Cream of rodeo crop rises to top on Championship Night

The 2008 Dodge City Roundup Rodeo came and went in a five-day flash, and Sunday's championship night saw the highest caliber competition of the week.
    Steven Dent took the first-place belt buckle and more than $3,200 home to Mullen, Neb. in bareback riding for the night's effort. He and Colorado native Royce Ford tied for the best scoring ride of the night, with runs of 87.
    "Once you get to doing it enough, instinct takes over in the chute and there's really no time to think about anything in there," Dent said.
    The steer wrestling finals tapped off next, with Jason Lahr of Emporia and Sean Mulligan of Coleman, Okla. splitting first place. Mulligan made $4,378.37 on the night and Lahr took home nearly $4,000 as well.      
    "Dodge City has always been good to me the last 15 years," said Lahr, who had been partially retired for the last eight months before returning to the Wrangler Professional Rodeo Circuit in July for Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyo.
    Kevin Daniel of Franklin, Tenn. and Cory Petska of Lexington, Okla. won the team roping event by roping their third steer Sunday in 6.0 seconds, a time that was fourth-best on the day but good enough to hang onto first place. Chad Masters of Clarksville, Tenn. and Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nev. climbed up into second place by roping their shot-go steer in 5.4 seconds.
    "This is a rodeo I've wanted to win ever since I was a little boy," Petska said.
    Pro rode veteran Billy Etbauer of Edmond, Okla. won first place in saddle bronc riding and took $3,130.50 for his work. He held onto first place with one of three 84 point rides in Sunday's finals.
    "That's a nice horse," Etbauer, 45, said of Hanger, the horse he drew for the finals. "Just glad to be in there when the whistle blew, and we'll take it."
    Isaac Diaz took $1,000 for the best ride of the final round with his 87-point ride.
    Doug Pharr stormed to the front of the pack Sunday with his 7.4-second rope in the finals. His aggregate time on three head was 25.3 seconds for the win.
    "To be honest my game plan for tonight was just to tie her down, you know, hopefully move up three of four spots," said Pharr, who came into the finals in seventh position. "I really didn't think I had a realistic chance to win it."
    But he did, and combined with his work in team roping, Pharr also won the best all around cowboy at Dodge.
    Terra Bynum of Colorado City, Texas won the barrel racing championship with a aggregate time of 34.53 on two runs. Mary Burger of Pauls Valley, Okla. had the fastest time of the championship round with a 17.2-second run.
    "It feels awesome," said Bynum, who was drawn to race last but still took home $2,876.99 in prize money. "I never thought I had a chance."
    In the night's finale, J.W. Harris stayed on top of Coyote Bill just long enough to hear the whistle and take the championship. Harris toppled down from the bull just as the eight-second horn sounded and took home $4,148.31 for one Sunday's work.
    "I figured if I could keep him from pulling me down, he'd ride pretty good," Harris said. "He was a little-bitty bull and I couldn't get a hold with my feet. That's the hardest thing, knowing that all you've got to do is ride the bull and you're going to win it. You kind of tense up and fall off a lot of times."
    As the cowboys, cowgirls and spectators packed up and started back for wherever home is, the lights at Roundup Arena shone on a still and peaceful grounds. They will remain that way until the 2009 edition of the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo.
    Saturday's competition was preceded by the coronation of Miss Rodeo Kansas and Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas. Meredith Holland, a Kansas State University student and 2006 Miss Rodeo K-State of Bucyrus won Miss Rodeo and Kara Hackney of Hays took the Miss Teen Rodeo Kansas 2009 title.
    Hackney will attend Fort Hays State University in the fall.