Performance No. 3 at Gerry Rodeo
Full house witnesses Friday night action
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GERRY, N.Y. - The rain stopped and the skies cleared before a full house of excited rodeo fans filled the stands Friday night to cheer on professional rodeo cowboys and cowgirls from across the nation as well as Canada. They were competing for more than $50,000 in prize money in the third performance of the Gerry Fire Department's 81st PRCA rodeo.
The festivities kicked off with the Grand Entry with the cowboys and cowgirls parading around the arena on their horses, followed by a salute to our military and first responders, prayer by announcer Greg Simas, and the singing of the national anthem.
The competition began with the bareback bronc riding event, often referred to as the "most physically demanding event in rodeo." Of the six cowboys competing, four had successful rides with Matthew Smith traveling from Mississippi to post the high score of 77 points, giving him a win in all three performances during the week in this tough event. He was followed closely by Tim Murphy from South Carolina with a 74-point ride.
The steer wrestlers had the toughest competition of the week with five of the 10 posting times in throwing their steers to the arena dirt. The top two were separated by only one second. Chase Breantmayer, a New Jersey cowboy, was fastest as he tossed his steer to the arena dirt in 5.0 seconds, followed by Brayden Mahon from Mississippi at 6.0.
The saddle bronc riding event saw seven cowboys have successful outings with Caysn Ballenger from Dublin, Texas, posting the highest score of the week on a bronc named Shazam at 85.5. Taking second with a score of 83 was Connor Brumley of Mocksville, North Carolina. Third place went to another North Carolina cowboy, Colt Bass, who posted an 80-point score.
The teams of ropers where one ropes the steer's head while his partner ropes the hind legs, had a very successful outing as seven of the 10 teams were successful. Two Delaware cowboys, Wyatt Long and Dawson Mitchell, won the event with an excellent time of 6.0 seconds. Only one-half of a second behind and taking second place was the team of Ty Pitman and Kent Pitman, New York cowboys, who were timed at 6.5 seconds.
The tie-down ropers had problems as only four of the 10 cowboys were successful in tying their calves. The times were slow as three of the four posted times were over 20 seconds. The best time of the night went to Zak Danison from Ohio with a 12.5 second outing.
The cowgirls in the barrel racing event had the closest competition of the night as three girls broke the 16-second barrier and were separated by less than one-half second. Renee Gardner, a New York cowgirl, posted the fastest time as she circled the three barrels in 15.53 seconds. She was followed by Alyssa LoBello at 15.6 and Emily Bola from Indiana with a time of 15.95 seconds.
The ladies had a very tough time in the breakaway roping event as only two of the 10 were successful in lassoing their calves. The fastest time was posted by teenager Lexi Graham at 12.2 seconds. She is the younger daughter of Shawn and Shana Graham, the rodeo producers. Close behind was Mary Serio with a 13.6-second time.
"Angry again tonight" seems to be the only words to describe the Painted Pony bulls with names like Shark Bait, Killer Clown, Black Sabbath, and Circus Freak, which threw all 14 riders to the arena dirt. One cowboy, Joao Goncalves from Massachusetts, came closest to a successful ride as he stayed aboard his bull for 7.4 of the required eight seconds. After three performances, the score stood at Bulls 56, Cowboys 2.
Funnyman Preston Braxson entertained the fans throughout the performance with his humor which included his homemade hot-rod ambulance. Veteran announcer Greg Simas did his usual skillful job as he kept the fans informed non-stop for nearly three hours about each event while adding information about each contestant and animal involved.