Bareback riders Bill Tutor and Richie Champion have different outcomes during semifinals competition.
New horse helps Quaney rope a win in tie-down semis
Bareback riders Bill Tutor, who hails from Huntsville, and Richie Champion, from The Woodlands, came up competing against each other.
They won’t be moving on together at RodeoHouston.
While Tutor won the first semifinal Wednesday at NRG Stadium with an 86-point ride on Walleye Rocket to make his first final in Houston, Champion placed seventh, sending him to the Wild Card.
“It’s super exciting,” Tutor said. “I made it to the semifinals last year, but I’ve never gotten out of them, so to come out winning the semifinals and getting to go to the short round, it’s an awesome honor.
“RodeoHouston’s such a big deal, so I’m ecstatic to be able to get there and ride in it.”
The top four finishers in each 10-man semifinal qualify for Saturday’s championship round.
The remaining six from each semi head to Friday’s Wild Card, where 12 athletes vie for the last two spots in the final.
That’s a much tougher path to the finals, but Tutor is confident that Champion will find his way.
“It’s always nice if you can go straight through and skip that Wild Card, but he rides so great, I expect to see him Saturday,” Tutor said.
Twain left her mark
Tutor, a 26-year-old Sam Houston State graduate, grew up here. Some of his fondest memories are RodeoHouston trips with his dad, when he was little, to see Reba McEntire and Shania Twain.
Now he’s one of the top 40 riders in the world descending on NRG’s dirt.
“It’s amazing when you walk in the bottom of NRG Stadium,” Tutor said. “It takes your breath away how big and exciting it is, so it’s very special.”
Tie-down roper Cody Quaney has a special new horse helping him go big.
The Kansas native won his semi with a time of 8.6 seconds on Chunk, a horse he bought only two weeks ago.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It gives you confidence going into the finals.”
Quaney went second-to-last Wednesday, allowing him the advantage of seeing exactly what he needed to do to advance.
“I knew I was going to catch up to my calf quick,” Quaney said. “She was a little slower. She hasn’t been taking the tie in the past, but I knew if I got on her quick, I’d have a little time to bobble with her.
“She ended up taking it really good (Wednesday), which allowed me to win the round.”
Marcos Costa, the reigning world champion from Brazil, also secured a spot in the semis, finishing second at 8.8.
Caleb Smidt, the reigning Houston champ, will have to survive the Wild Card.
Garrett Rogers and Russell Cardoza won the team roping semifinal, catching their calf in 4.8 seconds.
Coburn Bradshaw was first in saddle bronc, scoring 88 points on Redial.
Brothers Cody Wright, who won Houston in 2012, and Spencer Wright also moved on, along with 2014 winner Heith DeMoss.
91-point bull ride
Two-time Houston steer wrestling champ Curtis Cassidy (2003, 2009) won his semi, with reigning world champ Tyler Pearson also advancing. Nellie Williams-Miller placed first in barrel racing, finishing in 14.63 seconds, and Trevor Reiste won the bull riding semi with the rodeo’s first 90-point ride, a 91 on Big Kahuna.
The second set of semifinals is Thursday.
The top four finishers in each 10-man final Saturday advance to the four-man Shootout to compete for $50,000.
“Other than making the (National) Finals (Rodeo) and winning the world, this would probably be next, so it’d be awesome to win,” Quaney said.