Moran charms Signal Flares
Nick Stubblefield of Choteau, Mont., competes in the Steer Wresting competes competition on Friday at the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell.
Troy Solomon, of Havre competing in the Bareback Riding competition on Friday at the Northwest Montana Fair.
The crowd reacts as Justin Miller of Billings, Mont., competes in the Bareback Riding competition on Friday at the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell.
It was a tough decision on Friday night for cowboy Shane Moran.
Moran, a saddle bronc rider from Great Falls, drew Signal Flares as his ride during the second performance at the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo.
He thought long and hard about turning the horse out.
"That horse is not extremely rider friendly. He's a bucking horse. He's rank," Moran said.
He'd been on Signal Flares three times before and hadn't gotten him rode. In fact, the horse was responsible for breaking some of Moran's ribs during a Denver rodeo.
Added to that, Moran got bucked off of a ‘rider friendly horse' on Thursday in Billings.
But Friday night was the charm at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.
Signal Flares took a big rear getting out of the chute and Moran stayed aboard to score a 73 and take the two-day saddle bronc lead.
After that first big jump, "I was trying to hustle to stay on. I wasn't worried about it looking good," Moran smiled.
"I can't believe I rode him."
"I hope it holds up," he said of his score. "It's pretty low for the caliber of stock and the caliber of the cowboys here. I'm surprised a 73 is what's winning right now," he added.
Kesler Rodeo Company's horses got the better of all but three cowboys on Friday.
Great Falls cowboy Jesse Kruse posted a 72 and Josh Reynolds of Ekalaka stayed aboard for a 63.
Kruse and Buck Ryan of Blackfoot, Idaho, are tied for second overall.
In the bull riding, Keslers' bulls dumped every cowboy except Cody Four Colors of Box Elder.
Four Colors posted an 80 on Safe Bet to take the lead in the competition.
"I was real excited when I figured out that I had him," Four Colors said.
"I've seen him go twice. There was an 88 on him in Butte and a 78 on him in Helena," he said.
"He was pretty fast. He had a little bit of back up to him, then he just got flat and really fast," he said.
J.R. Vezain of Cowley, Wyo., had the best bareback ride, posting a 71 on Pokerstar. Sylvan LaCross was the only other cowboy to get a complete ride. He scored 60 on Time Zone.
In steer wrestling, Jess Cowie of Foremost, Alberta, turned in a 5.2 to win the evening - and take the overall lead. Three cowboys, Ted Gollaher of Cascade, Nick Stubblefield of Choteau, and Travis Carnine of Templeton, Calif., turned in 5.7.
In team roping, Brant Davis of Sand Coulee and Sam Levine of Wolf Creek were the only riders to put together a clean run. Their time was 7.9, good for second overall.
In tie-down roping, Colbert, Wash., cowboy Tyson Durfey turned in a time of 8.1 seconds to take the overall lead.
And in barrel racing, Christy Fullen of Fredricksburg, Texas, had the evening's top time, 17.3.
Overall event leaders are Cowie of Foremost, Alberta, in steer wrestling, 5.2 seconds; Matt Robertson of Augusta and Chase Tryan of Helena in team roping, 7.6 seconds; Durfey of Colbert, Wash. in tie-down roping, 8.1 seconds; and Shelly Anzick of Livingston in barrel racing, 17.26.
The final performance of the rodeo is 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Friday's Results
Bareback - 1.J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 71; 2. Sylvan LaCross, Baker, 60.
Steer wrestling 1. Jess Cowie, Foremost, Alb., 5.2; 2. Travis Carnine, Stanfield, Ore., 5.7, Ted Gollaher, Cascade, 5.7, Nick Stubblefield, Choteau, 5.7; 5. Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 7.3, 6. Glen Clark, Woodward, Okla., 7.7.
Saddle bronc - 1. Shane Moran, Great Falls, 73; 2. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, 72; 3. Josh Reynolds, Ekalaka, 63.
Team roping - 1. Brant Davis, Sand Coulee/Sam Levine, Wolf Creek, 7.9; 2. Jason Handy, Stobey/Chase Gauger, Sand Coulee, 11.8.
Tie-down roping - 1.Tyson Durfey, Colbert, Wash., 8.1; 2. Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 8.5; 3. Bryant Mikkelson, Buffalo, 9.5; 4. Mike Johnson, Henryetta, Okla, 9.6; 5. Same Levine, Wolf Creek, 10.7; 6. Clint Radke, Maryfield, SK, 11.5; 7. Tim Bagnell, Polson, 15.4; 8. Fred Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, 18.0.
Ladies barrel racing - 1. Christy Fullen, Fredricksburg, Texas, 17.3; 2. Laura McPherson, Wolf Point, 17.72; 3. Sherrylynn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 17.81; 4. Dillon McPherson Wolf Point, 22.35; 5. Chloe Hoovestal, Helena, 22.89.
Bull riding - 1. Cody Four Colors, Box Elder, 80.