DODGE CITY, Kan. – Over his career, Will Lummus has some amazing accomplishments.

He’s won the Calgary Stampede, the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and the average championship at the National Finals Rodeo, an event he has qualified for each of the past six seasons. He’s a two-time reserve world champion, having finished second in both 2021 and 2022, and has been one of the shining faces of steer wrestling for half a decade.

He’s never won the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. He’d like to change that this year and gave himself a good chance during Wednesday’s opening performance at Roundup Arena. He knocked his steer to the ground in 3.8 seconds to take the second-round lead; more importantly, that run, combined with his 4.4 from the morning’s first go-round, pushed Lummus into the overall lead.

“Back when I first started rodeoing with K.C. Jones, I did make the short round, and I’ve placed good in the average,” said Lummus, 32, of Byhalia, Mississippi. “I’ve placed in a round here, but that one time was the only time I’ve made the short round here. It’s usually hit or miss. Sometimes it comes down to the luck of the draw.

“Today I was just blessed to have to gentle steers and get by them. Hopefully we’ll come back Sunday and have a doozy.”

All timed-event contestants compete in two go-rounds, with the top 12 in each event qualifying for the championship round, which will conclude this year’s rodeo Sunday night. That’s where the champions will be crowned, and it’s a special night of rodeo. That Roundup buckle is one of the most prized trophies in the sport, but it’s elusive. The competition to even qualify for the final go-round is tough.

“There’s just so many good guys,” said Lummus, ranked fifth in the world standings with $97,216. “Any of the top 75 guys in the world can beat you. Anytime you show up to a rodeo, if a guy draws a good steer, it doesn’t matter who he is or where he’s from, he can beat you. It comes back down to the luck of the draw.”

Organizers try to set the pens of livestock as evenly as possible to give every competitor as equal of a shot at winning money, but there are always animals that stand out over the rest. It’s the way the game is played, and all the contestants understand that. The ones who can overcome the adversity through the season the best typically earn a spot among the elite at the NFR, which features only the top 15 contestants in each event at the conclusion of the regular season.

He’s been close to touching that world championship, but it’s just escaped his grasp. It’s a lot like that Roundup title; he’s going to keep reaching for it as long as he can.

“Rodeo has been great for me,” said Lummus, who also serves as the rodeo coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College. “I’m right here toward the end of my career now, and it’s been awesome for me. Jen and I have our land paid for, then we owe a little bit on the house, but we’ll know here in the next couple of years that we may be debt free, and rodeo has been a big part of that.”

Dodge City Roundup Rodeo
Dodge City, Kan.
July 31-Aug. 4, 2024
Bareback riding leaders: 1. Rocker Steiner, 88 points on Frontier Rodeo’s High Heels; 2. Waylon Bourgeo0is, 85; 3. Mason Clements, 83; 4. (tie) Cooper Cooke and Jacek Frost, 81; 6. Darien Johnson, 80; 7. Cole Franks, 79.5; 8. Brayze Schill, 77.5; no other qualified rides.

Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Jacob Edler, 4.0 seconds; Dakota Eldridge, 4.3; 3. (tie) Kalane Anders and Will Lummus, 4.4; 5. Stan Branco, 5.0; 6. Brady Buum, 5.1; 7. Grant Peterson, 6.2; 8. Mike McGinn, 9.5. Second round leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 3.8 seconds; 2. (tie) Winsten McGraw and Tanner Brunner, 4.3; 4. (tie) Trevor Nelson, Jacob Edler, Jesse Brown and Chance Howard, 4.4; 8. (tie) Jace Melvin and Kalane Anders, 4.7. Average leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 8.2 seconds on two runs; 2. Jacob Edler, 8.4; 3. Kalane Anders, 9.1; 4. Dakota Eldridge, 9.6; 5. Grant Peterson, 11.2; 6. Brady Buum, 14.7; 7. Jesse Brown, 14.9; 8. Eli Lord, 15.9; 9. Stan Branco, 20.6; 10. Walt Arnold, 25.6

Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 5.2; 2. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 5.4; 3. Trey Blackmore/Whip Pop Peterson, 5.8; 4. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 5.9; 5. Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek, 6.3; 6. Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan, 6.4; 7. Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 6.5; 8. Ben Jordan/J.R. Gonzalez, 8.2. Second round leaders: 1. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 5.7 seconds; 2. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 6.1; 3. Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 10.9; 4. Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek, 11.0; 5. Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan, 16.7; 6. Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 17.7; 7. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 23.0; no other qualified runs. Average leaders: 1. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 11.1 seconds on two runs; 2. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 11.3; 3. Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek, 17.3; 4. Nelson Wyatt/Johnathan Torres, 17.4; 5. Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan, 22.1; 6. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 28.9; 7. Trey Blackmore/Whip Pop Peterson, 5.8 seconds on one run; 8. Ben Johnson/J.R. Gonzalez, 8.2; 9. Cooper White/Tucker White, 11.2; 10. Blaine Turner/Trent Vaught, 11.5.  

Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Tegan Smith, 83 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Knock Em Out John; 2. Jake Finlay, 82.5; 3. (tie) Parker Fleet and Logan Cook, 82; 5. Skinny Parsons, 77.5; 6. (tie) Noel Johnson and Coleman Shallbetter, 77; 8. Parker Kempfer, 75; 9. Ryder Sanford, 72; no other qualified rides.

Breakaway roping: First round leaders: 1. Ashley Goforth, 2.5 seconds; 2. Layni Masters, 2.6; 3. Kaitlyn Ricke, 2.7; 4. McKenna Brennan, 2.9; 5. Haley Sage, 3.3; 6. Mataya Eklund, 4.5. Second round leaders: 1. McKenna Brennan, 2.1 seconds; 2. TiAda Gray, 2.4; 3. Shelby Whiting, 2.8; 4. Kaitlyn Ricke, 3.4; 5. Amber Coleman, 3.5; 6. Aspen Miller, 12.0; 7. Seirra Heinert, 12.2; 8. Mataya Eklund, 12.5; 9. (tie) MaryBeth Beam and Shalee King, 12.6. Average leaders: 1. McKenna Brennan, 5.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Kiatlyn Ricke, 6.1; 3. Mataya Eklund, 17.0; 4. TiAda Gray, 2.4 seconds on one run; 5. Ashley Goforth, 2.5; 6. Layni Masters, 2.6; 7. Shelby Whiting, 2.8; 8. Haley Sage, 3.3; 9. Amber Coleman, 3.5; 10. Aspen Miller, 12.0; 11. Sierra Heinert, 12.20; 12. (tie) MaryBeth Beam and Shalee King, 12.6.

Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Haven Meged, 7.9 seconds; 2. Riley Webb, 8.6; 3. Riley Pruitt, 8.7; 4. (tie) Ty Harris and Marty Yates, 9.3; 6. Bodie Mattson, 10.1; 7. Blane Cox, 10.5; 8. Trevor Hale, 10.6. Second round leaders: 1. Dylan Hancock, 8.1 seconds; 2. (tie) Riley Webb and Blane Cox, 8.4; 4. Ty Harris, 8.7; 5. Cason Kingsbury, 9.6; 6. Marty Yates, 10.1; 7. Chance Thiessen, 13.8; 8. Nick Achille, 15.2. Average leaders: 1. Riley Webb, 17.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Ty Harris, 18.0; 3. Blane Cox, 18.9; 4. Marty Yates, 19.4; 5. Dylan Hancock, 19.5; 6. Riley Pruitt, 27.0; 7. Chance Oftedahl, 31.0; 8. Nick Achile, 34.2.

Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Megan Albrecht, 17.62 seconds; 2. Jessica Routier, 17.74; 3. Stephanie Yoder, 17.97; 4. Sami Jo Buum, 18.02; 5. Kelly Ferguson, 18.13; 6. Jayda Tolle, 18.23; 7, (tie) Emma Charleston and Austyn Tobey, 18.40; 9. Macie Graves, 18.50; 10. Alicia Carpenter, 18.51. Second round leaders: 1. Austyn Tobey, 17.54 seconds; 2. Megan Albrecht, 17.65; 3. Jessica Routier, 17.66; 4. Bailey McClure, 17.72; 5. (tie) Kelly Ferguson and Emma Charleston, 17.78; 7. (tie) Cayla Small and Aubrey Sprouse, 18.10; 9. Sami Jo Buum, 18.13; 10. Halyn Lide, 18.19. Average leaders: 1. Megan Albrecht, 35.27 seconds on two runs; 2. Jessica Routier, 35.40; 3. Kelly Ferguson, 35.91; 4. Austyn Tobey, 35.94; 5. Sami Jo Buum, 36.15; 6. Emma Charleston, 36.18; 7. Bailey McClure, 36.33; 8. Halyn Lide, 36.78; 9. Alicia Carpenter, 36.90; 10. Macie Graves, 37.19; 11. Tiffany Lugan, 38.16; 12. Bailey Bryson, 39.44.

Bull riding leaders: 1. (tie) Bubba Greig, on Frontier Rodeo’s Front & Center, and Jate Frost, on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Spotted Rust, 90 points; 3. T.J. Gray, 87.5; 4. (tie) Jestyn Woodward and Trevor Reiste, 83.5; no other qualified rides.