Oklahoma Rodeo crowns Prairie Circuit champs

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Published on Saturday, 05 November 2011 14:58

Riley Duvall might have broken a bone in his hand, but it wasn’t keeping him from competing at the Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

The steer wrestler from Checotah, Okla., had his hand injured and possibly broken when it was stepped on by a hazing horse at the American Royal in Kansas City Friday night. But that wasn’t going to stop him from his first trip to the Finals. “I have a chance to win (the Finals), and I couldn’t miss this rodeo. I’ll get it x-rayed tomorrow.”

The injury didn’t stop Duvall from doing well this weekend. He turfed his first steer in 4.1 seconds and his second steer in 3.8 seconds to win both the year end and average championship for 2011. The win capped off a good month for him. “The last month has been great, real good,” he said. He is the 2011 Prairie Circuit Rookie of the Year and won the All-American ProRodeo Finals in Waco in mid-October, too. “It’s been one of them deals. Everything’s been clicking. My horse has been working super and I’ve been drawing good.”

A person really can’t grow up to be anything but a steer wrestler with the last name of Duvall. The Duvall name is synonymous with the event, and Riley joked about it. “No, they (his family) didn’t give me much of a choice. It was pretty much bulldog or get out of the family. I decided I’d better hang around.”

Riley’s father Sam hazed for him, and they travel with his uncle Spud Duvall, and Riley’s cousin Sam Duvall. “We all get to go together, and they’ll gripe at me a little bit. If I do anything wrong, I hear about it.”

Another Oklahoma cowboy won a championship at this weekend’s Prairie Circuit Finals. Monty Goodwin scored 153 points on two head in the bareback riding to win the average and edge out Codi Myers by only one point.

“I had two nice draws,” Goodwin said of his horses. His 72 point ride in the first go-round didn’t win him money, but his 81 point ride in the second round put him tied for first place. “I knew I was down from the first round, and the only way to make it up was to really go for it today.”

Goodwin attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, and is now a resident of that city, so this weekend’s rodeo was a hometown event. “My last year here in college, I didn’t get to ride because of a knee surgery, so I was really excited about getting to come here and ride.”

The day was memorable for Goodwin for more than his win. His father passed away in 2007, and today was his birthday, and Goodwin looked for a way to honor his father. He wore a pair of chaps his father had given him, and one of his dad’s hats.  

Other champions for the circuit included year end bareback champion Codi Myers, Samnorwood, Texas; saddle bronc riding year end and average champion Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla.; bull riding year end champion Dustin Hall, Republic, Mo.; bull riding average champion Ty Clearwater, LaCygne, Kan.; team roping year end champions Charles Pogue, Ringling, Okla. and Jett Hilman, Jones, Okla.; team roping average champions Tyler Johnson, Bucyrus, Kan. and Mitch Murray, Alma, Kan.; tie-down roping year end champion Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla.; tie-down roping average champion Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla.; and barrel racing year end and average champion Jeanne Anderson, White City, Kan.

Year end and average champions from the 2011 Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo will go on to represent the Prairie Circuit at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City in March, 2012. For more information on the Prairie Circuit Finals and the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association, visit www.prorodeo.com.