By LUKE CREASY
For TwisTed Rodeo
LOVINGTON, N.M. – The Lea County Fair and Rodeo has become a regional exposition over the years, and Saturday’s final night of the rodeo proved it.

Take bareback rider Chad Rutherford, who married a young lady from Hobbs, New Mexico, just 18 miles south of Lovington. Or take steer wrestler Tyke Kipp of Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the state’s southwest corner. Both men competed during Saturday’s final night and walked away with at least a share of the title.

Rutherford, a 2020 National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Hillsboro, Texas, rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Redzilla for 88 points to win bareback riding and $4,548. It was a bit of redemption for the cowboy who sits 14^th in the world standings with two months left in the season.

“My hand came out of my rigging in Dodge (City, Kansas) to probably win the long round, so the whole time I was sleeping, my rigging and glove were rolling through my brain all night long,” he said. “For (the horse) I had, I knew I had to stay in there.”

Redzilla has been known to be a powerful sorrel, and she proved that to Rutherford.

“She was like a dream,” said Rutherford, 30. “I felt like I was so far ahead of her, she was just hopping, until I dropped my feet after the whistle, and then there was the power.”

That resulted in a less-than-graceful dismount, but he can laugh about it now. It also helps that he is traveling the rodeo trail with his wife, Katie, and their sons, James and Justin. They are towing a travel trailer wherever they go, so they have the comforts of home, but they also get to enjoy some special time with Katie’s family while they’re in southeastern New Mexico.

“I’m just tired of missing stuff with them,” he said. “I figured there had to be a better way than being away from them, so this is how we’re doing it.”

Kipp pushed his way to the top of the bulldogging leaderboard with a solid performance Saturday. He wrestled is first-round steer to the ground in 4.3 seconds, just missing out on go-round money. During the evening performance, he and Texas steer wrestler Hunter Cure stopped the clock in 3.9 seconds to tie for third place in the second round and split the two-run aggregate with three other cowboys.

Making a good run offered Kipp a solid payday in Lovington, a community he’s seen over the years while growing up in rodeo. In all, he left town with $3,504, a substantial payday at a much-needed time for the cowboy that competes in the Turquoise Circuit, a region made up of rodeos and contestants primarily from New Mexico and Arizona.

“Wyatt Jurney had that steer in the first round and missed him,” Kipp said of his second-round steer. “(Jurney) was a little late, and that steer checked off a bit. With that information, I capitalized on it.

“It feels awesome, especially this time of year when a guy has been having a hard time. It revitalizes him when he wins a little bit.”

Kipp is also moving forward after losing two of his key traveling partners to knee injuries. Kipp is riding a horse owned by Ringo Robinson, while the haze horses are owned by Jason Thomas. Both cowboys are now on the sidelines. Still, the New Mexico cowboy plans to keep the rig moving to the Northwest, where a series of lucrative rodeos begins next week.

“Career-wise, this is probably my best win so far, and I’ve been rodeoing awhile,” he said. “I’ve always had luck here, even back at the high school rodeos. Even the ProRodeos have been good to me.

“I haven’t been home in two months, and it feels great to be back home in New Mexico. It’s always good to do (well) at the home-state rodeos, especially this one.”

Lea County Fair and Rodeo
Lovington, N.M.
Aug. 3-6
Bareback riding: 1. Chad Rutherford, 88 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Redzilla, $4,548; Tanner Aus, 87, $3,486; 3. Garrett Shadbolt, 86.5, $2,577; 4. R.C. Landingham, 86, $1,667; 5. Caleb Bennett, 85, $1,061; 6. (tie) Leighton Berry and Lane McGehee, 84.5, $682 each; 8. Orin Larsen, 83.5, $455.

Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Gus Franzen, 3.9 seconds, $2,040; 2. (tie) Sterling Lee, Ryan Nettle, Tanner Brunner and Cimarron Thompson, 4.0, $1,374 each; 6. (tie) Tyler Pearson, Tristan Martin, Gavin Solieau and D.J. Joos, 4.1, $333 each. Second round: 1. Wyatt Jurney, 3.4 seconds, $2,040; 2. Rowdy Parrott, 3.8, $1,774; 3. (tie) Stephen Culling, Hunter Cure and Tyke Kipp, 3.9, $1,242 each; 6. (tie) Tyler Waguespack and Laramie Warren, 4.0, $577 each; 8. (tie) Joe Nelson and D.J. Joos, 4.1, $89 each. Average: 1. (tie) Tyler Waguespack, D.J. Joos, Hunter Cure, Tyke Kipp and Cimarron Thompson, 8.2 seconds on two runs$2,262; 6. Chance Howard, 8.5, $1,064; 7. Trell Etbauer, 8.6, $665; 8. Ryan Nettle, 8.7, $266.

Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Taylor Santos, 8.1 seconds, $2,934; 2. Lane Livingston, 8.4, $2,551; 3. Hudson Wallace, $2,169; 4. Macon Murphy, 8.7, $1,786; 5. Michael Otero, $1,403; 6. Caleb Smidt, 8.9, $1,021; 7. (tie) Cooper Martin and Chance Thiessen, 9.1, $447 each. Second round: 1. Ryan Thibodeaux, 7.3 seconds, $2,934; 2. Quade Hiatt, 7.4, $2,551; 3. John Pereira, 7.6, $2,169; 4. Bryce Barney, 7.8, $1,786; 5. Paul David Tierney, 8.2, $1,403; 5. Shawn Poag, 8.5, $1,021; 6. (tie) Taylor Santos, Kincade Henry, Trevor Hale and Caleb Smidt, 8.7, $223 each Average: 1. Taylor Santos, 16.8 seconds on two runs, $4,401; 2. Caleb Smidt, 17.6, $3,827; 3. Bryce Barney, 17.8, $3,253; 4. Quade Hiatt, 18.1, $2,679; 5. Ryan Thibodeaux, 18.5, $2,105; 6. Kincade Henry, 18.7, $1,531; 7. Hudson Wallace, 19.4, $957; 8. Trevor Hale, 19.9, $383.

