LOVINGTON, N.M. – Kanin Asay’s first Xtreme Bulls title came in 2007; now his sights are firmly set on the second championship.
He made a big move forward on Tuesday night by winning the inaugural Lea County Xtreme Bulls event in conjunction with the Lea County Fair and Rodeo. Asay placed in both go-rounds and won the average championship by a single point over reigning world champion Shane Proctor of Grand Coulee, Wash. The Xtreme Bulls title is well within his grasp.
“To be able to do it this year with everything that happened last year – the hip surgery, and I lsot my mom to a horse accident – to be able to come back, be consistent and ride good, I praise God every day for it,” said Asay, 26, a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Powell, Wyo.
“This being the first time that Lovington has had an Xtreme event … it’s awesome they’re adding events to the tour. The bulls were good. Everybody seemed to be riding. There were a lot of scores in the long round.”
Asay posted an 84-point ride in the first round by matching moves with Carr Pro Rodeo’s The Warden; he then scored 85 on Wild Card’s Plaid Shirt in the final round, sharing second place with Proctor. Asay’s cumulative of 169 gave him the edge over Proctor, who won the Xtreme Bulls stop in Cody, Wyo., a little more than a month ago.
“I was very, very excited to have him,” Asay said of Plaid Shirt. “I drew the bull in the long round at Okeechobee, Fla.’s Xtreme earlier this year, and he one-jumped me. He bucked me off so fast, I don’t even think they could’ve started and stopped the clock in time.
“Being from Wyoming and being able to get on bulls like that all the time, I’m very fortunate. To be able to get on that bull twice … that’s outstanding. I’m very thankful I got him rode.”
In all, Asay earned $7,934. He moved his Xtreme Bulls earnings to $44,959; more importantly, he moved to No. 2 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s world standings, having now earned $82,298. He still trails standings leader Cody Teel of Kountze, Texas, who pocketed $6,241; Teel’s 2012 earnings have reached $99,264.
“The goal I do have for the end of the year (is) to win a world title, but you’ve got to compete and do well at the Xtreme Bulls to be able to do that,” Asay said. “I also set a goal at the beginning of this year to win the Xtreme Bulls national title, because, so far, there hasn’t been anybody do it twice.”
Three-time world champion J.W. Harris of Mullen, Neb., won the first round with a 90-point ride on Wild Card’s Grinch. Clayton Savage of Cheyenne, Wyo., scored 86.5 on Carr’s Jesse Black Powder to win the short round. Proctor, who won $6,617 in Lovington, moved from 13th to ninth in the world standings. Savage, who pocketed $4,470, moved up two spots to eighth.
Lea County Xtreme Bulls
Lovington, N.M.
Aug. 8
First round: 1. J.W. Harris, 90 points on Wild Card Rodeo’s Grinch, $3,384; 2. Dalton Votaw, 89.5, $2,594; 3. Cody Teel, 88. $1,918; 4. Seth Glause, 86, $1,241; 5. (tie) Tate Stratton and Kanin Asay. 84, $677; 7. Shane Proctor, 83, $451; 8. Trevor Kastner, 82.5, $338. Finals: 1. Clayton Savage, 86.5 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Jesse Black Powder, $2,482; 2. (tie) Shane Proctor and Kanin Asay, 85, $1,617; 4. Cody Teel, 79.5, $902; no other qualified rides. Average: 2. Kanin Asay, 169 points on two rides, $5,640; 2. Shane Proctor, 168, $4,324; 3. Cody Teel, 167.5, $3,196; 4. Clayton Savage, 167, $2,068; 5. J.W. Harris, 90 points on one, $1,316; 6. Dalton Votaw, 89.5, $940; 7. Seth Glause, 86, $752; 8. Tate Stratton, 84, $564.