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2009 Dodge National Circuit

Finals Rodeo: Local favorite Baldwin gives DNCFR crowd what it wants

 

POCATELLO, Idaho - The big story in the local papers out of nearby Blackfoot this week was the presence of wolves there and whether they present a danger. Friday night Nate Baldwin pushed the wolves off the front page.

The Blackfoot tie-down roper produced the fastest time of the second round at the $491,250 Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, and keep alive his hopes for a second DNCFR title in front of his hometown fans.

His time of 7.8 seconds was the fastest of the rodeo thus far, two tenths of a second faster than Kadin Boardman of Jackson, Mo., and moved him up to third place in the average standings midway through the second round. If no more than five ropers surpass his two-head time of 19.0 seconds in the April 11 matinee completion of the second round he will make it back for the big-money night session.

"I was really relieved," Baldwin said. "I was under a lot of pressure. That first night I didn't rope very well. I had a really good calf and I didn't handle things very well. I just wanted to make a good run tonight to be able to have another chance on Saturday night.

"I went under eight (seconds). Hopefully, that will be be good enough to make the top eight. There are a lot of good guys going tomorrow. I just want to get back - get in that top eight where we can start over and go from there."

One of those 'good guys' in today's matinee is his friend and defending DNCFR champion Matt Shiozawa, of Chubbuck, who won the first round here with a time of 8.2 seconds. Both local favorites have a DNCFR title to their credit and would like nothing better than to square off in Holt Arena and go head-to-head for another one.

"I hope Matt does as well as he can," Baldwin said. "You don't have to worry about him; he takes care of business. He's always on the top of his game."

Cutter Parsons, the 2007 DNCFR tie-down roping champion from Marana, Ariz., is leading the average with a two-head time of 16.7 seconds after finishing third April 10 with an 8.3-second run.

"I just work on staying calm and making a good run - using what I have," Parsons said. "I drew two really good calves and I try to take advantage of those calves. I love the facility here and the people here. It is great."

Reigning World Champion Steer Wrestler Luke Branquinho redeemed himself April 10, much as Baldwin had done. He bounced back from a shaky first round ("a bit of pilot error") to produce a 4.2-second run that was the best of the night and stay on track for getting a set of keys to the Dodge Ram track that goes to the winner of each DNCFR event.

Branquinho stands fourth in the average midway through the second round with a two-head time of 11.5 seconds, trailing Dean McIntyre, Greg Bennett and Matt Reeves.

"I just tried to be as fast as I could to get back on Saturday," Branquinho said. "I knew I had a steer I could do well on, and that's just what I tried to do. I hope this was enough to get me back and have a chance to win a truck."

Comebacks seemed to be the story line of the night. Mountain States team roping pair of Garrett Tonozzi of Fruita, Colo., and J.W. Borrego of Pueblo West, Colo., had the best time of the night with a 4.6-second run after stumbling to10th place in the first round. It didn't just keep alive their hopes of advancing, it moved them to second place in the average.

Their two-head time of 14.8 is just a half-second behind leaders Jeff Crouch of Bancroft, Wis., and Chad Day of Marana, Ariz., competing for the Great Lakes Circuit.

If Tonozzi and Borrego make it to the semifinals, all previous times are wiped away, an aspect of the format here that is to their liking.

"I think the way J.W. and I both rope it helps us out," Tonozzi said. "It's going to work in our favor. We both go for first every time we rope."

Despite a faulty scouting report on the Brookman Rodeo horse Rock Star, Kaycee Feild made the necessary adjustments to secure the best ride of the night in the bareback riding. His 87 points was four better than Tyson Thompson of Merrill, Ore., and assured Feild a berth in the Aprill semifinals with 169 points on two head.

"That horse was supposed to just go straight," he said. "Instead he jumped high in the air and spun. He changed it up out there. When a horse spins it turns you to the outside," he said. "It's hard for you to stay centered, and when you're not centered it's hard to spur with both feet."

Rusty Allen of Eagle Mountain, Utah, continues to be the story of the saddle bronc competition. He won the first round with an 88-point score and led the field April 10 by earning 87 points on Kesler Rodeo's Country Cat, 10 points better than Jake Griffin and Shane Moran in second place.

Allen had ridden Country Cat before and was really excited about the draw from the moment he got the phone call from reigning World Champion Cody Wright with the news.

""I was just happy to draw two together like that - instead of one good one and one mediocre one," he said. "If you get on two good horses like that it's great."

Utah emergency room nurse Nancy Hunter had the fastest run of the night in the barrel racing of 15.02 seconds and leads the two-head average with a time of 30.45 seconds.

Nobody made the eight-second whistle in the bull riding and the bulls are now 32-4 for the rodeo. No bulls team has been this dominant since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were in their prime in Chicago.

The second round will be completed in the 11:45 a.m. performance on April 11. The top eight in the average standings advance to the semifinals at 7 p.m. April 11, where all past times and scores are tossed out. The top four go on to the finals, where once again all times and scores are discarded. The winner of the final is the DNCFR champion.

The PRCA paid all PRCA members' entry fees at the DNCFR this year.