DODGE CITY, Kan. – Scottie Knapp knew nothing about his bull on Saturday night, but that didn’t stop the Albuquerque cowboy.
Knapp matched every move the athletic bovine threw at him and won the first-round of bull riding with a 91-point ride at Dodge City Roundup Rodeo.
“He doesn’t even have a name,” Knapp said. “Everybody said he was good. He was a little more than good; he was a bucker.”
Scott Pickens with 4L and Diamond S Rodeo said the 3-year-old bull – which now has the name Last Cigarette – was raised on his Weatherford, Texas, ranch. He was fast and had a strong kick, which made for a solid performance for both bull and bull rider.
“I had to keep moving; that’s the name of the game,” said Knapp, the No. 2 bull rider in the world standings with more than $79,000 in earnings. “The bull’s always moving, so you’ve got to keep moving, too. You can never weaken.”
Much like his season, Knapp didn’t. He is well on his way to his first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which features only the top 15 contestants in each event at the conclusion of the regular season. He finished as high as 19th in the standings, but that was three years ago.
Now he’s having the best season of his career, and he’s adding to it at Roundup Rodeo. He will try to win the coveted title – and the prized championship trophy buckle – during Sunday’s championship round.
“I’ll let tomorrow worry about itself,” said Knapp, 25. “I’m just taking in the moment right now. I’m just blessed to be part of this rodeo and be doing what I love.
“This is a real prestigious rodeo. To be 91 points here, you can’t as for much more in this line of work or in our passion for bull riding. It’s truly a blessing and definitely one of my better rides this year, if not my best ride this year.”
He began his love affair with rodeo at age 3, when he first started riding sheep.
“Since then, it’s been my dream to be at the biggest rodeos and bull ridings in the world and going for gold buckles,” he said. “I’m just thankful to do that.”
No matter what has happened or what the future holds, the humble cowboy keeps his mind in the right place. Maybe that’s why his season has been so strong.
“I need to focus on what I came here to do, just keep hustling and trying,” Knapp said. “It would be awesome to win (the Roundup buckle). I’ve got an opportunity, so I’m going to let it all hang out.
“I am just focused on what I’m doing: Riding bulls and having fun. The rest will all work out, and it’s in God’s hands. I can’t worry about that stuff.”
Dodge City Roundup Rodeo
Dodge City, Kan.
Aug. 3-7
Bareback riding: First round and short-round qualifiers: 1. Wyatt Denny, 83.5 points on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Frisky Chicken, $2,901; 2. (tie) Evan Jayne and Blake Smith, 83, $1,934 each; 4. (tie) Jordan Pelton, Kyle Brenneke and Clayton Biglow, 82, $741 each; 7. (tie) Grant Denny and Bill Tutor, $338 each; 9. (tie) R.C. Handingham and Richmond Champion, 80; 11. (tie) Tim O’Connell and Winn Ratliff, 79.
Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Ryan Swayze, 3.8 seconds, $2,846; 2. Shane Frey, 4.2, $2,475; 3. (tie) Kyle Whitaker and Chancey Larson, 4.3, $1,918 each; 5. Trever Nelson, 4.5, $1,361; 6. (tie) Aaron Vosler, Jacob Talley and Jace Melvin, 4.6, $619 each. Second round: 1. (tie) Jacob Edler, Ryan Swayze, Joby Allen and Billy Bugenig, 4.2 seconds, $2,289 each; 5. Aaron Vosler, 4.3, $1,361; 6. Shane Henderson, 4.4, $990; 7. Jarret New, 4.5, $619; 8. Marcus Paul Theriot, 4.7, $247. Average leaders and short-round qualifiers: 1. Ryan Swayze, 8.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Aaron Vosler, 8.9; 3. Kyle Whitaker, 9.1; 4. Jacob Talley, 9.4; 5. Shane Frey, 9.9; 6. Cody Doescher, 10.5; 7. (tie) J.D. Struxness and Juan Alcazar Jr., 11.1; 9. Marcus Paul Theriot, 11.2; 10. Billy Bugenig, 11.5; 11. Jake Johnson, 12.1; 12. Cody Harmon, 12.4.
Team roping: First round: 1. Matt Sherwood/Quinn Kesler, 4.7 seconds, $2,426; 2. Colby Lovell/Travis Graves, 4.9, $2,110; 3. Billy Bob Brown/Logan Medlin, 5.1, $1,793; 4. (tie) Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens and Tom Richards/Evan Arnold, 5.3, $1,319 each; 6. (tie) Cale Markham/Cody Doescher, Kolton Schmidt/Shay Carroll and Joel Bach/Cody Cowden, 5.6, $527 each. Second round: 1. Garrett Rogers/Jake Minor, 5.1 seconds, $2,426; 2. (tie) Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens and Brooks Dahozy/Brandon Bates, 5.4, $1,951 each; 4. Joshua Torres/Jonathan Torres, 5.8, $1,477; 5.Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 6.1, $1,160; 6. Bubba Buckaloo/Jake Smith, 6.2, $844; 7. Kolton Schmidt/Shay Carroll, 6.3, $527; 8. Justin Davis/Zane Bruce, 6.5, $211. Average leaders and short-round qualifiers: 1. Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 10.7 seconds on two runs; 2. Brooks Dahozy/Brandon Bates, 11.5; 3. Kolton Schmidt/Shay Carroll, 11.9; 4. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 12.0; 5. Cale Markham/Cody Doescher, 12.7; 6. (tie) Joshua Torres/Jonathan Torres and Nick Sartain/Gage Williams, 13.1; 8. Justin Davis/Zane Bruce, 13.7; 9. Matt Sherwood/Quinn Kesler, 16.5; 10. Nathan McWhorter/Dustin Davis, 17.1; 11. Bubba Buckaloo/Jake Smith, 18.5; 12. J.D. Yates/Trey Yates, 32.3.
