May 2008

May 5, 2008

I hope this finds everyone doing well on this Cinco de Mayo day. I am back in California after my successful trip to the panhandle of Oklahoma for the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo. The last two years this rodeo has been good to me. In 2007, I won the Tour round and finished second in the average. This year, I won the average aboard Curtis Cassidy’s horse Willie with a time of 10.8 seconds on three head and picked up a check totaling $8,643. Guymon is always a tough rodeo for me to want to go to since this time of the year most of the rodeos I compete at are in California. However, when I win money like I have the last couple years, it makes it easier to make that trip.

April was a pretty good month for me. I spent my time in California and I even did a little tie-down roping. In fact, thanks to my tie-down roping in Oakdale I picked up the all-around title one year after my older brother Casey. I finished third in the tie-down roping in Oakdale and fourth in the steer wrestling. Oakdale is like a second home for me as I spent a lot of time in Oakdale earlier in my career learning the finer aspects of steer wrestling from Trav Cadwell and Vince Walker. In 2001, I won the steer wrestling title at the Oakdale Saddle Club Rodeo, so to now add the all-around title is pretty neat.

Other than Oakdale, I placed in the second round in San Francisco with a 4.1-second run and won $827. I didn’t have much luck in Red Bluff but was able to pick up a little money in Clovis the weekend after. I won the third round with a 4.4 –second run, which was good for a check totaling $1,829.

My traveling partner from last year, Billy Bugenig, made his return to the arena in Clovis (Calif.) after suffering a torn pectoral muscle right before the Texas Stampede last November in Dallas. If you recall, it happened in the practice pen days before we competed in Dallas and despite the injury Billy competed in hopes of hanging on to his top 15 ranking. Unfortunately, a trip to the NFR was not in the cards for him when Matt Reeves knocked him out of the top 15. He had surgery following Dallas and he is back to make another run at the finals. Billy finished second in the third round at Clovis with a 4.8-second run and picked up $1,514 to get his year started. It is good to have him back. He went to Guymon with us and had a chance in the third round to place in the money but it wasn’t meant to be. He had the same steer that Jason Miller, another of our traveling partners, was 2.9 seconds on in the second round but things didn’t go the same for Billy and he finished with a 6.0-second run.

Speaking of that run by Jason, what a great run that was. It was so amazing to see that. Besides my 2.7-second run last year in San Francisco, that is the fastest run I have seen. When Jason hit the ground I knew it was going to be fast because from that point on everything worked perfectly. I predicted it was a three flat, so I was pretty close. Way to go Jason!!!

Following Guymon, Billy and I flew back to Bakersfield for the rodeo. I finished second, while Billy was sixth. If my figures are correct, I believe after this weekend’s earnings I have now crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings. It is a great accomplishment but you don’t know how bad I wish it had all come at once. Hopefully, the next million will come a little sooner.

Like I said at the top of this blog, I am now back home for awhile. Most of the rodeos that I will be going to over the next month will be right here in California. Be sure to check out my rodeo schedule for the list of rodeos I plan to enter. It will be nice to get a little rest before the summer run kicks into high gear in June starting in Reno.

As many of you have probably already heard or been told by me, my wife Lindsay and I are expecting our first child on June 16. It is a little boy and Lindsay has done a great job getting the nursery ready. Since I have been on the road so much this winter, she had to put it all together but she did an amazing job with it. We are both looking forward to the new addition to our family and all the new adventures we will experience as parents.

Well, I guess that about sums up everything that has been going on since the last time I checked in. If anything exciting happens in the next few weeks, I will be sure to share with you but otherwise I will plan to check back in with you around the first of June.

Thanks for reading and I will talk to you later,

Luke

Guymon (Okla.) Pioneer Days Rodeo News Release - May 2, 2008

Champ cashes in during Guymon rodeo

GUYMON, Okla. – Luke Branquinho knows the path to the pay window at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo.

In two days of competition this week, the 2004 steer wrestling world champion from Los Alamos, Calif., has placed in both preliminary go-rounds and has advanced into the progressive round during Oklahoma’s Richest Rodeo at Henry C. Hitch Pioneer Arena. He will be one of 40 bulldoggers to compete in a third round during the four performances of the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, a major player in the sport that has been part of the prestigious ProRodeo Tour since the system’s implementation earlier this decade.

Steer wrestlers, steer ropers, team ropers and tie down ropers compete in two preliminary rounds, then the top 40 cumulative times qualify for the progressive round, which will be part of the performances over the weekend.

Branquinho pinned his first steer in 3.7 seconds during non-performance competition – known as slack in rodeo terms – on Tuesday to tie Wade Sumpter of Fowler, Colo., to win the opening go-round. He then matched that feat in Wednesday’s second round, but that was only good enough for a tie for fifth place in the round.

In 7.4 seconds of work this week, Branquinho has earned $2,931.

But he may not be the biggest bulldogging story in Guymon. During Wednesday’s competition, reigning world champion Jason Miller of Lance Creek, Wyo., grappled his steer in 2.9 seconds to set a Hitch Arena record.

Results: Steer wrestling: First round: 1. (tie) Luke Branquinho and Wade Sumpter, 3.7 seconds, $2,136 each; 3. (tie) Curtis Cassidy and Jule Hazen, 3.8, $1,540 each; 5. (tie) Shawn Greenfield, Beau Franzen and Clayton Morrison, 4.0, $795 each; 8. (tie) Jon Ragatz and Trevor Cox, 4.1, $99 each. Second round: 1. Jason Miller, 2.9 seconds (arena record), $2,285; 2. Baillie Milan, 3.5, $1,987; 3. (tie) Clint Robinson and Gabe Ledoux, 3.6, $1,540 each; 5. (tie) Trey Austin III, Luke Branquinho and Beau Franzen, 3.7, $795 each; 8. (tie) Clifford Smith, Linn Churchill and Shawn Greenfield, 4.0, $66 each.

Courtesy: Ted Harbin