Hot Night, Hot Action in Salt Lake City - Field Set for Gold Medal Monday

SALT LAKE CITY (July 22, 2023) – It was a hot night not only in air temperature but when describing the rodeo action inside the Days of ’47 Arena. The field is now set for Gold Medal Monday at the 2023 Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo presented by Zions Bank.

            Steer Wrestler Dirk Tavenner set an arena record stopping the clock in 3.0 seconds. Tavenner of Rigby, Idaho, had everything work to perfection on a hot Friday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, to punch his ticket to Gold Medal Monday on July 24.

            “I had a good horse, good haze and it was a blur tonight,” said Tavenner after finishing atop the leaderboard and pocketing $2,000. He will be looking to add $10,000 more and a gold medal on Pioneer Day in Utah.

            The Gold Standard in Rodeo features a total of 336 competitors, who will take their shot at a share of close over three-quarters of a million in prize money and a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal that will be awarded on Monday, July 24. There will be 32 competitors in all the roughstock events (Bareback riding, Saddle Bronc riding and Bull riding) and 40 competitors in all timed events (Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Tie-down Roping, Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing).

            Cole Reiner and Orin Larsen punched their tickets to the finals in the bareback riding. Reiner got the win on Saturday night aboard Andrews Rodeo’s Cash & Carry for 87 points, while Larsen was 86 on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Atomic Blonde.

            The full field is divided into four groups of 8 each per performance in the roughstock and 10 in the timed events. The top two scores or times per performance will advance to the Gold Medal Round. Scores/times from the Semi-Final performances will NOT carry forward to the Gold Medal Round (only to break ties). The 8 competitors in each event in the Gold Medal Round will compete in a sudden-death format with the winner collecting a Gold Medal and $10,000 cash.

            The Utah team ropers took full advantage of the sold-out crowd at Days of ’47 Arena to shoot to the top of the leaderboard. Brian Winn of Annabella, Utah and Matt Liston of Salina, Utah, stopped the clock in 4.2 seconds to blow away the competition and now they have their eyes set on gold on Monday. Ty Arnold of Midway, Texas, and Kaden Michael Profili of Ogden, Utah, finished second in 5.3 seconds.

            Statler Wright will join older brother Stetson Wright as they both go for gold for the first time in their career on Monday. Statler secured his spot on Saturday night after finishing in a tie with Sterling Crawley with 84 point rides. Statler was matched with Andrews Rodeo’s Cracker Jack and Crawley aboard Macza Pro Rodeo’s Texas Tough. We will see both on Monday.

            Reid Zapalac and Kincade Henry tied for the win in the tie-down roping in a time of 8.4 seconds and both punched their ticker for the finals on Monday night. They will be searching for the gold medal and the $10,000 payday.

            It was a good day to be named Erin/Erryn in Salt Lake City on Saturday night in the breakaway roping. Three-time world champion WPRA Breakaway Roper Erin Johnson roped her calf in 2.4 seconds and Erryn Hendrix would match Johnson’s time to secure her spot in the Gold Medal Round. Johnson hails from Fowler, Colorado, while Hendrix is a home state cowgirl from Hooper, Utah.

            “This is a good rodeo to have a good day at,” stated Johnson after her winning run.

            Jordon Briggs was the quickest barrel racer on the night stopping the clock in 16.81 seconds to advance to Gold Medal Monday to defend her title from a year ago. Briggs is ranked second in the world so a big payday on Monday is what she will be eyeing along with another gold to add to her collection. She won the WPRA World title in 2021 and is hoping to add another at season’s end. Joining Briggs will be Preslie Reid of San Angelo, Texas, who finished second on the night in a time of 17.19 seconds.

            The Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, is taking 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.

            For only the eighth time in the history of rodeo, riders will have an opportunity to compete for Gold, Silver or Bronze Medals. The first two times were in conjunction with the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary (1988) and Salt Lake City (2002), when rodeo was part of the Cultural Olympiad and the other five times being 2017-2023. This will be the fourth time for breakaway ropers as their event was added to the roster in 2019. The medals that will be awarded at the Utah Days of '47 Rodeo will be produced by OC Tanner, the same company that made the Olympic medals for the champions of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

            Tickets are still available but going fast for Monday. For more information on the event visit www.utahdaysof47rodeo.com.

