Gold Medals Presented at Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo
SALT LAKE CITY (July 24, 2024) – It was a Golden Night at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo presented by Zions Bank. Less than 24 hours after Salt Lake City learned they would be hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics, rodeo champions stood atop the medal stand to close out the 2024 edition of the Only Gold Medal Rodeo in the World.
Tie-down roper Riley Webb never gave up hope in standing atop the medal stand in Salt Lake City and the dream of winning a gold medal came true in 2024 with a 7.3-second run. Webb of Denton, Texas, experienced tough luck here in the past but it was his night Wednesday. He and fellow world champion Haven Meged stopped the clock in 7.3 seconds, but Webb won the tiebreaker after having a faster time during the qualifying performances.
"I love it and when Haven backs you in the corner, and this last year he's back me in the corner several times, I try to come out swinging and it worked out again tonight," stated Webb after the capturing the title. "You just have to show up and do your job every day. The best eight guys in the world roped tonight so you have to give it your all. I want to give God all the glory and I'm very blessed."
Meged got the silver, while John Douch captured bronze with an 8.5-second run. While medals were decided with a tie breaker, Webb and Meged will split the money with each adding another $11,000 to their world standings.
The Gold Standard in Rodeo featured a total of 288 competitors, who took their shot at a share of close over three-quarters of a million in prize money and a gold, silver or bronze medal that was awarded on Wednesday, July 24.
The barrel racing was a race to the finish with Kassie Mowry of Dublin, Texas, laying down the fastest time of the night with a 16.75-second run. Mowry relied on her trusty stead Force The Goodbye “Jarvis” who turned in times this week in Salt Lake of 16.71, 16.86 and then the gold medal run, the fastest time of the performances, with a 16.75.
"I've had some great horses in my career and this horse tops it all,” said Mowry after winning Gold. “He's just taken me for a ride and we're having a lot of fun.”
This was Mowry’s first time to step on the medal stand in Salt Lake City. Joining her was Taycie Matthews with the silver after stopping the clock in 16.93 seconds and Dona Kay Rule captured the bronze in 16.98 seconds.
World champion bareback rider Keenan Hayes has now added a gold medal to his trophy case after riding Championship Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks for 89 points. Taking second was Garrett Shadbolt with an 86.5, and Leighton Berry took bronze with an 85.5.
Saddle bronc rider Brody Wells brought the heat as he shot to the top of the leaderboard with a 92-point ride aboard Sankey Rodeo’s The Black Tie. Wells of Powell, Wyoming captured his first gold medal, and he won’t soon forget the sound of the Utah crowd after his gold medal performance. Kade Bruno took silver by just one point with a 91, while Dawson Hay took the bronze medal back to Canada with his 88.5-point ride.
The steer wrestling was a close race tonight with Don Payne taking the gold medal after stopping the clock in 3.9 seconds. He was followed closely by Tristan Martin with a 4.0. Rounding out the top three and earning bronze was Shane Frey with a 4.1-second run.
Prior to 2017 when the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo started awarding medals, the only two other opportunities rodeo athletes had to compete for gold, silver and bronze were in 1988 and 2002 when the Olympic Games were in Calgary and Salt Lake City, respectively. As part of the Cultural Arts Festival in each location, a rodeo was held pitting U.S. vs Canada.
There was another tie on the night in the breakaway roping with Willow Wilson and Rickie Fanning stopping the clock in 3.1 seconds in the breakaway roping. Wilson captured gold based on the tiebreaker from the progressive performances, with Fanning taking the silver. Rylee George of Oakdale, California took the bronze with a time of 2.8 seconds.
The full field was divided into four groups with eight contestants each performance. The top two scores or times per performance advanced to the Gold Medal Round. Scores/times from the Semi-Final performances did NOT carry forward to the Gold Medal Round (only to break ties). The eight (8) competitors in each event in the Gold Medal Round competed in a sudden-death format with the winner collecting a Gold Medal and $13,000 cash.
It was a rough night in the team roping with only two teams catching their steer to stop the clock. Jake Smith and Douglas Rich stood atop the medal stand after stopping the clock in 4.4 seconds and Shay Carroll and Jace Helton finished with the silver with a 5.0-second run. Brothers Dawson and Dillon Graham took bronze based on their time from the long round at the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo.
