GUYMON, Okla. – Jake Wright is hoping his luck has changed.

“I’ve never done any good here,” said Wright, a six-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo saddle bronc riding qualifier from Milford, Utah.

That could easily change after his 84.5-point ride Friday to take the early lead at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo. He matched moves with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s YoYo, a powerful paint horse that has bucked at the NFR, to earn the top score on the rodeo’s opening night.

“He was good,” Wright said of the horse, which he’d never tried to ride before. “Heck, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him. I just held my feet on my mark-out and tried to set him up, and he worked out really good.”

The mark-out sets up the ride for bronc riders and bareback riders. Cowboys start the ride with the heels their boots over the front of the animal’s shoulders, then spur the horse in rhythm with its bucking motion. That’s what opens the door for high scores and big money.

Now he has the biggest score of them all, but the leaderboard is pretty familiar to him. He is followed by his brother-in-law, CoBurn Bradshaw, and his twin brother, Jesse.

“That’s the way we like it; we’ll just keep it in the truck,” Jake Wright said. “That’s a good way to start it off.

“Now we’ve got an all-nighter to Bakersfield, Calif., then we’ll go to Stonyford (Calif.).”

That’s the life of a rodeo cowboy. Oklahoma one day, California the next. But it’s a life the Wrights have enjoyed nearly all their lives. They’re pretty good at it. The family owns five Montana Silversmiths world championship gold buckles: Cody has two, and Jesse, Spencer and Cody’s son, Ryder, each have one.

“We grew up ranching,” Jake Wright said. “Cody really set the bar for rodeoing. We’ve all really enjoyed it. Dad just said, ‘If you’re going to do it, you might as well be the bet, so work hard now and reap the benefits later.’

“Growing up when everybody would go dinking off, we’d haul butt from baseball practice or whatever and load four or five horses so we could get on before it would get dark.”

Jake Wright is reaping the rewards so far.

Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo
April 30-May 6
Results through the first performance

Bareback riding leaders: 1. Tilden Hooper, 86 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo; 2. Leighton Berry, 75.5; 3. Will Martin, 75; 4. Jamie Howlett, 72; 5. Levi Nicholson, 62; no other qualified rides.

Team roping: Third round leaders: 1. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 5.8 seconds; 2. Marcus Theriot/Cody Doescher, 6.4; 3. Dustin Egusquiza/Kory Koontz, 9.0; 4. Caleb Smidt/Mickey Gomez, 12.1; 5. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 24.3; no other qualified runs. Aggregate leaders: 1. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 24.1 seconds on three runs; 2. Dustin Egusquiza/Kory Koontz, 29.9; 3. Tyler Wade/Trey Yates, 41.4; 4. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 16.7 seconds on two runs; 5. Laramie Allen/Rosh Ashford, 17.3; 6. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins II, 17.7; 7. Marcus Theriot/Cody Doescher, 18.6; 8. Matt Sherwood/Walt Woodard, 21.0.

Steer wrestling: Third round leaders: 1. Rowdy Parrott, 3.8 seconds; 2. Marcus Theriot, 4.3; 3. Will Lummus, 4.9; 4. Blake Mindemann, 5.3; 5. Tristan Martin, 14.6; no other qualified runs. Aggregate leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 15.1 seconds on three runs; 2. Blake Mindemann, 16.2; 3. Rowdy Parrott, 17.9; 4. Marcus Theriot, 17.9; 5. Tristan Martin, 24.5; 6. Hunter Cure, 7.9 seconds on two runs.

Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Jake Wright, 84.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s YoYo; 2. CoBurn Bradshaw, 81; 3. Jesse Wright, 80.5; 4. Dalton Davis, 77; 5. Alex Wright, 76; 6. Jade Blackwell, 75.

Tie-down roping: Third round leaders: 1. (tie) Jake Pratt and Caleb Smidt, 9.5 seconds; 3. Anthony Jordan, 10.7; 4. Timber Moore, 11.2; 5. Dakota Felton, 12.0; 6. Tyler Prcin, 15.6; 7. Cory Rowland, 16.4; 8. Rhen Richard, 19.6. Aggregate leaders: 1. Timber Moore, 35.1 seconds on three runs; 2. Jake Pratt, 35.9; 3. Anthony Jordan, 44.5; 4. Tyler Prcin, 53.3; 5. Cory Rowland, 69.2; 6. Caleb Smidt, 18.6 seconds on two runs; 7. Reese Reimer, 19.6; 8. Tim Pharr, 20.6.

Barrel racing: Second round leaders: 1. Cierra Chapman, 17.46 seconds; 2. Sidney Forrest, 17.47; 3. Dona Kay Rule, 17.58; 4. (tie) Kelley Carrington and Tiany Schuster, 17.61; 6. Stevi Hillman, 17.65; 7. Emily Miller, 17.70; 8. Sally Conway, 17.74; 9. (tie) Carolyn Ulher, Kelly Bruner and Taci Bettis, 17.78. Aggregate leaders: 1. Sidney Forrest, 35.10 seconds on two runs; 2. Tiany Schuster, 35.53; 3. Dona Kay Rule, 35.69; 4. Kelley Carrington, 35.73; 5. Emily Miller, 35.78; 6. Kelly Bruner, 35.82; 7. Carolyn Uhler, 35.84; 8. Taci Bettis, 35.94; 9. Sally Conway, 35.95; 10. Bailee Snow, 36.01.

Bull riding leaders: 1. Cole Melancon, 89 points on Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo’s Chigger; 2. Joe Frost, 86; no other qualified rides.