(COURTESY PHOTO)
ALVA, Okla. – Kaden Greenfield is having a strong Central Plains Region season for the Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo team.
He’s the No. 1 man in the steer wrestling standings with one rodeo remaining in the campaign, set for this coming weekend in Guymon, Oklahoma. He further cemented his place at the top this past weekend with a second-place finish at the Fort Hays State University rodeo in Hays, Kansas.
“It went pretty good,” said Greenfield, a junior from Lakeview, Oregon. “In the short round, I had a steer that some people had some trouble with, so I just went out there and made a good run on him, and I knew I could place. I didn’t know where I’d place, but I knew it would be good enough.”
Yes, it was. After his 6.1-second run in the opening round, good enough for fourth place, Greenfield knocked down his championship-round steer in 6.2 seconds. That was good enough for second place in the round, and he moved up to second in the two-run aggregate.
In all, he collected 130 points and built to his regional lead. Most importantly, he gained enough points that he will advance to the College National Finals Rodeo in June; only the top three contestants in each event in the regional standings advance to the college finals, and the Oregon cowboy is assured of a top-three finish.
“There have been some weekends where it has been real good,” said Greenfield, the son of Shawn, a seven-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “There also have been weekends where it hasn’t gone good at all. I guess the key has been keeping a good attitude and knowing we have another one.”
Riding his 16-year-old sorrel gelding he calls Rev, Greenfield has had found enough success to return to Casper, Wyoming. As a sophomore at Blue Mountain Community College in his home state of Oregon, he finished 24th a year ago. Rev is a big reason why.
“I’ve had him since I was a sophomore in high school (five years),” said Greenfield, who won the bulldogging crown at Oklahoma State University in October. “He’s just an honest horse; he gives me the same trip every time. He just stays the same.”
Having a strong equine partner is vital in rodeo, especially for timed-event contestants. For the Rangers, tie-down ropers Tyler Scheevel of Lester Prairie, Minnesota, and Brandon Hittle of Topeka, Kansas, earned points. Scheevel earned a spot in the championship round, where his 12.1-second run was good enough for fourth in the round and fifth overall. Hittle was 10.2 to finish second in the opening round.
Barrel racer Samantha Chambers of Calhan, Colorado, finished third in the long round, but a tipped barrel in the short round took her out of the average. Chambers entered the weekend sixth in the standings and will need some things to go her way this next weekend if she were to earn a spot in the college finals.
Meanwhile, Greenfield hopes to end his season with a bang.
“I don’t want any questions about whether I’m going to stay in first or not,” he said. “I’m going to do everything I can to win the region. During my first two years, I didn’t win the region. It would be cool to come down to this region and win it.”