Bringing the night to a close in the bull riding was TJ Gray of Dairy, Oregon, posting an 85.5 on Andrews Rodeo’s Shockazooloo to stand atop the medal stand. Joining him was Rawley Johnson of Ririe, Idaho, with the only other qualified ride of the night with an 84 on Championship Rodeo’s Original Windmill Fanatic. Hayes Weight won the bronze after having the highest score from the previous round.
The Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, took place at the $17.5 million state-of-the-art Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fairpark, custom designed and built for rodeo. The venue — an outdoor arena located in the heart of Salt Lake City — features over 10,000 stadium-style seats.
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Results: - Performance 5 – July 24, 2024 – Results are only top 4 but all eight won money
Bareback riding: 1. Keenan Hayes, Hayden, CO, 89 points on Championship Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks, $13,000; 2. Garrett Shadbolt, Herriman, NE, 86.5 on Championship Rodeo’s Weenie, $9,000; 3. Leighton Berry, Weatherford, TX, 85.5 on Three Hills Rodeo’s Tarnished Silver, $5,000; 4. RC Landingham, Hat Creek, CA, 82 points, $2,750.
Gold: Keenan Hayes
Silver: Garrett Shadbolt
Bronze: Leighton Berry
Steer wrestling: 1. Don Payne, Stephenville, TX, 3.9 seconds, $13,000; 2. Tristan Martin, Sulphur, LA, 4.0, $9,000; 3. Shane Frey, Duncan, OK, 4.1, $5,000; 4. Gavin Soileau, Bunkie, LA, 4.2, $2,750.
Gold: Don Payne
Silver: Tristan Martin
Bronze: Shane Frey
Team roping: 1. Jake Smith, Broken Bow, OK/Douglas Rich, Herrick, IL, 4.4 seconds, $13,000 each; 2. Shay Carroll, Stephenville, TX/Jace Helton, Tolar, TX, 5.0, $9,000; no other qualified times.
Gold: Jake Smith/Douglas Rich
Silver: Shay Carroll/Jace Helton
Bronze: Dawson Graham/Dillon Graham*
*won bronze based on previous performance fast time of 3.7 seconds.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Brody Wells, Powell, WY, 92 points on Sankey Rodeo’s The Black Tie, $13,000; 2. Kade Bruno, Challis ID, 91 on C5 Rodeo’s Hangover Face, $9,000; 3. Dawson Hay, Wildwood, AB, 88.5 on Andrews Rodeo’s All Or Nothin, $5,000; 4. Ryder Wright, Beaver, UT, 87 on Championship Rodeo’s Smokewagon, $2,750.
Gold: Brody Wells
Silver: Kade Bruno
Bronze: Dawson Hay
Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Riley Webb, Denton, TX, and Haven Meged, Miles City, MT, 7.3 seconds, $11,000; 3. John Douch, Huntsville, TX, 8.5, $5,000; 4. Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, AB, 8.9, $2,750
Gold: Riley Webb
Silver: Haven Meged
Bronze: John Douch
*Webb won the gold based on tiebreaker of having fastest time from previous round (6.9 seconds to Meged’s 8.3)
Breakaway roping: 1. (tie) Willow Wilson, Baggs, WY, and Rickie Fanning, Spearfish, SD, 2.5 seconds, $11,000 each; 3. Rylee George, Oakdale, CA, 3.0, $5,000; 4. Kendal Pierson, Wardlow, AB, 3.3, $2,750.
Gold: Willow Wilson
Silver: Rickie Fanning
Bronze: Rylee George
*Wilson won the gold based on tiebreaker of having fastest average time from qualifying rides (6.1 on two to Fanning’s 86.4)
Barrel racing: 1. Kassie Mowry, Dublin, TX, 16.75 seconds, $13,000; 2. Taycie Matthews, Wynne, AR, 16.93, $9,000; 3. Dona Kay Rule, Minco, OK, 16.98, $5,000; 4. Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, TX, 17.21, $2,750.
Gold: Kassie Mowry
Silver: Taycie Matthews
Bronze: Dona Kay Rule
Bull riding: 1. TJ Gray, Dairy, OR, 85.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Shockazooloo, $13,050; 2. Rawley Johnson, Ririe, ID, 84 on Championship Rodeo’s Original Windmill Fanatic, $9,050; no other qualified rides
Gold: TJ Gray
Silver: Rawley Johnson
Bronze: Hayes Weight
*Weight won bronze based on previous score of 91 points