ProRodeo Sports News - July 12, 2019

event guys. It’s like the Pendleton (Round- Up) setup, but on dirt. We had a rope-off, and Tyson beat me for the buckle. There were no hard feelings. Tyson caught a ride with me because we had to be in Red Lodge (Mont.) at 7 a.m. the next morning.” Riemer credited the horse he was riding, Cutter, for his Ponoka success. Cutter is owned by Johnny Johnson. “He wasn’t quite sure about the setup on the first one because he’d never been in anything like that before,” Riemer said. “But I drew great and my horse just kept getting better and better each run. Right before the summer began, Johnny offered him (Cutter) to me to take out here and ride. It meant a lot to me because I always liked that horse. To add him to my string really helped. I mostly rode Cutter in the practice pen. Ponoka was like the sixth or seventh rodeo I rode him at, so I was surprised how well he $48,949 Combined amount of money tie-down roper Cooper Mar- tin earned during the 2018 and 2019 Cowboy Christ- mas runs. Martin earned $23,944 last year and was the timed-event Cowboy Christmas top earner. He earned $25,005 this Cow- boy Christmas, fourth most overall. He travels with Reese Riemer, who won Cowboy Christmas this year for timed-event cowboys with $27,019.

Matt Cohen photo Riemer has overcome an injury-riddled start to the season and is in Wrangler NFR contention.

Riemer takes timed-event title

BY TRACY RENCK T he 2019 PRCA season looked to be a forgettable one for veteran tie-down roper Reese Riemer after suffering a left knee injury in a non-rodeo related accident the first week of February. Riemer’s injury made him uncompetitive, and he had arthroscopic surgery to repair an MCL sprain and tears to his meniscus. He had the surgery March 23 and was out for six weeks. Riemer resurrected his lost season during Cowboy Christmas. The Stinnett, Texas, cowboy stuffed his stocking full of money and put himself in position to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the fourth time. From June 30 to July 9, Riemer earned $27,019 to capture the honor as the Cowboy Christmas timed-event champion.

TOP TIMED-EVENT 1. Reese Riemer, TD......................$27,019 2. Clay Smith, TR..........................$25,419 Jade Corkill, TR.........................$25,419 4. Cooper Martin, TD.................. $25,005 5. Tyson Durfey, TD. .................... $20,477 6. Justin Smith, TD....................... $18,660 7. Erich Rogers, TR........................$17,349 Paden Bray, TR..........................$17,349 9. Tanner Brunner, SW................ $16,486 10. Randall Carlisle, TD................$16,410 11. Ty Erickson, SW.......................$15,673 12. Tyler Milligan, TD................... $14,966 13. Cole Davison, TR.................... $14,663 Levi Simpson, TR.................... $14,663 15. Taylor Santos, TD................... $14,239

adapted.” Edgar, 17, is Riemer’s main horse and the horse he rode at rodeos in the U.S. during Cowboy Christmas. Riemer and Edgar teamed to win the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede after stopping the clock in 8.2 seconds. Riemer earned $9,912 for the victory. “I honestly was already on Cloud Nine (after Ponoka),” Riemer said. “I drew a good calf at Cody, and I got back on Edgar. The stars aligned, and I made a really good run. I roped there in the slack and didn’t think I would win with that time, but I snuck by everybody.” With a truckload of confidence, Riemer, who qualified for the Wrangler NFR in 2014, 2016 and 2018, is eyeing another trip to Las Vegas. “I’m back in the hunt, and the plan is to get back to the NFR,” Riemer said. “The horses feel great and roping feels great. This is the time to get hot and get things rolling.”

“It felt great (to win that much money),” said Riemer, 28. “Every cowboy hopes to win that much money going into that week. When you start entering those rodeos, that’s what is on everybody’s mind – how much money you are running at and how much a guy can win. To have a run like that is special. I had some good Cowboy Christmas runs in the past, but nothing like this one.” Riemer climbed from 75th to 17th in the July 9 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $42,634. Riemer’s biggest lick came at the Ponoka (Alberta) Stampede, where he earned $13,208. He tied Tyson Durfey in the four-man showdown, as each had 9.3-second runs. For splitting the Showdown win, Riemer and Durfey each earned $6,225. “That was only the second time I’ve ever entered that rodeo,” Riemer said. “The first year I went I didn’t rope well, but I wanted to go back because I like the rodeo and I like the setup because it is a little bit different for the timed-

ProRodeo Sports News 7/12/2019

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