World bareback leaders Clint Cannon, Bobby Mote share round win at NFR

Cannon, Mote tie in bareback

LAS VEGAS — World bareback leaders Clint Cannon and Bobby Mote had 84.5-point rides to tie for first place in the eighth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Thursday night.

Cannon, the Waller, Texas, rider who set a PRCA record for regular-season money in any event with $233,504, increased his world total to $266,585. Mote, from Culver, Ore., has earned an NFR-best $61,647 to push his second-place total to $231,986.

Cannon rode Real Deal, and Mote was aboard Big Easy.

“The earnings record I had that he broke was $152,000 and had it not been for him I would have thought that was a great year and wouldn’t have gone much past that,” Mote said. “I ended up having $170,000 and (was) a half-year behind him still coming in here. That makes you lift your game when you’ve got competition that’s out there putting your feet to the fire.”

Mote had the aggregate lead with 672 points on eight rides compared to second-place Jason Havens of Prineville, Ore., with 659 points on eight rides.

In steer wrestling, Stockton Graves of Newkirk, Okla., won in 3.4 seconds.

Lee Graves of Calgary, Alberta, who is not related to Stockton Graves, took over the world standings lead from Luke Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., with $189,569 after finishing third in the round in 3.7.

Branquinho of Los Alamos, Calif., leads both the aggregate score with a time of 34.0 over eight rounds and the NFR earnings with $69,940. Lee Graves was second in NFR earnings with $68,995.

In saddle bronc, Cody DeMoss of Heflin, La., won with an 87.5 on Robins Best.

World leader Jesse Kruse of Great Falls, Mont., didn’t place among the top six. Kruse has earned $169,309, while J.J. Elshere of Quinn, S.D., was second with $135,929, including an event-best $49,022 at the NFR.

Shaun Stroh of Dickinson, N.D., fourth with an 81 on Surprise Party, leads the aggregate with a score of 648 points over eight rounds. DeMoss was second with 641 points over eight rounds.

In barrel racing, the battle for the world standings lead remained tight when 2007 world champ Brittany Pozzi of Victoria, Texas, won in 13.77 seconds and defending world champion Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alberta, finished third in 13.89. Sears leads the world standings with $232,259, followed by Pozzi with $227,464.

“I just have to run hard at each round and win,” Pozzi said. “This is really a horse race and it will come down to the last run. This is what winning a world title is about. It makes it all exciting and fun.”

Sears, among the top six in all eight rounds, also leads the aggregate score race with a time of 111.00. Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz., was second in 111.21 over eight rounds. Sears has won an event-best $91,042 at the NFR.

In team roping, header Travis Tryan of Billings, Mont., and heeler Michael Jones of Stephenville, Texas, won with a 3.8-second run.

World header leader Chad Masters of Clarksville, Texas, and heeler leader Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev., didn’t place with a time of 13.9. Masters has earned $149,864 and Corkill has made $140,393.

Header Luke Brown of Rock Hill, S.C., and Martin Lucero of Stephenville, Texas, lead the aggregate standings with a time of 39.8 over eight rides.

Brown and Lucero, who tied for fourth in 4.5 in the round, are making a run at the aggregate record of 59.1 on 10 head set in 1994 by Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper. Only four teams in NFR history have managed a 10-head time under 64 seconds.

In tie-down roping, Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo., won with a 7.0-second run to push his eight-round earnings to $55,841.

Tuf Cooper of Decatur, Texas, placed fourth in 8.5, held the aggregate score lead at 67.7 over eight rounds. Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, who didn’t place among the top six, remained the world leader with $166,227. Clint Robinson of Spanish Fork, Utah, sixth in the round with an 8.8, was second with $132,462.

In bull riding, Kanin Asay of Powell, Wyo., had an 87 on Grey Dog to take over first place in the aggregate race with 341 points on four bulls.

Bobby Welsh of Gillette, Wyo., the only rider besides Asay and Corey Navarre of Weatherford, Okla., to cover four of his eight bulls, fell to third behind Navarre (320) in the aggregate race with 315 points.

Navarre was $70,265 behind world leader and defending champion J.W. Harris of May, Texas, in the world standings. Harris was sidelined during his second two-day doctor release, sitting out with a broken bone in his right (riding) hand.

In all-around, Brazile had $324,664 and remained in first place in his bid for his seventh world title. He has exceeded $300,000 a record four years in a row. Peek was second with $203,509, and Robinson third with $184,679.

(This version CORRECTS SUBS headlines and lede to correct to bareback.)