Saddle bronc riding: First round and short-round qualifiers: 1. Spencer Wright, 85 points on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Jerry’s Delight, $2,615; 2. (tie) Chet Johnson and Clay Elliott, 84.5, $1,743 each; 4. (tie) Taos Muncy and Audy Reed, 83.5, $785 each; 6. (tie) Clay Stremler and Sterling Crawley, 82.5, $392 each; 8. Shade Etbauer, 81.5, $262; 9. Zeke Thurston, 80.5; 10. Ryder Wright, 80; 11. Roper Kiesner, 79.
Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Marcos Costa, 8.4 seconds, $2,846; 2. Timber Moore, 8.5, $2,475; 3. Trell Etbauer, 8.8, $2,103; 4. Tylen Layton, 9.0, $1,732; 5. (tie) Cheyenne Harper and Blane Cox, 9.2, $1,175 each; 7. Cory Solomon, 9.3, $619; 8. Jerome Schneeberger, 9.4, $247. Second round: 1. Caleb Smidt, 7.7 seconds, $2,846; 2. Cory Solomon, 7.9, $2,475; 3. Bryson Sechrist, 8.0, $2,103; 4. (tie) Sterling Smith and RileyPruitt, 8.2, $1,547 each; 6. (tie) William Whayne Jr. and Seth Hall, 8.4, $804 each; 8. (tie) Clint Cooper and Lane Jeffrey, 8.5, $124 each. Average leaders and short-round qualifiers: 1. Cory Solomon, 17.2 seconds on two runs; 2. Riley Pruitt, 17.8; 3. Timber Moore, 17.9; 4. Kelsey Garrison, 18.8; 5. Marcos Costa, 18.9; 6. Trell Etbauer, 19.0; 7. Blane Cox, 19.2; 8. (tie) J.D. Kibbe, Kody Mahaffey and L.D. Meier, 19.3; 11. Clint Nyegaard, 19.4; 12. Cimarron Boardman, 19.7.
Barrel racing: First round: 1. Loni Lester, 17.10 seconds, $2,405; 2. Paige Willis, 17.15, $2,061; 3. Emily Miller, 17.21, $1,718; 4. Sydni Blanchard, 17.23, $1,489; 5. Tara Large, 17.28, $1,145; 6. Tamara Reinhardt, 17.29, $916; 7. Ari-Anna Flynn, 17.32, $687; 8/ Christine Laughlin, 17.33, $458; 9. Jackie Ganter, 17.36, $344; 10. (tie) Jana Griemsman, Tillar Murray and Gretchen Benbenek, 17.40, $76 each. Second round: 1. Tamara Reinhardt, 16.93 seconds, $2,405; 2. Stevi Hillman, 17.02, $2,061; 3. Mary Burger, 17.04, $1,718; 4. Carley Richardson, 17.10, $1,489; 5. Gretchen Benbenek, 17.11, $1,145; 6. Taylor Homuth, 17.16, $916; 7. (tie) Ari-Anna Flynn and Jane Melby, 17.17, $573 each; 9. Cayla Melby, 17.22, $344; 10. (tie) Hailey Kinsel and Layna Kight, 17.25. Average leaders and short-round qualifiers: 1. Tamara Reinhardt, 34.22 seconds on two runs; 2. Ari-Anna Fly, 34.49; 3. Gretchen Benbenek, 34.51; 4. Mary Burger, 34.52; 5. Carley Richardson, 34.54; 6. Sidnei Blanchard, 34.57; 7. Paige Willis, 34.60; 8. (tie) Cayla Melby and Tillar Murray, 34.68; 10. Loni Lester, 34.70; 11. Taylor Langdon, 34.73; 12. Jana Griemsman, 34.79.
Bull riding: First round and short-round qualifiers: 1. Scottie Knapp, 91 points on 4L and Diamond S Rodeo’s Last Cigarette, $2,883; 2. Chase Hamlin, 86, $2,210; 3. Nate Perry, 85.5, $1,634; 4. Jordan Spears, 84.5, $1,057; 5. Brody Yeary, 84, $673; 6. Tyler Smith, 83, $481; 7. (tie) Jeff Askey and Colten Jesse, 82.5, $336 each; 9. Cody Rostockyj, 82; 10. (tie) Joe Frost and Dalan Duncan, 81.