Browning bull rider bucks trend

Dakota Louis put an exclamation point on the second round of the Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo, pointing the biggest ride of the night in the final trip out of the chutes.

The Kesler Championship Rodeo stock had nearly pitched a shutout for the day, limiting the night’s cowboys to just two pointed rides in bareback and saddle bronc and bucking off the previous three attempts before Louis stepped in the chutes.

The Browning cowboy, the closest area competitor of the evening, even got a surprise before hopping on, learning his previously drawn bull had gotten hurt earlier in the day. He instead got a ride atop Goosebumps and made it count.

Louis held on for an 86-point score, the best of the rodeo so far, ending the night with a bang.

“It felt awesome,” Louis said. “The bull really bucked and made me work for it.

“I try to keep it as simple as I can. Stay in the middle. If you stay in the middle for 8 seconds, you’re probably going to win.”

His ride continued a strong showing in the second half of the rodeo, with Fort Hancock, Texas’ Jana Bean riding to the top of the barrel racing leaderboard with a time of 17.41 seconds.

Defending tie-down roping world champion Tyson Durfey, who is currently No. 7 in the world standings, showed how he got such high acclaim, easily throwing down a time of 9.0 seconds to move into second place overall.

“I wanted to be a little conservative on that calf,” Durfey said.

“I was a little conservative on the start, I went down the pin, made a good run, not a flawless run.

“I was kind of roping for a paycheck, instead of trying to win first here. I didn’t know when the start was. I was the first guy to go. Had I got to see a couple more, I would’ve been a bit more aggressive. The strategy was to go get a paycheck and it worked out tonight.”

Hunter Cure, the 2013 and 2015 world steer wrestling champion, had a fast mark to beat after a cowboy threw down a time of 4 seconds in the first round.

After seeing a handful of guys just miss out on a money time, Cure made it look easy, earning a time of 3.7 seconds to vault into first place for the rodeo.

“All the steers here were pretty good, as far as on paper,” Cure said.

“I just tried to do my job to the best of my ability and see where it comes out in the end.

“I felt like my horse worked as good as he has in the last two weeks. I can’t complain at all.”

Helena’s Travis Nichols and Great Falls’ Shane Bessette scored the top team roping time of the weekend in 5.7 seconds. Hammond’s Brady Williams and Volborg’s Josh Hodge moved into second place in the event two outs later, roping in 6.5 seconds.

Dantan Bertsch was the lone bareback rider of the night, scoring a 76 to win the round and move into second place overall.

Wyatt Hurst was the lone pointed ride in saddle bronc, scoring a 71.5 to win the round, though it wasn’t nearly enough to move into the top six.

The rodeo concludes tonight at 7:30 with a program that features a field of world-class cowboys, including West Glacier bull rider Beau Hill.

Northwest Montana Fair PRCA Rodeo

Friday at Flathead County Fairgrounds

Second Round

Bareback — 1. Dantan Bertsch, 76 points on Kesler Champinoship Rodeo’s Up Ur Alley.

Steer Wrestling — 1. Hunter Cure, 3.7 seconds; 2. Nick Guy, 4.3; 3. Kyle Whitaker, 4.4; 4. Jacob Talley, 5.3; 5. Kane Cartwright, 6.7; 6. Jason Thomas 15.4.

Team roping — 1. Travis Nichols/Shane Bessette, 5.7 seconds; 2. Brady Williams/Josh Hodge, 6.5; Calgary Smith/Dakota Louis, 11.7.

Saddle bronc — 1. Wyatt Hurst, 71.5 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Pocket Change.

Tie-down roping — 1. Tyson Durfey, 9.0 seconds; 2. Cody Quaney, 9.4; 3. Ace Slone, 10.3; 4. Tyler Milligan, 10.6; 5. Timber Moore, 12.0; 6. Morgan Grant, 18.2.

Barrel racing — 1. Jana Bean, 17.41 seconds; 2. Cathy Grant, 17.90; 3. Nicole Riggle, 17.98; 4. Deb Guelley, 18.18; 5. Taylor Langdon, 18.23; 6. Cassie de Yong, 18.36; 7. Sidney Forrest, 23.27; 8. Kelly Tovar, 23.45.

Bull riding — 1. Dakota Louis, 86 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Goosebumps.

Overall leaders

Bareback — 1. Jessy Davis, 84 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Journal Keeper; 2. Dantan Bertsch, 76; 3. Chase Erickson, 75; 4. Cavan Wrzesinski, 71.5; no other qualified rides.

Steer wrestling — 1. Hunter Cure, 3.7 seconds; 2. Josh Peek, 3.9; 3. (tie) Scott Guenthner and Trell Etbauer, 4.0 each; 5. (tie) Bryant Mikkelson and Josh Boka, 4.1 each.

Team roping — 1. Travis Nichols/Shane Bessette, 5.7 seconds; 2. Brady Williams/Josh Hodge, 6.5; 3. Max Kuttler/Kory Mytty, 6.9; 4. Delon Parker/Ryan Zurcher, 7.0; 5. Brady Tryan/Travis Tryan, 11.0; 6. Calgary Smith/Dakota Louis, 11.7.

Saddle bronc — 1. Jade Blackwell, 85 points on Kesler Championship Rodeo’s Spanish Pair; 2. (tie) Sterling Crawley and Jacobs Crawley, 84 each; 4. Cody Wright, 83; 5. Spencer Wright, 81.5; 6. Ryder Wright, 79.5.

Tie-down roping — 1. Riley Pruitt, 8.8 seconds; 2. Tyson Durfey, 9.0; 3. Cooper Martin, 9.2; 4. Cody Quaney, 9.4; 5. (tie) Tim Pharr and Reese Riemer, 9.9 each.

Barrel racing — 1. Jana Bean, 17.41 seconds; 2. Shelly Anzick, 17.47; 3. Kellie Collier, 17.68; 4. Callahan Crossley, 17.76; 5. Shelby Blixt, 17.83; 6. Cathy Grant, 17.90.

Bull riding — 1. Dakota Louis, 87 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Goosebumps; 2. Jacob Smith, 78; no other qualified rides.

Total payoff: $65,585. Stock contractor: Kesler Championship Rodeo. Sub-contractor: Kesler Rodeo.