Repeat Champions in Fort Worth? Time Will Tell

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is more than half done with the bracket competitions. Several cowboys have set themselves up to be repeat champions.

FWSSR photo by James Phifer, courtesy PRCA

"Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'—Keep those doggies rollin'"—that's exactly how it is going in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. They just keep rollin'. Even though it seems like it just started, the tournament-style competition is a little more than half over.

Here's a look at bracket four, along with what you can expect in the finals.

The bareback riding in bracket four was tough, as it took a score of 84 in the first round and 83 in the second to even get a check. Not only that, but a man had to place in both go-rounds to move on to the semifinals.

Clay Jorgensen and Jesse Pope won enough in the bracket to advance, while Bronc Marriot—despite winning the first round—will have to earn his way back through the wildcard.

The barrel race was again sprinkled with National Finals Rodeo qualifiers, and there were a few surprises here. Taycie Matthews and Jessica Routier, despite coming off the NFR, will not be seen again in Fort Worth until 2025.

Jimmie Smith took advantage of advancement via money won. After hitting two barrels in round one, the McDade, Texas cowgirl came blazing back to win the second round and hold onto hope. She took the wildcard spot to advance out of this bracket.

Making two great runs and securing her place in the semifinals, Brock, Texas' barrel racer Andrea Busby split second the first run and won second in the second go-round. She is looking good for the year after also making the finals in Denver at the National Western Stock Show.

Repeat Champions?

After the halfway point, we took a look back at who won the FWSSR in 2023 to see if they had qualified for the semifinals in 2024.

Rocker Steiner earned the bareback riding title in 2023 after scoring 90 points in the finals. He likely loves Fort Worth because when he walked out in 2024, he had won both of the go-rounds in his bracket and made an obvious bid for the semifinals.

Will Lummus has worked his way back to the semifinals for 2024 after winning the steer wrestling title in 2023. Lummus cracked out in the first round of bracket three and took the win with a 4.0-second run. This was enough to place him in the semifinals and give him a chance to repeat the title.

The 2023 team roping title was won by Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins II. Given that the team is not paired up this year, you will not have the chance for a repeat here.

The world witnessed the sadness the day Stetson Wright announced that he was out due to injury at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals. Wright recently underwent surgery and will remain on the sidelines for several months, leaving his chance at a repeat title off the board. He did split the finals win last year with Canadian Dawson Hay, and he has advanced to the semifinals.

Caldwell, Texas, is where the buckle went home last year for the tie-down roping, after Westyn Hughes was a smoking 7.4 seconds in the final round. This year, it will have to be another superstar taking the win, as Hughes did not advance from his bracket.

What seemed to start out as a Cinderella season for Jackie Ganter last year in the barrel race ended with multiple tragedies in the barrel racer's life. Winning Fort Worth was just one step toward what she and many fans thought was another bid for the NFR. For 2024, Ganter will find much success, but it won't be in Fort Worth as she completed her runs and did not advance out of bracket three.

Whether we see a repeat champion in the bull riding will be determined in the 10th performance on Saturday morning when Josh Frost gets down on his bull and the buzzer rings. Frost was bucked off in round one, so he will need to ride in round two to fulfill any hope of advancing and creating his title.

The ladies of the breakaway will have their chance to win the title as a new champion this year. Cheyenne Guillory McCartney placed in both rounds in bracket four, but she wasn't fast enough to break the tiebreaker with Peggy Garman for the wildcard spot.

Competition just keeps rollin' this weekend. You can tune into the Cowboy Channel for complete coverage or certainly make a trip to the legendary Dickies Stadium and take in the rodeo action live.

Bracket 4 Results:

Bareback Riding

First round: 1. Bronc Marriott, 87 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Empty Promises, $2,000; 2. (tie) Jess Pope and Clay Jorgensen, 84.5, $1,250 each; 4. Tanner Aus, 84, $500. 

Second round: 1. Clay Jorgensen, 85 points on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Girl Crush, $2,000; 2. Tanner Aus, 84.5, $1,500; 3. Jess Pope, 83.5, $1,000; 4. (tie) Ben Kramer and Kade Sonnier, 83, $250 each. 

Advancing: 1. Clay Jorgensen, $3,250; 2. Jesse Pope, $2,250. 

Wildcard: Bronc Marriot.