Breakaway roping: 1. Madalyn Richards, 2.0 seconds, $3,431; 2. (tie) Brighton Bauman and Amanda Coleman, 2.1, $2,487; 4. Erin Johnson, 2.3, $1,716; 5. Jordan Joe Hollabaugh, 2.4, $1,372; 6. Tierra Zapalac, 2.5, $1,029; 7. Maddy Deerman, 2.6, $858; 8. (tie) Faith Holyan and Jayme Marcrum, 2.7, $729 each; 10. (tie) Lari Dee Guy and Mollie Bassett, 2.9, $558 each; 12. Bradi Good, 3.2, $429.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Stetson Wright, 88 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Fox Hole Gunner; 2. Sage Newman, 87.5; 3. Lefty Holman, 87; 4. Sterling Crawley, 86.5; 5. Isaac Diaz, 84; 6. (tie) Chase Brooks and Riggin Smith, 83.5; 8. Jacobs Crawley, 83.  

Steer roping: First round: 1. Chet Herren, 11.1 seconds, $1,624; 2. Scott Snedecor, 11.4, $1,412; 3. Taylor Santos, 11.9, $1,200; 4. Cooper Mills, 12.5, $988; 5. Slade Wood, 12.6, $777; 6. (tie) Cole Patterson and Clay Long, 12.7, $459 each; 8. Hudson Wallace, 13.3, $141. Second round: 1. Jess Tierney, 10.7 seconds, $1,634; 2. Ivan Stuart, 11.2, $1,412; 3. Kenyon Burns, 11.3, $1,200; 4. Cole Patterson, 11.5, $988; 5. Clay Long, 11.6, $777; 6. Taylor Santos, 11.7, $565; 7. Laramie Allen, 11.9, $353; 8. (tie) Kyle Cauthorn, Tuff Hardman and Billy Good, 12.1, $47 each. Third round: 1. Garrett Hale 10.6 seconds, $1,524; 2. Slade Wood, 11.0, $1,412; 3. Cash Myers, 11.1, $1,200; 4. Laramie Allen, 11.4, $988; 5. Rocky Patterson, 11.8, $777; 6. Chet Herren, 11.9, $565; 7. J. Tom Fisher, 12.2, $353; 8. Coy Thompson, 12.9, $141. Average: 1. Slade Wood, 35.8 seconds on three runs, $2,436; 2. Taylor Santos, 37.8, $2,118; 3. Chet Herren, 38.5, $1,800; 4. Tuff Hardman, 41.9, $1,483; 5. Logan Currie, 43.7, $1,165; 6. Jake Clay, 45.1, $847; 7. Coy Thompson, 45.5, $529; 8. Billy Good, 45.7, $212.

Team roping: First round: 1. Lightning Aguilera/Coleby Payne, 4.2 seconds, $2,255; 2. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 4.3, $1,961; 3. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.4, $1,667; 4. (tie) Tanner James/Max Kutter and Clay Smith/Jake Long, 4.7, $1,225 each; 6. Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins, 4.8, $784; 7. Quinn Kesler/Caleb Hendrix, 4.9, $490; 8. (tie) Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden and Wyatt Imus/Trevor Hale, 5.0, $98 each. Second round: 1. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 4.3, $2,255; 2. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira and Josh Siggins/Lane Siggins, 4.4, $1,814 each; 4. Zach Kilgus/Jake Edwards, 4.5, $1,372; 5. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 4.6, $1,078; 6. Jr. Dees/Levi Lord, 4.7, $784; 7. Chris Francis/Cade Passig, 5.0, $491; 8. Jason Burson/Corey Hendrick, 5.1, $196. Average: 1. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 8.8 seconds on two runs, $3,382; 2. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 8.9, $2,941; 3. Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins, 10.1, $2,500; 4. Clay Smith/Jake Long, 10.2, $2,059; 5. Paul David Tierney/Tanner Braden, 10.4, $1,618; 6. Chris Francis/Cade Passig, 12.2, $1,176; 7. Nick Sartain/Austin Rogers, 13.1, $735; 8. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 14.0, $294.

Barrel racing: 1. Savannah Woodfin, 17.39 seconds, $4,442; 2. Nicole Driggers, 17.42, $3,553; 3. Cheyenne Wimberley, 17.43, $2,887; 4. Cindy Smith, 17.46, $2,221; 5. (tie) Halyn Lide and Shannon McReynolds, 17.52, $1,555; 7. Heidi Gibson, 17,59, $1,110; 8. Katie Pascoe, 17.60, $999; 9. Latricia Mundorf, 17.63; 10. (tie) Jill Wilson, Emily Beisel and Kailee Murdock, 17.68, $666 each; 9. Annie Alexander, 17.72, $444; 10. Sharon Harrell, 17.77, $333; 11. Michelle Darling, 17.78, $222.

Bull riding: 1. Josh Frost, 89 points on Stockyards ProRodeo’s Deplorable, $5,196; 2. Brody Yeary, 87.5, $4,000; 3. (tie) JaCauy Hale and Chance Schott, 86, $2,464 each; 5. Jesse Flores, 85.5, $1,268; 6. Jace Trosclair, 82.5, $927; 6. Justin Lane Rowell, 79, $756; no other qualified rides.