By Guy Clifton
\nFor the Reno Rodeo<\/p>\n
Veteran bareback rider George Gillespie IV might claim the Reno Rodeo as his hometown affair, being born just on the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Placerville, Calif.
\nAfter Saturday night, he\u2019s feeling even more at home.<\/p>\n
Gillespie, who now calls Hamilton, Mont., home, rode the Flying U Rodeo Company bronc Bartown for 83.5 points in front of a sold-out crowd of 8,600 at the Reno Rodeo Arena. It puts him into the lead in the second round of bareback riding and, more importantly, virtually ensures him a spot in next Saturday\u2019s championship go-round.
\nDoing well in Reno, one of the top paying rodeos in the PRCA, would go a long way to helping Gillespie earn his first berth in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Currently 17th in the World Standings, a nice paycheck out of Reno would vault Gillespie well into the top 15, the cutoff number for competitors to qualify for the NFR.
\nAnother rider that punched his ticket to next Saturday\u2019s championship go-round is Heith DeMoss in the saddle bronc riding. A night after posting 81.5 points to lead the first round, DeMoss rode Flying U Rodeo Company\u2019s bronc Bar Tab for 82.5 points to take the lead in the second round. DeMoss., who is the defending Reno Rodeo champion, will be going for a second set of Silver Spurs, the trophy given to all Reno Rodeo champions.
\nTie-down roper Seth Hall of Albuquerque won\u2019t be back for Saturday championship round after breaking a barrier on his first-round run. But Hall stands to get a big payday nonetheless after roping and tying his calf in 7.6 seconds to move to the lead in the second go-round.
\nThe time is one of the fastest ever in the Reno Rodeo. Hall also has a shot at the Reno Rodeo all-around title as he and partner Byron Wilkerson of Duncan, Ariz., caught their steer in 5.5 seconds, which tied for the fastest time of the night with Kolton Schmidt of Barrhead, Alberta and Shay Carroll of Prineville, Ore.
\nIn the steer wrestling, Josh Clark of Belgrade, Mont., set the pace with a 4.3-second run, edging Tooter Silver of Quitman, Ark., who tossed his steer in 4.4 seconds.
\nRodeo action continues at 7 p.m. where the first Bullfighters Only competition will be a highlight.<\/p>\n
RENO, Nev. (June 18, 2016) \u2013 The following are results from the Reno Rodeo<\/p>\n
Second Performance —<\/p>\n
Bareback riding: 1, George Gillespie IV, Hamilton, Mont., 83.5 on Flying U Rodeo\u2019s Bartown. 2, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Texas, 82.5;.3, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 79. 4, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 79.<\/p>\n
Steer wrestling: 1, Josh Clark, Belgrade, Mont., 4.3 seconds. 2, Tooter Silver, Quitman, Ark., 4.4. 3, Jule Hazen, Ashland, Kan., 5.0. 4, Shayde Etherton, Borden, Ind., 5.3. .<\/p>\n
Team roping: 1, (tie) Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M., and Byron Wilkerson, Duncan, Ariz., and Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., 5.5 seconds each. 3, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensberg, Wash., 11.8. No other qualified times.<\/p>\n
Saddle bronc: 1, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 82.5 on Flying U Rodeo\u2019s Bar Tab. 2, Jesse James Kirby, Dodge City, Kan., 81.5. 3, Dusty Haushauer, Dickinson, N.D., 78. 4\/5 Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta and Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas 75.5.<\/p>\n
Tie-down roping: 1, Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M., 7.6 seconds. 2, Garrett Hale, Snyder, Texas, 8.9. 3, Robert Mathis, Mart, Texas, 14.3.<\/p>\n
Barrel racing: 1, Darby Fox, King Hill, Idaho, 17.17 seconds. 2, Katrina Dugo, Oakdale, Calif., 17.56. 3, Susanna Jacobi, Stephenville, Texas 17.67. 4, Gypsy Watson, Washoe Valley, Nev., 18.21.<\/p>\n
Bull riding: 1, Jeston Mead, Ashland, Kan., 83.5 on ST Rodeo\u2019s Gas Pedal. 2, Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 81. 3, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 77.5. No other qualified rides.<\/p>\n
Current Leaders \u2013<\/p>\n