Steer Wrestling

First round: 1. Kalane Anders, 3.4 seconds, $2,000; 2. Dirk Tavenner, 3.8, $1,500; 3. Trisyn Kalawaia, 5.2, $1,000; 4. Denell Henderson, 5.4, $500. 

Second round: 1. Ty Erickson, 3.8 seconds, $2,000; 2. Dirk Tavenner, 4.4, $1,500; 3. Kyler Dick, 4.7, $1,000; 4. Kalane Anders, 6.5, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Dirk Tavenner, $3,000; 2. Kalane Anders, $2,500. 

Wildcard: Ty Erickson, $2,000.

Team Roping

First round: 1. Marcus Theriot/Cole Curry, 4.8 seconds, $2,000 each; 2. Shay Dixon Carroll/Clay Green, 5.7, $1,500; 3. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 5.9, $1,000; 4. Clay Tryan/Paden Bray, 6.1, $500. 

Second round: 1. Clay Ullery/Jake Edwards, 5.1 seconds, $2,000 each; 2. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 5.8, $1,500; 3. Shay Dixon Carroll/Clay Green, $1,000; 4. Marcus Theriot/Cole Curry, 10.4, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Marcus Theriot/Cole Curry, $2,500; 2. Shay Dixon Carroll, $2,500. 

Wildcard: Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, $2,000.

Saddle Bronc Riding

First round: 1. Stuart Wright, 88 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Carney Girl, $2,000; 2. Weston Patterson, 85, $1,500; 3. (tie) Dawson Dahm and Lucas Macza, $750 each.

Second round: 1. (tie) Dawson Dahm, on Three Hills Rodeo’s Cotton Candy and Brody Cress, on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Levi The Boss, 86.5 points, $1,750 each; 3. Brody Wells, 83, $1,000; 4. Lucas Macza, 82.5, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Dawson Dahm, $2,500; 2. Stuart Wright, $2,000. 

Wildcard: Brody Cress, $1,750.

Tie-Down Roping

First round: 1. Brayden Roe, 8.8 seconds, $2,000; 2. Chanz Webster, 9.7, $1,500; 3. Cole Clemens, 9.9, $1,000; 4. Hagen Houck, 10.7, $500. 

Second round: 1. Cole Clemons, 7.9 seconds, $2,000; 2. Britt Bedke, 8.5, $1,500; 3. Monty Lewis, 8.7, $1,000; 4. Bo Pickett, 10.3, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Cole Clemons, $3,000; 2. Brayden Roe, $2,000. 

Wildcard: Britt Bedke, $1,500.

Barrel Racing

First round: 1. Ilyssa Riley, 16.42 seconds, $2,000; 2. (tie) Andrea Busby and Jessica Routier, 16.85, $1,250 each; 4. Taycie Matthews, $17.41, $500. 

Second round: 1. Jimmie Smith, 16.54 seconds, $2,000; 2. Andrea Busby, 16.57, $1,500; 3. Molly Otto, 16.59, $1,000; 4. Jessica Routier, 16.60, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Andrea Busby, $2,750; 2. Ilyssa Riley, $2,000. 

Wildcard: Jimmie Smith, $2,000.

Bull Riding

First round: 1. Brody Yeary, 86.5 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Yellowstone, $2,000; 2. Deklan Garland, 84.5, $1,500; 3. Hayes Weight, 80.5, $1,000; 4. Brady Portenier, 66, $500. 

Second round: 1. Bryce Burnell, 86.5 points on Stockyards Rodeo’s Party Animal, $2,000; 2. Hayes Weight, 85, $1,500; 3. Roscoe Jarboe, 81.5, $1,000; 4. Tyler Bingham, 79.5, $500. 

Advancing: 1. Hayes Weight, $2,500; 2. Bryce Burnell, $2,000. 

Wildcard: Brody Yeary, $2,000.

Breakaway Roping

 First round: 1. Jordi Edens, 2.1 seconds, $2,000; 2. Willow Wilson, 2.2, $1,500; 3. Taylor Engesser, 2.5, $1,000; 4. Cheyanne McCartney, 3.0, $500. 

Second round: 1. Jordi Edens, 2.1 seconds, $2,000; 2. Peggy Garman, 2.3, $1,500; 3. Cheyanne McCartney, 2.4, $1,000; 4. (tie) Tayler Engesser and Willow Wilson, 3.1, $250 each. 

Advancing: 1. Jordi Edens, $4,000; 2. Willow Wilson, $1,750. 

Wildcard: Peggy Garman, $1,500.