson came out with no time. 

In the steer wrestling, two Tarleton athletes placed consecutively in fourth and fifth. Clay Guthrie tied with Cisco’s Dylan Hancock in the long-go with a 4.1 second run. He came back Saturday night and threw his steer in 5.4 seconds, putting him in fourth place in the short-go. His fellow teammate, Landris White, was 9.8 seconds on two head. White bulldogged in 4.9 seconds in both the long and short-go, putting him fifth in the average. 

Grant Lindsley was the only Tarleton cowboy to place in the Tie-Down Roping. He placed sixth in the average and was 20.9 seconds in the average. Lindsley roped and tied his calf in 9.9 seconds in the long-go but had a slower go Saturday night with an 11 second run. 

A couple of girls in purple vests placed in the Goat Tying, one of which was Reserve Champion Goat Tyer. Keni Labrum was the girl to bring home the Reserve Champion title, after making an impressive 6.7 second run in the long-go, only to come back to the short-go and make an even faster run of 6.6 seconds. Labrum was 13.3 seconds on two. The competition was tough with Shacie Marr of Eastern New Mexico University making two runs in 13.2 seconds, just a tenth of a second faster than Labrum. Danielle Bussey, the Reserve All-Around Cowgirl was fourth in the Goat Tying, having an average of 14.6 seconds on two. Shyanne Bauerle was a little over a second behind Bussey, finishing fifth with an average of 15.5 seconds on two. 

Jordan Driver was Reserve Champion Breakaway Roper, right behind Shaylee Warner of Clarendon College. Driver had a pair of 2.1 second runs, putting her at 4.2 seconds in the average. 

Two Tarleton girls placed fourth and fifth in the barrel racing in the short-go. Lindsey-Kay Reichert came in fourth. Reichert had a 14.98 second run in the long-go and came back Saturday night to make an even faster run of 14.83 seconds. Her teammate, Danielle Bussey, came in right behind her in fifth place. Bussey made a fast run in the long-go, running the barrels in 14.93 seconds, but made a 15.05 second run in the short-go. 

Mason Spain was the only Texan to ride a bull in the short-go. He made a 78 point ride in the long-go to bring him back to Saturday nights performance. Saturday night, Spain was one of three to ride the full eight seconds. He scored 65 points on his short-go ride. 

The Tarleton men’s and women’s teams continue to dominate the Southwest Region standings one rodeo after another, and that did not change at the Ranger College Rodeo. 

The Texan’s men’s team holds a lead in first, a solid 765 points ahead of Clarendon College, who comes in second in the Southwest Region standings. The women’s team is 545 points ahead of Cisco College.