Bareback riding: (first round) 1, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 82.5 points on Diamond G Rodeo\u2019s coole Hand Luke. 2, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 79.5. 3, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 77. 4, George Gillespie IV, Hamilton, Mont., 76. (second round) 1, 1, George Gillespie IV, Hamilton, Mont., 83.5 on Flying U Rodeo\u2019s Bartown. 2, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Texas, 82.5;.3, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 79. 4, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 79.<\/p>\n
Steer wrestling: (first round) 1, Jule Hazen, Ashland, Kan., 3.8 seconds. 2, Daryl Joe Elliott, Beaumont, Texas, 4.3. 3, Tooter Silver, Quitman, Ark., 4.4. 4, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 4.5. (second round) Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 3.8. 2, Josh Clark, Belgrade, Mont., 4.3. 3, Tooter Silver, Quitman, Ark., 4.4. 4, Dustin Walker, Vanscoy, Saskatchewan, 4.8.<\/p>\n
Team roping: (first round) 1, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 5.4 seconds. 2, Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 6.0. 3, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 6.2. 4, (tie) Tate Kirchenschlager, Yuma, Colo., and Will Woodfin, Marshall, Texas; and Ed Necochea, Lakeside, Calif., and Dennis Watkins, Bakersfield, Calif., 6.7 each. (second round) 1. Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and Tyler McKnight, Wells, Texas, 4.0. 2, Cale Markham, Vinita, Okla., and Steve Northcott, Odessa, Texas, 4.6. 3, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Dugan Kelly, Paso Robles, Calif., 5.5. 4, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta and Jeremy Buhler, Abbotsford, British Columbia, 5.6.<\/p>\n
Saddle bronc riding: (first round) 1, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 81.5 points on Diamond G Rodeo\u2019s 18 Karat Kowboy. 2, Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, 81. 3, Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., 4, Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, 75. (second round) 1, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 82.5 on Flying U Rodeo\u2019s Bar Tab. 2, Jesse James Kirby, Dodge City, Kan., 81.5. 3, Dusty Haushauer, Dickinson, N.D., 78. 4\/5 Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta and Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas 75.5.<\/p>\n
Tie-down roping: (first round) 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 8.2 seconds. 2, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 8.8. 3, (tie) J.D Kibbe, Portales, N.M.; Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D.; and Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas; 8.9 seach. (second round) 1, Seth Hall, Albuquerque, N.M., 7.6. 2, Cy Eames, Gooding, Idaho, 8.4. 3, Morgan Grant, Didsbury, Alberta, 8.7. 4, Garrett Hale, Snyder, Texas, 8.9.<\/p>\n
Barrel racing: (first round) 1, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 17.41 seconds. 2, Cayla Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 17.47. 3, Jill Welsh, Parker, Ariz., 17.55. 4, Kali Parker, Wendell, Idaho, 17.57. (second round) 1, Kris Gadbois, Escondido, Calif., 17.04. 2, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 17.13. 3, Darby Fox, King Hill, Idaho, 17.17. 4, Julie Martin, Paso Robles, Calif., 17.36.<\/p>\n
Bull riding: (First round) 1, Jeston Mead, Ashland, Kan., 83.5 on ST Rodeo\u2019s Gas Pedal. 2, (tie) Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., and Tyler Stoltz, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 81.5 points each. 4, Zeb Lanham, Sweet, Idaho, 81. 5, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 80. 6, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 77.5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Guy Clifton For the Reno Rodeo Veteran bareback rider George Gillespie IV might claim the Reno Rodeo as his hometown affair, being born just on the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Placerville, Calif. After Saturday night, he’s feeling even more at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[52,2044,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-magazine","category-magazine","category-western-events-magazine"],"yoast_head":"\n