WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – After spending several months on ProRodeo’s injury list, bull rider Jacob O’Mara needed some good things to happen.

They did at the Navajo Nation Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo, where O’Mara tested his ability on the Carr Pro Bull Morning After. The result was a rodeo-winning 89-point ride worth $4,119 and a jump start for O’Mara’s 2012 quest to earn a qualification to his second straight Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification.

“It worked out that the final bull rider of the weekend was Jacob O’Mara,” said Pete Carr, owner of the Dallas-based livestock firm. “I’ve had that bull about a year. He’s a young bull, and he’s been bucking really good. Until Jacob, nobody had ridden him.”

In fact, it was the second time in the three-day rodeo in Window Rock that Morning After bucked at Dean C. Jackson Memorial Arena. He dumped Corey Atwell on July 4.

“He was outrageous that first time out,” Carr said. “I don’t think anybody could’ve ridden him.”

It worked out just fine for O’Mara, 20, of Prairieville, La., who served notice to the bull riding world a season ago in earning nearly $152,000 en route to a sixth-place finish in the final world standings – he placed fifth at the 2011 NFR, pocketing $56,827 in Las Vegas last December. Now he needs to stay hot if he hopes to return in five months.

“Jacob sat down and stayed over his rope and made a great ride,” Carr said.

There were a lot of great rides in Window Rock, from Austin Foss’ 89 on Carr’s Dirty Jacket to win bareback riding to Jake Wright’s 88 points to win saddle bronc riding. Wright, of Milford, Utah, posted his victory on Carr’s Cool Runnings, a horse that’s been pretty electric all season.

“That horse has been really good this year,” Carr said, saying the horse had gotten the better of some of the best cowboys in the game. “That horse threw off Rusty Allen in Pecos.”

Allen is a five-time NFR qualifier from Eagle Mountain, Utah. But Wright has a pretty good pedigree, too. His brother Cody is a two-time world champion, and his twin brother, Jesse, has been to ProRodeo’s biggest stage twice, winning the NFR average this past December.

“When I saw that Jake had Cool Runnings, I was pretty excited,” Carr said. “Jake’s been one of the been one of the hottest guys going down the road right now, and he handled that horse pretty well. It all came together pretty nicely.”

Jake Wright is ninth in the world standings, and the $3,437 will make a big difference when the money list is updated next week. While Wright’s win was a crowd-pleaser, there wasn’t any bigger than Arizona team ropers Cesar de la Cruz and Derrick Begay, who scored the title with a 3.9-second run worth $4,057 each.

Other winners in Window Rock were all-around cowboy Shank Edwards ($2,191); steer wrestler Clayton Tuchscherer (4.1 seconds, $2,504); tie-down roper Jesse Clark (7.7 seconds, $2,775); and barrel racer Mary Walker (16.94 seconds, $2,943).

Navajo Nation Fourth of July Rodeo
Window Rock, Ariz.
July 4-6
All-around cowboy: Shank Edwards, $2,191, team roping and tie-down roping.

Bareback riding: 1. Austin Foss, 89 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket, $3,848; 2. Morgan Wilde, 86 points on MGM Deuces Night, $2,950; 3. (tie) Heath Ford, on Carr’s Show Girl, Steven Anding, on Carr’s Miss Hollywood, and Ethan McNeill, on Carr’s Grass Dancer, 83, $1,496 each; 6. (tie) Caine Riddle, on Carr’s Broken Dreams, and Kevin Langevin, on Carr’s Black Smoke, 81, $577 each; 8. (tie) Shon Gibson, on Carr’s Miss Hollywood, and Will Lowe, on Carr’s Good times, 80, $192 each.

Steer wrestling: 1. Clayton Tuchscherer, 4.1 seconds, $2,504; 2. (tie) Tanner Houston and Kurt Stallings, 4.5, $2,109 each; 4. (tie) Cimarron Thompson and Tanner Robinson, 4.6, $1,582 each; 6. Adam Strahan, 4.7, $1,186; 7. Wyatt Smith, 5.0, $923; 8. Pepe Arballo, 5.4, $659; 9. Sean Santucci, 5.7, $395; 10. Coledon Harmon, 5.8, $132.

Team roping: 1. Derrick Begay/Cesar de la Cruz, 3.9 seconds, $4,057 each; 2. Erich Rogers/Kory Koontz, 4.1, $3,630; 3. (tie) Charly Crawford/Jim Ross Cooper and Brandon Webb/Kent Nixon, 4.3, $2,989 each; 5. Luke Brown/Martin Lucero, 4.4, $2,349; 6. Bobby Baize/Byron Wilkerson, 4.7, $1,922; 7. Garrett Tonozzi/Kinney Harrell, 4.8, $1,495; 8. Bill Snure/Lane Siggins, 5.4, $1,068; 9. Sherrick Grantham/Wolfy Wilken, 5.6; 10. Bobby Boyd/Shain Sproul, 5.7, $214.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Jake Wright, 88 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Cool Runnings, $3,437; 2. Bradley Harter, 86 points on Carr’s Empty Pockets, $2,635; 3. (tie) Allen Boore, on Carr’s Sweet Emotion, Taos Muncy, on Carr’s Deuces Wild, and Cody Angland, on Carr’s Ginger, 83, $1,337 each; 6. (tie) Brandon Biebelle, on Carr’s Coffee Bean, Sam Spreadborough, on Carr’s Corner Guard, and Cory Martin, on Carr’s Sweet Emotion 82, $458 each.

Tie-down roping: 1. Jesse Clark, 7.7 seconds, $2,775; 2. Kyle Dutton, 8.5, $2,483; 3. Shank Edwards, 8.7, $2,191; 4. Joseph Parsons, 8.8, $1,899; 5. Jason Bell, 9.3, $1,607; 6. (tie) Brad Hartt and Monty Lewis, 9.5, $1,169 each; 8. (tie) Seth Childers and JoDan Mirabel, 9.7, $584 each; 10. Cliff Kirkpatrick, 10.0, $146.

Barrel racing: 1. Mary Walker, 16.94 seconds, $2,943; 2. Carly Todd, 17.22, $2,502; 3. Robin Montague, 17.39, $2,060; 4. Jana Bean, 17.53, $1,766; 5. Carrie Jankee, 17.54, $1,472; 6. (tie) Kelly Waide and Lori Lewis, 17.55, $883 each; 8. (tie) Megan Stock and Mary Cameron, 17.56, $552 each; 10. Denise Chambliss, 17.57, $441; 11. Casi Conrad, 17.60. $368; 12. Savannah Todd, 17.62, $294.

Bull riding: 1. Jacob O’Mara, 89 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Morning After, $4,119; 2. Cody Teel, 87 points on Carr’s Solid Gold, $3,158; 3. Terrance Granger, 80 points on Carr’s Ryan’s Express; $2,334; 4. Chris Roundy, 77 points on Carr’s Mingus Nights., $1,510; no other qualified rides.