            Action at the Utah Day of ’47 Rodeo continues July 24 at 7:30 p.m. MT.

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Results: - Performance 4 – July 22, 2023

Bareback riding: 1. Cole Reiner, Buffalo, WY, 87 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Cash & Carry, $2,000; 2. Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, Canada, 86 on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Atomic Blonde, $1,500; 3. (tie) Kade Sonnier, Carencro, LA, on C5 Rodeo’s -44 and Jess Pope, Waverly, KS, on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’Pickup Sticks, 85, $750

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Taylor Broussard, Shane O’Connell, Jayco Roper, Sam Peterson, Kaycee Feild, R.C. Landingham, Cole Reiner and Orin Larsen

Steer wrestling: 1. Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, ID, 3.0 seconds, $2,000; 2. (tie) Riley Reiss, Manning, N.D. and Stan Branco, Chowchilla, CA, 3.8, $1,250 each; 4. Cyler Dowling, Newell, SD, 4.8, $500

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Dalton Massey, Don Payne, Cody Devers, Stetson Jorgensen, Mike McGinn, Kalane Anders, Dirk Tavenner and Riley Reiss

Team roping: 1. Brian Winn, Annabella, UT/Matt Liston, Salina, UT, 4.2 seconds, $2,000 each; 2. Ty Arnold, Midway, UT/Kaden Michael Profili, Jacksonville, TX, 5.3, $1,500; 3. Tanner Pallesen, Manila, UT/Kelton Morse, Ogden, UT, 5.4, $1,000; 4. Tanner Tomlinson, Angleton, TX/Patrick Smith, Lipan, TX, 9.2, $500.

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Brentan Hall/Paden Bray, Aaron Tsinigine/Ryan Motes, Kreece Thompson/Landon Glenn, J7 Bland/Tyson Thompson, Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, Marcus Theriot/Cole Curry, Brian Winn/Matt Liston and Ty Arnold/Kaden Michael Profili

Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Statler Wright, Beaver, UT, on Andrews Rodeo’s Cracker Jack and Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, TX, on Macza Pro Rodeo’s Texas Tough, 84 points, $1,750 each; 3. Damian Brennan, Ijune, Australia, 83 on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Damaged Goods, $1,000; 4. Cash Wilson, Wall, SD, 78.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Twisted Cinches, $500.

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Riggin Smith, Zeke Thurston, Tanner Butner, Ryder Sanford, Kade Bruno, Stetson Wright, Statler Wright and Sterling Crawley

Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Reid Zapalac, Bangs, TX and Kincade Henry, Mount Pleasant, TX, 8.4 seconds, $1,750 each; 3. Raulie Hurtado, Dietrich, ID, 9.3, $1,000; 4. (tie) Booker Body McCutchen, Harrison, AR, and Hagen Houck, Henrietta, TX, 9.4, $250 each.

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Michael Otero, Zack Jongbloed Luke Potter, Nilton Braga, Shane Hanchey, Richard Newton, Reid Zapalac and Kincade Henry

Breakaway roping: 1. (tie) Erin Johnson, Fowler, CO and Erryn Hendrix, Hooper, UT, 2.4 seconds, $1,750 each; 3. (tie) Lynn Smith, Elfrida, AZ and Raegan Steed, Plymouth, UT, 2.8, $750 each.

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Justine Doka, Jordan Jo Hollabaugh, Brighton Bauman, Quincy Sullivan, Zoie Bedke, Braylee Shepherd, Erin Johnson and Erryn Hendrix

Barrel racing: 1. Jordon Briggs, Tolar, TX, 16.81 seconds, $2,000; 2. Preslie Reid, San Angelo, TX, 17.19, $1,500; Amanda Welsh, Stephenville, TX, 17.29, $1,000; 4. Ashley Rogers, Amite, LA, 17.30, $500.

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Makala Pierce, Rachelle Riggers, Emily Beisel, Ilyssa Riley, McKenna Coronado, Jordon Briggs and Preslie Reid

Bull riding: No qualified rides

Gold Medal Round qualifiers: Trey Benton III, Tristen Hutchings, Colton Byram, J.B. Mauney, Jordan Spears, Jordan Hansen, JaCauy Hale, Parker Breding

*Note to fill the eight for Medal Monday it will go back a random draw of the full field