Before the rain settled in during the first night of the 2017 Inter-State Rodeo in Coffeyville, Kan., Hardy Braden got a chance to ride.
The Welch, Okla. cowboy, a saddle bronc rider, scored 82 points to take the lead on the Wednesday evening performance of rodeo.
It was aboard a Beutler and Son Rodeo horse named Crossfire, whom Braden had ridden before.
“She had a really spectacular day today,” he said. “She’s a really nice horse to get on. Today she was juicier. I don’t know if it was the cool weather or the rain, but it felt really good.”
Braden, who is 28 years old, lives just forty miles down the road from Coffeyville, and is having the best year of his pro rodeo career.
He’s ranked fifth in the PRCA world standings, and is poised to qualify for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), held every December in Las Vegas, where the world champions are crowned.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said of making the WNFR. “It’s starting to sink in a little bit.” The rodeo season ends on Sept. 30; at that time, the top fifteen cowboys in each event qualify for the WNFR.
Because he’s ranked fifth, Braden is able to slow down and not rodeo as hard. He’ll compete in Denton, Texas on Friday, Eureka, Kan. on Saturday, Vinita, Okla. next week, and has seven rodeos on the schedule for September. There’s “no sense in something happening that doesn’t need to happen,” like an injury.
The WNFR consists of ten days of competition, one rodeo each evening, and Braden’s parents and sister are making plans to watch him in Las Vegas. His mother, Tammy, will most likely be there for the entire ten days; his dad, Butch, may have to stay home part of the time, due to ranch duties. “It’s a bad time on the ranch,” Braden said. “We sell calves the first of December.”
His biggest fan is his sister, Tara Crawford, and she and her husband Kyle will also make the trip. Their daughter, Braylee, loves her uncle Chad (his given name). “She’s crazy about me,” he said. The three year old has a stick horse that she rides, like a saddle bronc rider – with a hand in the air, spurring. She loves watching videos of Uncle Chad ride, and at a wedding rehearsal the other week, she gave the guests a good laugh. “She was watching a video of me at Cheyenne (Frontier Days), and out of nowhere, she starts screaming and spurring the chair and hollering, ‘go Chad,’” Braden said. “She’s a hoot.”
Other leaders after the first performance are bareback rider Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb. (79 points), steer wrestler Kyle Eike, Glenarm, Ill. (5.1 seconds), tie-down roper Kadin Boardman, Jackson, Mo. (11.6 seconds); team ropers Thompson Berryhill, Talala, Okla. and Cody Heflin, Pryor, Okla. (6.8 seconds); steer roper Kelly Casebolt, Lenapah, Okla (12.5 seconds); barrel racer Heather Wilson, Mountain View, Mo. (19.10 seconds) and bull rider Brett Custer, Elk City, Oka. (75 points).
Three more nights of rodeo continue on August 17-19. Slack, the extra competition that doesn’t fit into the evening shows, starts at 8 am on August 17 and 18.
The second night of the Inter-State Rodeo is Thursday, August 17. The rodeo begins at 7:30 pm, and general admission tickets are $15. The carnival opens at 6 pm, and four livestock shows: rabbits, sheep, poultry, and goats, take place. For more information and a complete schedule, visit the website at www.fairandrodeo.com.
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Cutline: Hardy Braden leads the saddle bronc riding after the first night of competition at the 2017 Inter-State Rodeo in Coffeyville, Kan. The Welch, Okla. cowboy scored 82 points.
Results, 1st performance, Inter-State Rodeo, Coffeyville, Kan.
August 16, 2017
Bareback Riding
1. Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb. 79 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Sure Motion; 2. Trey Moore III, Anniston, Ala. 76; no other qualified rides.
Steer Wrestling
1. Kyle Eike, Glenarm, Ill. 5.1 seconds; Fenton Nelson, Iowa Falls, Iowa 6.3; Blake Mindemann, Blanchard,Okla. 13.6; no other qualified runs.
Tie-Down Roping
1. Kaden Boardman, Jackson, Mo. 11.6 seconds; 2. Fenton Nelson, Iowa Falls, Iowa 20.0; 3. Sam Nave, Stephenville, Texas 21.3; Polo Bacque II, Scott, La. 29.2.
Saddle Bronc Riding
1. Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla. 82 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Crossfire; 2. Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba 78; 3. Jake Finlay, Goondiwindi, Australia 75; 4. Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas 74.
Team Roping
1. Thompson Berryhill, Talala, Okla./Cody Heflin, Pryor, Okla. 6.8 seconds; 2. Cody Graham, Everton, Mo./Jeff Brown, Carthage, Mo. 6.9; 3. Justin Spotts, Damascus, Ark./Cody Andrews, Greenbrier, Ark. 8.0; 4. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Justin Fox, Huntsville, Ark. 8.2.
Steer Roping
1. Kelly L. Casebolt, Lenapah, Okla. 12.5 seconds; 2. Mike Chase, McAlester, Oka. 12.7; 3. Cody Schec, Dighton, Kan. 23.3; 4. Cord Hodge, Tulsa, Okla. 27.5.
Women’s Barrel Racing
1. Heather Wilson, Mountain View, Mo. 19.10 seconds; 2. Julie Burnett, Vilonia, Ark. 19.13; 3. Chadra Matthews, Carthage, Mo. 19.79; 4. Dusta Kimzey, Strong City, Okla. 19.90.
Bull Riding
1. Brett Custer, Elk City, Okla. 75 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Tumbler; 2. Cody Ballard, Goodwell, Okla. 69; no other qualified rides.
** All results are unofficial.
