BIG SPRING, Texas – With two little ones eager to start competing in rodeo, it was only natural that Bray Armes turned his attention to them.
A three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier who just missed out on making it a fourth straight time in 2015, Armes and his wife, Neelley, met through the sport. They passed down their passions to Breely and Drake, and the two youngsters have taken to it well. The kids have found success along the way, and the intensity to their competitive nature has aged with them as they’ve grown.
That’s why Dad is back on the rodeo trail. He returned to his ol’ stompin’ grounds during Thursday’s opening night of the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo, where he posted a 4.0-second run to take the early steer wrestling lead.
“Drake is trying to tell me I need to go (to the NFR) one more time because it blew his mind that I’d never won a go-round buckle, even though I won something way better,” said Bray Armes, 43, a Howard College graduate now living in Stephenville, Texas. “I won the NFR average, but I’d been there three times and never won a round. So, he said I’ve got to go back.
“I told him, ‘No, I’ve got to finish raising you first.’ We’ll see what God has in store for us, and whatever His plan is, we’ll see.”
Armes posted the best 10-round cumulative time at the 2013 championship to earn the prestigious title. For many, it’s the second-most title that rodeo competitors want to win; to beat the other top 14 in the world standings is quite a feat.
While Drake, 16, is too young to compete in ProRodeo, Bray isn’t the only member of his family in the field in Big Spring. Neelley and Breely are competing in breakaway roping, so rodeo is definitely a family affair. Don’t be surprised to see Drake following in his daddy’s footsteps in a year and a half when he turns 18.
He’ll have a good example. While Bray Armes owns the lead, he nitpicked at his run. He rushed a bit, he said, and tried to throw the steer too quickly. Instead of getting ahold of the steer’s nose on the transition, Armes missed but was able to power the animal over.
“You don’t ever want to off-horn one, but when you feel like you’re a little behind in timing, you’ve just got one chance to do what you can,” he said. “I’m trying to win first every time.”
That’s the mentality that has proven to be so successful over his career, and he’s not changing now, even though it’s been several years since he hit the rodeo trail. He’s stayed in good shape and credits part of that to taking years off the practice of wrestling livestock and the tens of thousands of miles ProRodeo cowboys travel per year in order to make the NFR.
Oh, and never mind that his most entrusted teammate is Neelley, who not only competes herself but serves as the hazer – the person who rides on the other side of the steer to keep it lined out for the bulldogger – for her husband and others.
“Neelly is as good a hazer as I’ve ever had,” Bray Armes said. “I know she’s going to give it everything she’s got every time. I’ve been blessed with a lot of good hazers, and she hazes just as good as any of them.”
He’s back at it, proving that talent and fortitude can carry athletes even through the years. He loves the competition, but rodeo is about a lot more than that. While in town, he was able to share time with many people he’s known for two decades. He still cherishes the time he spent in this west Texas town.
“I started bulldogging the summer before my senior year (in high school), and then I got hurt playing football, so I didn’t hardly bulldog much,” he said. “Greg Kernick was the rodeo coach here, and he was about the only coach that recruited me. That’s why I came here.
“It’s been a blessing ever since. There are a lot of great people right here.”
Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo
June 19-21
Bareback riding: 1. Zach Hibler, 80 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Rodeo Colors; 2. Monty Ray Fontenot, 69; 3. Rhett Hadley Kelley, 66; no other qualified rides.
Steer wrestling: 1. Bray Armes, 4.0 seconds; 2. Cimarron Thompson, 4.1; 3. Casey Collins, 6.1; 4. Wyatt Fields, 6.8; 5. Colton Swearingen, 14.6; no other qualified runs.
Tie-down roping: 1. Ace Reese, 10.4 seconds; 2. Jett Barrett, 12.1; 3. (tie) Ryan Thibodeaux and Weldon Watson, 22.4 each; no other qualified runs.
Breakaway roping: Results not yet available; they will be updated when possible.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Sterling Crawley, 85.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Apache Junction; 2. Chase Brooks, 85; 3. Jacobs Crawley, 80; 4. Brody Cress, 78; 5. Wyatt LaVergne, 76; 6. Carson Neal, 67.
Team roping: 1. Roan Oldfield/Pace Blanchard, 4.4 seconds; 2. McCray Profili/McCoy Profili, 5.1; 3. Payden Emmett/Jorge Pina Lopez, 9.4; 4. Jim Breck Bean/Jasper Klein, 12.0; 5. Mason Rust/JD McGuire, 20.0; no other qualified runs.
Barrel racing: 1. Cheyenne Wimberley, 15.73 seconds; 2. Corley Cox, 15.94; 3. Morgan Addison, 16.02; 4. Kirstin Carlson, 16.58; 5. Madison Bean, 20.92; 6. Gracen Harman, 26.04.
Bull riding: No qualified rides.