The Heeler
Jhett Johnson and his partner Keven Daniel didn’t win the round last night but Johnson feels like he won the world title. “I feel like break dancin’,” he said walking down the hall away from us last night after posting a 4.2 run and winning $13,000 for second place. You can scroll down on this page to July and find a piece of the Casper team roper’s philosophy on life. It starts with the realization that there will be dry spells, that you have to work your way through those periods, and eventually you’ll get back to
the top of your game. What Jhett won’t do is give up and go home. And he won’t blame his partner when the outcome of their work together isn’t what they’d hoped for or are capable of doing. That “team” word matters to Johnson. “We haven’t roped to our potential,” he reflected after a successful catch last night on a steer that had never had a time on it. “With nothing to gain, or lose, we went at him as hard as we could and it worked,” Johnson said. Jhett switched from his gray horse after the fourth round. “He’s just smart enough that he thought it would be four-second runs every night. He was ready right out of the box to quit running and turn in. The steers are so fresh this year that it’s happening a little farther down,” Johnson noted. Many teams are having trouble at the finals. “It has been rough. There are four or five teams that have hogged it. They’ve placed almost every night, they’re getting all the average money and we’ve just had a rough go of it,” Johnson said. He still stays positive in the knowledge that a win tonight would give his team a $40,000 finals. Oh, and one of his boys is in the finals today at the roping event being staged at the Sands Hotel. Jhett’s going to spend the first part of the day helping his son. Now there’s a man with his priorities in place.
Jhett Johnson and his partner Keven Daniel didn’t win the round last night but Johnson feels like he won the world title. “I feel like break dancin’,” he said walking down the hall away from us last night after posting a 4.2 run and winning $13,000 for second place. You can scroll down on this page to July and find a piece of the Casper team roper’s philosophy on life. It starts with the realization that there will be dry spells, that you have to work your way through those periods, and eventually you’ll get back to
the top of your game. What Jhett won’t do is give up and go home. And he won’t blame his partner when the outcome of their work together isn’t what they’d hoped for or are capable of doing. That “team” word matters to Johnson. “We haven’t roped to our potential,” he reflected after a successful catch last night on a steer that had never had a time on it. “With nothing to gain, or lose, we went at him as hard as we could and it worked,” Johnson said. Jhett switched from his gray horse after the fourth round. “He’s just smart enough that he thought it would be four-second runs every night. He was ready right out of the box to quit running and turn in. The steers are so fresh this year that it’s happening a little farther down,” Johnson noted. Many teams are having trouble at the finals. “It has been rough. There are four or five teams that have hogged it. They’ve placed almost every night, they’re getting all the average money and we’ve just had a rough go of it,” Johnson said. He still stays positive in the knowledge that a win tonight would give his team a $40,000 finals. Oh, and one of his boys is in the finals today at the roping event being staged at the Sands Hotel. Jhett’s going to spend the first part of the day helping his son. Now there’s a man with his priorities in place. Photo: Jhett tosses his rope for a second place win. Credit: ESPN
Last Call
The ninth round in bull riding at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas was a dandy….for the bulls. The eliminators were out in force. They bucked and stomped, spun and spurned, nearly every caller. Only three riders stayed on for eight seconds. Gillette’s Bobby Welsh came very close with 7.7 seconds aboard. Bad left elbow and all, Powell’s Kanin Asay managed to keep his seat to take second place scoring 80 points. With $13,000 more in his jeans Asay, who is at his first national finals, is less than $3,000 from the number one money spot. The bull riding championship tonight is going to be something to watch. Get the popcorn and settle in. It’s all about buck-offs and average (or aggregate) money. Kanin is fifth in the average – 402 points on five scored rides. While he would never want a fellow competitor to fall short, a couple of them with higher average totals will have to be bucked off early, and of course Kanin will have to ride his bull, in order for the Powell stand-out to hold the gold buckle after tonight’s round. I can tell you that Kanin is only considering the job at hand for him - stick to the basics, and do what got you here.
Last Call
The ninth round in bull riding at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas was a dandy….for the bulls. The eliminators were out in force. They bucked and stomped, spun and spurned, nearly every caller. Only three riders stayed on for eight seconds. Gillette’s Bobby Welsh came very close with 7.7 seconds aboard. Bad left elbow and all, Powell’s Kanin Asay managed to keep his seat to take second place scoring 80 points. With $13,000 more in his jeans Asay, who is at his first national finals, is less than $3,000 from the number one money spot. The bull riding championship tonight is going to be something to watch. Get the popcorn and settle in. It’s all about buck-offs and average (or aggregate) money. Kanin is fifth in the average – 402 points on five scored rides. While he would never want a fellow competitor to fall short, a couple of them with higher average totals will have to be bucked off early, and of course Kanin will have to ride his bull, in order for the Powell stand-out to hold the gold buckle after tonight’s round. I can tell you that Kanin is only considering the job at hand for him - stick to the basics, and do what got you here. Photo: Kanin stays on the full eight seconds in round nine. Credit: ESPN
Lance Creek steer wrestler Jason Miller can win the world tonight but last night, even though he did not place in the round, he was smiling because his friend Luke Branquinho beat back all that had gone wrong for him up until then. Branquinho turned down his challenge in a dazzling 3.2 seconds. Tonight is Miller Time. He leads the average by 1.4 seconds. In overall money winnings to date, Miller is in fifth place. There is only a $32,000 dollar difference in total earnings from #1 to the number ten position. Can you say nail biter?
Blood Brother
A spectacular saddle bronc horse, ranch-raised in Wyoming, bucked out last night to take Taos Muncy – the 21-year-old who won Cheyenne Frontier Days this year – on a rousing 86.5 point romp. Blood Brother is owned by Burch Rodeo Company. Matt Burch of Rozet, WY stood proud of his fourteen-year-old gelding. This is the horse’s seventh trip to the national finals. “That horse has been an all-star all his life,” Burch said. “That kind of horse doesn’t come around every corner. They come around once in a lifetime.”
Lance Creek steer wrestler Jason Miller can win the world tonight but last night, even though he did not place in the round, he was smiling because his friend Luke Branquinho beat back all that had gone wrong for him up until then. Branquinho turned down his challenge in a dazzling 3.2 seconds. Tonight is Miller Time. He leads the average by 1.4 seconds. In overall money winnings to date, Miller is in fifth place. There is only a $32,000 dollar difference in total earnings from #1 to the number ten position. Can you say nail biter?
Blood Brother
A spectacular saddle bronc horse, ranch-raised in Wyoming, bucked out last night to take Taos Muncy – the 21-year-old who won Cheyenne Frontier Days this year – on a rousing 86.5 point romp. Blood Brother is owned by Burch Rodeo Company. Matt Burch of Rozet, WY stood proud of his fourteen-year-old gelding. This is the horse’s seventh trip to the national finals. “That horse has been an all-star all his life,” Burch said. “That kind of horse doesn’t come around every corner. They come around once in a lifetime.”
Photo: Blood Brother flys through the air in a graceful manner. Credit: ESPN.
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