It was Sunday funday at the Cinch Playoffs at the Puyallup Rodeo for nine rodeo contestants.
The field was narrowed from 24 contestants down to a final four who competed for the championships. The highlight of the day belonged to Leighton and Layton. While it sounds like a great name for a law firm, it really belongs to the top bucking horse riders of the day, Leighton Berry and Layton Green.
Berry, of Weatherford, Texas, was the lucky bareback rider to have his name by Calgary Stampede’s horse named Xplosive Skies. Xplosive Skies did his thing and took Berry to a 90-point ride and a check for $13,000.
Layton Green of Millarville, Alberta, was the saddle bronc riding champion, thanks to another horse from Calgary Stampede. The horse named Zoaria Hills took Green to the win with an 87.5-point effort. It also got him a voucher to use towards the purchase of a new RAM vehicle as the high-money earner of the whole rodeo at $18,850. Berry finished second in that category with $18,325.
Jordi Edens of Gatesville, Texas, had one of the biggest wins of her career at the Washington State Fair, home of the Puyallup Rodeo. Edens took home $15,700 for her 2.8-second run in the breakaway roping. She was the final roper to in the group of four and had watched her fellow competitors come up short twice, then Beau Peterson of Council Grove, Kansas, stopped the clock in 3.7 seconds. Edens knew she had to be faster than that and capitalized on her opportunity.
At the start of the Puyallup Rodeo, she was in 13th place in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association world standings. The win here will have secured her a spot in the National Finals Breakaway Roping in Las Vegas next December where she could leave with a gold buckle as the world’s best.
Steer wrestler Stetson Jorgensen qualified for the Cinch Playoffs in first place and left in the same position. Jorgensen, from Blackfoot, Idaho, stopped the clock in 3.9 seconds to win $13,000 on Sunday. He was just one-tenth of a second faster than the men in second place, Dakota Eldridge from Elko, Nevada, and Kyle Irwin from Robertsdale, Alabama.
Other winners here that had a $13,000 payday were barrel racer Margo Crowther from Fort Myers, Florida, team ropers Coleman Proctor of Pryor, Oklahoma, and Logan Medlin of Tatum, New Mexico, and tie-down roper Shad Mayfield, from Clovis, New Mexico.
The bulls were more successful than the final four riders. Trey Holston, of Fort Scott, Kansas, was declared the champion based on him having the highest score in the semifinals.
The Washington State Fair continues through September 25th with a variety of entertainment options, agricultural exibits and fun activities for the whole family.
The following are unofficial results from the Cinch Playoffs at the Puyallup Rodeo, part of the Washington State Fair. Payoffs are subject to change.
Finals—
Bareback riding: 1, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 90 points on Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies, $13,000. 2, Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah, 89, $9,750. 3, Mason Clements, Spanish Fork, Utah, 82.5, $6,500. 4, Caleb Bennett, Corvallis, Mont., 79.5, $3,250.
Breakaway roping: 1, Jordi Edens, Gatesville, Texas, 2.8 seconds, $13,000. 2, Beau Peterson, Council Grove, Kan., 3.7, $9,750. 3, (tie) Gianna Cianfichi, Santa Rosa, Calif., and Tacy Webb, Midway, Texas, no time, $4,875 each.
Steer wrestling: 1, Stetson Jorgensen, Blackfoot, Idaho, 3.9 seconds, $13,000. 2, (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nevada, and Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 4.0, $8,125. 4, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.3, $3,250.
Saddle bronc riding: 1, Layton Green, Millarville, Alberta, 87.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s Zoaria Hills, $13,000. 2, Kole Ashbacher, Arrowwood, Alberta, 85, $9,750. 3, Lefty Marvel Holman, Visalia, Calif., 83, $6,500. 4, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 81.5, $3,250.
Team roping: 1, Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M., 6.0 seconds, $13,000. 2, Cory Kidd V, Statesville, N.C., and Lane Mitchell, Bolivar, Tenn., 6.9, $9,750. 3, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, 8.9, $6,500. 4, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., no time, $3,250.
Tie-down roping: 1, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 8.8 seconds, $13,000. 2, Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 12.5, $9,750. 3, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 17.2, $6,500. 4, John Douch, Huntsville, Texas, no time, $3,250.
Barrel Racing: 1, Margo Crowther, Fort Myers, Fla., 13.96, $13,000. 2, Shelley Morgan, Eustace, Texas, 14.15, $9,750. 3, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 14.37, $6,500. 4, Leslie Smalygo, Skiatook, Okla., 18.89, $3,250.
Bull riding: (no qualified rides – money split among competitors) Trey Holston,, Fort Scott, Kan.; Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho; Ky John Hamilton, Mackay, Australia; and Connor Murnion, Jordon, Mont., $8,000.
For more information and tickets: https://www.thefair.com/rodeo/
Where: Washington State Fair
110 9th Ave SW, Puyallup, WA 98371
When: Thursday, Sept. 8 – Sunday, Sept. 11
The Washington State Fair is one of the biggest fairs in the world, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest. It started in 1900 in Puyallup, and welcomes more than a million guests to the single largest attended event in the state. Star-studded entertainment, the Puyallup Rodeo, rides, exhibits, food, flowers and animals are mainstays of the 20-day event that kicks off the Friday of Labor Day weekend. For more information about the Sept. 2-25, 2022 Washington State Fair (closed Tuesdays and Sept. 7), visit www.thefair.com.
