Golden Spike Win Gives Bareback Rider More Momentum In Comeback Journey

After a mid-season injury forced Sam Petersen to take three months off, the up-and-coming competitor has clawed his way back into NFR contention.

Sam Petersen was forced to sit out three months of action to heal a broken collarbone but has gotten himself back in NFR contention thanks to results like a win at the Golden Spike Rodeo. / Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

Every chute gate presents an opportunity. And Sam Petersen isn’t taking any of them for granted. 

Before settling onto the back of Macza Pro Rodeo bucking horse Half Crow during Wednesday’s opening performance at the Golden Spike Rodeo in Tremonton, Utah, Petersen had done some digging into the horse’s background. He quickly learned he had drawn a challenge. 

In four previous events this year, only one bareback rider had been able to score more than 80 points, with riders coming away at an average of 73.75 points per trip. 

Petersen knew he had a tough matchup ahead of him, which led to plenty of optimism that he could buck the trend. 

“I looked it up on Facebook and I’d seen a couple videos of it and I knew some guys had struggled with it, but I knew she was going to be dang sure good enough to pull a check on if I just went out there and did my job and it all worked out,” Petersen said. 

On the rodeo’s opening day, Petersen set a tone that wouldn’t be matched over the next three performances, going for 87.5 points to finish a half-point ahead of fellow bareback riders Orin Larsen and Dean Thompson for the win. 

The outcome was part of a much-needed shot of confidence for Petersen as he tries to inch back into position to make his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. 

Along with $6,521 in earnings from Tremonton, he also placed fifth at both the Kitsap Stampede in Bremerton, Wash., and the Wayne Herman Invitational Xtreme Broncs in Golden Valley, N.D., giving him a little more than $8,800 in earnings last week. 

Coming into the weekend, Petersen was 18th in the PRCA World Standings with around $89,000 in earnings for the season, putting him a little more than $10,000 off the NFR top 15 cutline. 

It’s a hard spot to imagine for the Helena, Mont., native given where he was earlier this season. 

After a strong showing during the winter while balancing PRCA and collegiate competitions, Peterson came into the spring sitting around 10th in the World Standings before being dealt a setback. A broken collarbone at a college event in Big Springs, Texas, sent him to the sideline for three months. 

Fortunately, the break was clean, allowing Petersen to stay in a sling while the bone healed. After an X-ray revealed things had mended, Petersen wasted no time in getting back to work.

“I probably could have eased into it a little bit better, but I just went back to working out and putting as much muscle on that sucker as I could on it as fast as I could. It’s been working out all right,” he said with a laugh. 

His first week back, he was entered heavily, with results that shouldn't surprise anyone. Between a third-place finish at the Ponoka (Alberta) Stampede and a runner-up effort in the average at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo in late June, Petersen has quickly tried to make up the lost ground. 

The win in Tremonton was his second victory since returning from injury as he captured the Northeast Montana Fair and Rodeo in Glasgow at the start of August. 

Even though missing time was unfortunate, the forced pause does give Petersen options during the final few weeks of the regular season. While other bareback riders are close to maxing out their rodeo count, Petersen has the flexibility to go wherever he wants or needs. The focus will be on picking up bigger checks, but wins at smaller events can add up quickly as well. 

His goal is to pile up around $40,000 in earnings over the final month, which would likely put him in good position to reach Las Vegas in December, depending on how others fair. 

While he might have been temporarily sidetracked, nothing is going to stop Petersen from a finishing push to get back where he belongs. 

“I knew I needed to come back with a vengeance and I’ve done that the best I could as of right now. I’m sitting right there,” Petersen said. “I’ve got some ground to make up but I’m just going to hopefully draw the right horses and finish out this summer strong.”

Other results from the Golden Spike Rodeo

Trisyn Kalawaia’s 4.2-second run during steer wrestling slack early in the week set a standard that would not be caught. The win earned him $5,058. 

The team roping title was shared between four pairings. Billy Bob Brown and Josh Patton; Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith; Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp; and Nelson Wyatt and Jonathan Torres each finished their respective runs in 4.4 seconds to tie for the win. Each cowboy earned $4,442. 

The saddle bronc title went to Ryder Wright after an 89-point ride on Legacy Pro Rodeo’s Sadie’s Brew, giving him $6,655 in prize money. 

Riley Pruitt won tie-down roping with a time of 7.3 seconds to pocket $5,499 in earnings. 

Barrel racer Tiany Schuster finished her run in 17.1 seconds to win the title and take home $6,819 in earnings. 

Marathon Angelone’s time of 2.2 seconds won the breakaway roping title and $6,806. 

Bull rider Tristen Hutchings posted an 89-point ride on Legacy Pro Rodeo’s Angels Landing to win the title and take home $6,542.