GUYMON, Okla. – Kade Berry has spent a lifetime looking up to his big brother.
The siblings are four years apart. Leighton Berry is 24 years old and has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo three times over the last four years. He’s also No. 1in the bareback riding world standings.
Kade Berry is 20 years old and in his rookie season in ProRodeo. He is 40th on the money list and hoping to work his way up. He’s also fifth in the race to be crowned Resistol Rookie of the Year. He’s following in the footsteps of his older sibling and their father, Kirby, who also rode bareback horses.
The youngest of the three took things upon himself during Friday’s first performance of the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo by riding Frontier Rodeo’s Cross Fire for 85.5 points to take the early lead.
“That horse has been around a long time from Frontier Rodeo Co., the nine-time and I think reigning stock contracting firm of the year,” said Berry of Weatherford Texas. “I was pretty excited to have that horse, especially with the pen of horses that were out. I thought I had a little better chance than most guys.
“Cross Fire really does buck. Whenever you get on a big ol’ Heath Stewart bucker rolling in there with a big ol’ fat neck, it gets exciting to put your rigging on a horse like that. Hopefully we stick up there on the leaderboard and take some money home.”
He has three remaining performances to wait out to see where he lands, but Guymon will feature many of the top cowboys and cowboys in the sport. More than 1,100 contestants entered the competition and are battling for the big bucks in the Oklahoma Panhandle. It’s big enough that the primary contractor, Frontier, brought in two other livestock providers to ensure an outstanding contest.
“With as many performances as they have and the two matinees, they need good horses to put on the rodeo here, so they bring in Will O’Connell and Championship (Pro Rodeo) and Kirsten Vold with Vold Rodeo,” Berry said. “They all bring a pretty good herd themselves, and it gives every guy a fair shot at some paychecks.”
That’s the name of the game in rodeo. Money not only takes care of the bills and expenses that come with traveling North America to play the game, but dollars equal championship points. Only the top 15 on the money list at the end of the regular season advance to the NFR.
Pioneer Days Rodeo is celebrating its 92nd year. It’s “Where the Champions Come to Play the First Weekend in May.”
“That’s a long time to have this one,” Berry said. “It’s a very unique arena with the bowl and the concrete stands. Whenever you show up, you pull in from the top of the hill, and you get to see the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo right there. There’s not many rodeos like it anymore.”
The rugged terrain of the Oklahoma Plains can be rough to handle. This is where the Dust Bowl thrived and led to the creation of this community celebration. The dry land is a testament to the fortitude of the people who live in the region once known as “No Man’s Land.” Just as the rodeo began, a storm blazed through and dampened the arena, but it didn’t dampen the crowd or the competition.
“It’s cool to show up here, especially when the fans come out and support the rodeo,” Berry said. “It’s a very neat rodeo.”
Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo
May 3-5
Bareback riding leaders: 1. Kade Berry, 85.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Cross Fire; 2. Payton Lackey, 81.5; 3. Andy Gingerich, 69; 4. Weston Timberman, 68; no other qualified rides.
Team roping: First round: 1. Mason Appleton/Rance Doyal, 6.4 seconds, $2,397 each; 2. Paul David Tierney/Billie Jack Saebens, 6.7, $2,085; 3. (tie) Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves and Adam Rose/Gralyn Elkins, 6.8, $1,459 each; 6. Casey Hicks/Steve Orth, 6.9, $834; 7. (tie) Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, Kreece Thompson/Cooper Freeman and Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 7.0, $243 each. Second round: 1. Curry Kirchner/Jake Edwards, 6.9 seconds, $2,397 each; 2. Jhett Trenary/Jake South, 7.4, $2,085; 3. Corben Culley/J.D. Yates, 7.5, $1,772; 4. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 7.6, $1,459; 5. Zack Woods/Gavin Foster, 7.7, $1,147; 6. Seth Hall/Pace Blanchard, 7.9, $834; 7. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 8.4, $521; 8. (tie) Payden Emmett/Jace Davis and Britton Grinstead/Scott Daily, 8.5, $104 each. Third round leaders: 1. Jake Cooper/Chase Graves, 7.1 seconds; 2. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 7.6; 3. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 8.0; 4. Rodrigo De Lima/J.C. Flake, 10.6, 5. Cole Smith/Reed Boos, 12.4; 6. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 15.7; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 22.6 seconds on three runs; 2. Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, 27.8; 3. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 24.4; 4. Jake Cooper/Chase Graves, 14.9 seconds on two runs; 5. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 15.2; 6. Cooper White/Tucker White, 16.6; 7. Kreece Thompson/Cooper Freeman, 16.8; 8. Brye Crites/Tyler Worley, 17.9.
Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Bridger Anderson, 4.0 seconds, $2,516; 2. Trell Etbauer, 4.1, $2,188; 3. Justin Shaffer, 4.4, $1,860; 4. (tie) Emmett Edler, Mason Couch and Jacob Edler, 4.6, $1,203 each; 7. (tie) Justice Johnson and Cody Devers, 4.7, $383 each. Second round: 1. Jake Shelton, 3.8 seconds, $2,516; 2. Jake Nelson, 4.3, $2,188; 3. Quint Bell, 4.5, $1,860; 4. (tie) Cody Devers, Chase Crane and Darcy Kersh, 4.6, $1,203 each; 7. Tyke Kipp, 4.8, $547; 8. (tie) Jace Melvin and J.D. Struxness, 4.9, $109 each. Third round leaders: 1. Ty Baurele, 4.3 seconds; 2. Logan Kenline, 4.5; 3. Rowdy Parrott, 5.1; 4. Jake Nelson, 5.3; 5. Tyke Kipp, 5.6; 6. Tyrel Cline, 16.5; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Jake Nelson, 15.0 seconds on three runs; 2. Ty Bauerle, 15.3; 3. Rowdy Parrott, 15.4; 4. Tyke Kipp, 16.2; 5. Logan Kenline, 20.2; 6. Tyrel Cline, 35.5; 7. (tie) Bridger Anderson and Cody Devers, 9.3 seconds on two runs.
Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Skinny Parsons, 84.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Popsicle; 2. (tie) Chase Brooks and Logan Cook, 84; 4. Coleman Shallbetter, 81; 5. (tie) Parker Kempfer, Gus Gaillard and Ira Dickinson, 75; 8. Tanner Butner, 74.
Breakaway roping: First round: 1. (tie) Montana Brown and Amanda Coleman, 2.4 seconds, $1,963 each; 3. (tie) Tiffany Schieck and Jill Tanner, 2.5, $1,415 each; 5. (tie) Mataya Eklund, J J Hampton, Cheyanne McCartney, Brandi McDowell and Madison Outhier, 2.6, $475 each. Second round leaders: 1. Cassidy Boggs, 2.8 seconds; 2. Aspen Miller, 2.9; 3. Cheyanne McCartney, 3.2; 4. Jackie Crawford, 3.5; 5. Kelsie Domer, 4.7; 6. Sydney Graff, 4.8; no other qualified runs; Average leaders: 1. Cheyanne McCartney, 5.8 seconds on two runs; 2. Cassidy Boggs, 6.0; 3. Aspen Miller, 6.2; 4. Jackie Crawford, 6.8; 5. Kelsie Domer, 8.1; 6. Sydney Graph, 8.3; 7. (tie) Amanda Coleman and Montana Brown, 2.4 seconds on one run.
Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Shad Mayfield, 7.1 seconds, $4,252; 2. Chet Weitz, 7.4, $3,697; 3. (tie) Marty Yates and Seth Hall, 7.5, $2,865 each; 5. (tie) Pecos Tatum and Cooper Martin, 7.6, $1,756 each; 7. Howard Green IV, 7.7, $924; 8. Cory Solomon, 7.8, $370. Second round: 1. Riley Mason Webb, 6.9 seconds, $4,252; 2. Cash Hooper, 7.4, $3,697; 3. Tanner Green, 7.5, $3,143; 4. (tie) Hunter Herrin and Colten Wallis, 7.6, $2,311 each; 6. Tuf Case Cooper, 7.8, $1,479; 7. (tie) Marcos Costa and Cooper Martin, 7.9, $647 each. Third round leaders: 1. Corbin James Fisher, 8.3 seconds; 2. Cash Enderli, 8.6; 3. James Ramierez, 9.0; 4. Tanner Green, 11.3; 5. Cason Cross Kinsbury, 13.3; 6. Austin Lawrence, 13.8; 7. Tripp Brown, 15.8; 8. Bodie Mattson, 17.6. Average leaders: 1. Cash Enderli, 27.9 seconds on three runs; 2. Corbin James Fisher, 30.1; 3. Tanner Green, 31.1; 4. James Ramirez, 31.4; 5. Austin Lawrence, 33.3; 6. Cason Cross Kingsbury, 35.4; 7. Tripp Brown, 37.3; 8. Bodie Mattson, 40.0.
Barrel racing: First round: 1. Dona Kay Rule, 16.99 seconds, $2,550; 2. Jymmy Kay Cox, 17.03, $2,186; 3. Wenda Johnson, 17.08, $1,822; 4. Leslie Smalygo, 17.09, $1,579; 5. Michelle Alley, 17.14, $1,214; 6. Shelley Morgan, 17.19, $972; 7. Carlee Otero, 17.21, $729; 8. Ivy Hurst, 17.22, $486; 9. Keyla Costa, 17.24, $364; 10. (tie) Natalie Bland and Loni Kay Yates, 17.25, $121 each. Second round leaders: 1. Stevi Hillman, 17.40 seconds; 2. Quincy Sullivan, 17.48; 3. Molly Otto, 17.57; 4. Timber Allenbrand, 17.65; 5. Tracy Nowlin, 17.66; 6. Suzanne Brooks, 17.68; 7. Sami Jo Buum, 17.71; 8. Emma Abbgott, 17.74; 9. Emily Beisel, 17.85; 10. Cheslie Shoop, 17.86. Average leaders: 1. Quincey Sullivan, 34.99 seconds on two runs; 2. Stevi Hillman, 35.06; 3. Emma Abbott, 35,41; 4. Emily Beisel, 35.42; 5. Jackie Ganter, 35.60; 6. Julie Plourde, 35.66; 7. Sage Kohr, 35.70; 8. Molly Otto, 35.75; 9. Sara Pringle, 36.11; 10. Logan Hofmann, 36.13.
Bull riding leaders: 1. Cash Toews, 86.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Red Eye; 2. Colton Byram, 85.5; 3. Hudson Bolton, 84; 4. Creek Young, 76; no other qualified rides.