October 2007
October 8, 2007 The last time I wrote, I was getting ready to head to Omaha (Neb.) for the third Ariat Playoffs. I finally qualified for the final round after missing it in Caldwell and Puyallup. I ended up third in a very fast final round. Stockton Graves and Shawn Greenfield tied with a 3.8-second run, while I had a 4.2. The steer wrestling was a tight event on the final night. Stockton, Shawn and Josh Peek all turned in 3.8-second runs in the semifinals to move into the final round and I finished fourth with a 4.4. In the end, Stockton was the big winner, after having the faster average time when compared to Shawn’s. It was fun watching it all play out and I hope the fans enjoyed it as well. We got to Omaha the night of the 26th and then we had to go through check-in on Thursday, the 27th at the arena. After checking in, having a meeting and then going through the openings and closings, we grabbed a bite to eat and got ready for the first round. Stockton won the round with a 3.6-second run and I was third with a 4.1. My traveling partner, Billy Bugenig finished fifth in the round with a run of 4.4 seconds. The next day, I was supposed to do a TV interview for the local ABC affiliate in Omaha at 6:30 in the morning. However, I got a call about 6:00 saying that they had to cancel because of a breaking news story. So, I went back to sleep. I got up a few hours later as Fox Sports Net was going to do an interview with me about life on the road and then I was going to help out with the Rough N Ready rodeo they have every year in Omaha. I got mixed up on my times and thought the FSN interview was going to be around 10:45 and the Rough N Ready started at 11. I was about an hour off and so the FSN folks showed up a little before 10 to do the interview and I found out the Rough N Ready deal started at 10. I did the interview and then went into the arena to assist with the Rough N Ready rodeo. The Rough N Ready rodeo is an event for kids with disabilities and it is always fun to work with the kids and see their excitement when participating in some of the rodeo events. This year there were about 80 kids that participated and several of the cowboys came out to help. It lasted about an hour and then I went to grab lunch. That afternoon some ladies from the PRCA Media department and prorodeo.com came out to take some photos of our rig for a feature they were working on. Then it was time for the second round. Shawn Greenfield won the second round with a time of 3.9 seconds. I again finished fourth with a time of 5.1 seconds. Billy had a tough night finishing ninth with an 8.6. Luckily for both of us, we finished in the top eight in the average and advanced to the semifinals on Saturday. I finished third in the average with 9.2 seconds on two head, while Billy was eighth with an 18-flat. Saturday we took it pretty easy. Like I reported already I made it to the final round. Unfortunately, Billy didn’t have the best draw and finished eighth in the semifinals with a 7.8-second run. In the end I picked up a check worth $5,625. This year has been a really competitive year in the steer wrestling. Lee (Graves) has been on a great horse and Jule (Hazen) jumped out with a big lead after winning the $50,000 in Houston. It has been a fun race and I thrive on that kind of stuff. It is shaping up to be a nail biter in Las Vegas. Hopefully, I can go into the ninth or 10th round ahead, but if not I am not backing down. I am looking forward to it all. Hopefully with Dallas I will be able to extend my lead on the rest of the field. It will be interesting in Dallas, since the Canadian Finals are happening at the same time. With the season over and a break in the action, I am going to take this time to relax at home and then go on a couple of hunting trips before I have to get back to the business of steer wrestling. I will try and be back in touch before Dallas or right after. So until next time, Luke |
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