Riley Webb's Rodeo Road: The Journey, Miles and Stops of Cowboy Christmas
The World Champion Tie-Down roper agreed to share his journey over Cowboy Christmas with you and it is time for an update.
Starting at the Greeley Independence Stampede on June 25 through July 3, Webb has now been to eleven different rodeos. Using Greeley, Colo. as the starting point, here is how the journey has gone so far.
Roping his first one in the slack performance of Greeley, Webb tied his first one in 9.3-seconds to split the ninth position in the round. After viewing the calves, the run was stellar on a challenging set to say the least. Many of the top 50 were taken out of competition purely based on the calf they drew.
Webb left Greeley and drove to Lehi, Utah to compete on June 26 in the evening performance. The trip was around 510 miles and took about 7.5 hours to drive.
The miles and the time paid off for the Texas man. He threw his hands in the air at 9.1-seconds which was good enough for the first place check. Webb deposited $2,205 into his World Standings bank for the efforts.
Reno, Nevada was the next stop. Eight hours and 543 miles later, the rig arrived in Reno. Things didn't go as planned at the Nevada stop for Webb. He roped one calf around the top of the head and the next one got up during the tie inspection time to be 8.8-seconds. The record book reflects a no time, though. On to the next.
Livingston, Montana happens to be the next stop on the list. The trip was 840 miles and 13 hours. Webb recorded a 9.9-second run and will be too long to see a check.
Mandan, North Dakota was the place for Webb at 8 a.m. on July 1. A little over seven hours and 525 miles got him there. While he is doing a good job at getting them roped and tied down, Webb saw a 13.3 on the scoreboard when he was done with his effort and that will be, once again, too long for a paycheck.
From Mandan, the World Champion loaded up and headed to Killdeer, North Dakota. This time it was a simple drive of just a short two hours and around 120 miles. Maybe the rest was just what he needed as Webb found his groove again. Burning a run of 8.0-seconds currently puts him in the number two spot on the leaderboard with just one performance left.
July 2 was a busy day starting in Red Lodge, Mont. The trip from Killdeer to Red Lodge is six hours to log 415 miles. That kind of trip is easier when you leave the last rodeo at the top of the standings. Webb got the calf roped and tied in 11.9-seconds which will be a good ways away from placing.
The slack at Red Lodge started at 7 a.m. and then Webb had to be in Cody, Wyo. at 11 a.m. for the Cody Stampede. This is one of the best paying rodeos of the Independence holiday and is certainly on the top 50 cowboys' list of "musts." Webb didn't experience any luck this year at the Stampede. Kincade Henry was a 7.9 to be winning the rodeo so far.
The third and final stop of the day was back to Greeley, Colo. for his second calf. Unfortunately, the calves remained tough and the champ left without showing up on the leaderboard.
On to the next one which was also a flip of the calendar on to July 3 at Oakley City, Utah for the slack at 9 a.m. A total of 465 miles later, the rig pulled into Oakley but the results weren't what he had in mind.
Now at this point, it would be easy to get discouraged, but this is the woes of the rodeo road. The draw affects all cowboys from roughstock riders to timed events. Sometimes you just don't draw the calf you need to in order to win. Sometimes it is just not your day. One thing is for sure though, the champ will get it turned around and luck will be on his side.
The miles are long and the road is hard. Webb is currently third in the world with $95,276. You don't win that much in a season without talent and a determined attitude. While the Cowboy Christmas run may not be going perfectly so far, Webb will be at the top of the leaderboard again soon and Sports Illustrated Rodeo Daily will be there to report it.
LAURA MOTLEY LAMBERT
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. With her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NFL, PGA and LPGA. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com