Stampede Showdown: Who Will be Crowned Champions in Greeley?

At about the half-way mark of the scheduled performances, some paychecks have already been written but others have to hold off the competition. See who is doing well in Greeley, Colo.

Greeley Independence Stampede /

Rodeo is in full swing just about everywhere you look right now. The Greeley Independence Stampede held in Greeley, Colo. is known across the country as one of the biggest and best Fourth of July rodeos, sort of a "can't miss event" for cowboys and cowgirls.

The timed event cowboys and cowgirls arrived in Greeley before the public even knew there was a rodeo going on. All of the first round was completed in slack and now the performances are chipping away at round two.

The roughstock events, of course, always compete in the scheduled performances so not all of the cowboys have graced the arena yet.

At about the half-way mark in the actual rodeo performances, it is worthy to take a look and see who is holding on to the spots waiting for a substantial paycheck when the rodeo is complete on July 3.

Bareback Riding

Dean Thompson, currently ranked No. 4 in the World Standings of the bareback riding, is having a good start to his "Cowboy Christmas." He just finished picking up some nice checks in Reno, Nev. where he ended up in the No. 8 position of the average. There he split the win in the first round, came back to split fourth in the second round and then had a disappointing finish in the finals, but still a qualified ride and an average check. In total, the 22-year-old Utah man added $8,085 to his world standings from Reno.

Moving on the his performance in Greeley, Thompson got on Beutler & Son Rodeo's Black Kat and earned himself 88 points to be on top by a good margin. Cowboys Ty Pope and Donny Proffit are sitting in second with their respective 82 point rides.

Steer Wrestling

In the "big man's event" of steer wrestling, Kalane Anders and Laramie Warren split the win in the first round with a time of 3.4 seconds to cash a $3,932 check for each of them. Round two shows Don Payne from Stepenville, Texas on top after he threw his second steer in 3.4 seconds. Payne is looking solid to make his second appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December.

In the average, Emmett Edler holds the top position with a total time on two steers of 7.4 seconds. The State Center, Iowa man is just 21 years old and starting to experience some substantial wins in the ranks of pro rodeo.

Oklahoma man Lariamie Warren is tied for the second position in the average with Don Payne at 7.6 seconds total on two.

Saddle Bronc Riding

In what is called the "classic event of rodeo," the saddle bronc riding, Damian Brennan rode Cracked Pepper from the Rocky Mountain Rodeo herd for 87 points to be winning the round so far. Brennan is exhibiting dominance in the saddle bronc riding world standings as he sits in the number one position with nearly $135,000 won on the year so far. His ticket to Las Vegas in December is certainly already punched and he is looking pretty solid to make a run for a World Title.

Cauy Pennington, a Mountain States Circuit cowboy, is hot on his heels where he rode Wound Up from the Beutler & Son Rodeo Company for 86.6 points.

Ira Dickinson and Gus Gaillard round out the top three positions as they are tied with matching 84.5 point rides.

Team Roping

Fast is the word you can use to describe how the team ropers have been performing this week in Greeley. Round one was won by Tanner Braden and Cyle Denison. The duo is certainly making a pass trying to earn their way to what would be a maiden voyage for both of them to the WNFR. Braden is ranked at 14 while his partner Denison is still climbing the ranks at number 29 in the World Standings. With the round check amounting to $4,206 each, it certainly helped the cause.

Fan favorites and World Champion cowboys Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira are currently winning round two with a 3.6 second performance.

In the average race, Levi Lord and Dustin Egusquiza are holding down the top spot with a 10.4 second total on two steers. The pair seems to like being in the number one position as that is exactly where they currently sit in the World Standings race as well. A win at Greeley would certainly be welcomed.

Tie-Down Roping

Smoking fast Kincade Henry would likely agree that he drew one of the best calves possible in the first round of the tie-down roping. Where many of the calves were outrunning the cowboys in round one, Henry's almost wanted to be tied.

The opportunity didn't slip by the Mount Pleasant, Texas man who tied the calf in 7.7 seconds for the cheering crowd in the slack performance. Henry is fighting his way up the standings trying to earn a second trip to the WNFR and the round win in Greeley helped.

In the second round, the calves decided to play along a little better for the sport. Tanner Green is holding down the top position with a 7.4 second run followed closely by Chance Oftedahl at 7.6 and Marty Yates clocking a 7.8.

New Mexico man, Richard Newton is the fastest on two head with his total time of 18.0 seconds. Hagen Houck is just a small move away at 18.4 seconds.

Barrel Racing

After having a monument put up in her honor, Rosas Cantina CC burned up the arena floor and easily outran the competition in the first round. Clocking an incredible 17.09, Rosa and her fan favorite jockey, Lisa Lockhart picked up the first round win and a check for $3,105.

Halyn Lide, who has won a little more than $28,000 this year according to the WPRA standings, is leading the second round. The China Spring, Texas cowgirl rounded the pattern in 17.35 seconds in round two. This combined with her 17.52 run in round one also puts her on top of the average race for now.

The barrel racers come back in round two slowest to fastest, so some of the people who clocked the best in round one have yet to make their second run.

Breakaway Roping

As usual, the breakaway ropers have been amazing. Kerby Anderson, who is from Grover, Colo. took the first round win with her 1.8 second run. The somewhat local cowgirl deposited $3,173 in her account and surely had many fans in the stands.

The round two leaderboard has Capitan, New Mexico's Shayla Smith at the top with a 2.0 second run. Unfortunately for the talented cowgirl, a broken barrier in round one will keep her out of the average payouts.

TiAda Grey from Portales, New Mexico hasn't made any mistakes yet in her two performances in Greeley. She holds down the top spot in the average with a total time of 4.9 seconds.

Bull Riding

Finally, in the bull riding, the bulls have been taking advantage of the cowboys. There have only been three qualified rides so far.

Hayes Weight, the number four ranked man from Goshen, Utah, managed to stay on top for eight seconds and earn 86.5 points while doing so. The Wolf of Wallstreet from Rocky Mountain Rodeo helped him accomplish the task.

Fulton Rutland also rode a Rocky Mountain Rodeo bull for the required eight seconds. Gangster Walk and Rutland paired up for 85 points to be winning second.

Jate Frost covered Full House from the Beutler & Son Rodeo Company to round out third and the only other qualified ride. His score of 75 points could get him a check if the buck off trend continues.