Westyn Hughes Wins Red Bluff Tie-Down Roping Title With Consistency

Westyn Hughes Wins Red Bluff Tie-Down Roping Title With Consistency

The 19-year-old from Caldwell, Texas, was nearly 2,000 miles from home when he took the title at the Red Bluff Round-Up, topping the field with a time of 40.9 seconds on four head.

Apr 25, 2017 by Cassie Emerson Emerson
Westyn Hughes Wins Red Bluff Tie-Down Roping Title With Consistency
RED BLUFF, CA -- With his biggest fans watching back home, tie-down roper Westyn Hughes gave them plenty to smile about.

The 19-year-old from Caldwell, Texas, was nearly 2,000 miles from home when he took the title at the Red Bluff Round-Up on Sunday, topping the field with a time of 40.9 seconds on four head.

"It's always been a dream of mine to come to Red Bluff and win this rodeo, and I'm fortunate enough to do it this year," Hughes said.

On a four-header you play it just a tad bit conservative and don't take as many gambles. You want to get the rope around the neck and not break the barrier. That's the key. You can't win with a broken barrier -- you don't have to be 7. You just need to be consistent.
That's exactly what Hughes did. He didn't place in the first or third rounds but won the second round with a time of 8.4 seconds and then placed third in the finals with a run of 10.0.

That was easily enough to take the average title, as Hughes was nearly two seconds ahead of second-place Cimarron Boardman.

He collected the prestigious Red Bluff title while earning a total of $6,024. It made everyone back home who was watching on the Wrangler Network very happy.

"My support system is huge," Hughes said. "I talk to my grandparents on the phone all the time while I'm rodeoing. My dad has run many calves in the practice arena until late into the night with me over the years, and my mom and sister always support me.

"This isn't just about me -- when I win, everybody in my family wins. They've put in the same amount of time and effort into this as I have."

Hughes seems to be on his way to improving upon his 25th-place finish in the 2016 WEATHER GUARD PRCA world standings.

He was 19th entering the weekend, and the money won at Red Bluff moved him to No. 14 in the April 24 standings.

"This is going to help the bank account quite a bit, and it's going to take a lot of stress off me," said Hughes, the 2016 PRCA/Resistol Rookie of the Year in this event. "This is one of the biggest wins I've ever had, and I hope I can keep this momentum going and stay sharp."

Hughes has the horsepower to be a serious contender this season. In addition to the horse he rode in Red Bluff -- 11-year-old Klorox -- he also owns 2008 PRCA Horse of the Year, Oz, whom he bought from Justin Maass, an eight-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER.

"Oz didn't make this trip, I'm giving him a little time off," Hughes said. "The thing about Klorox is that he's really easy to score good on, and he doesn't make any errors. In this event, the horse is 75 percent of it, and you can't win without a good one. I like Oz for a shorter score with smaller cattle, and Klorox is good at a bigger arena with bigger calves, like out in California."

Making the WNFR for the first time in 2017 is important to Hughes in more ways than one. His grandfather, Glenn, is battling lung cancer, and Hughes wants to be in Las Vegas in December for him.

"It would be a big deal for me to be able to do it for him this year and have him see me accomplish that," Hughes said. "He's worked so much to help me achieve success."

Other winners at the $250,100 rodeo were all-around cowboy Ryle Smith ($7,051 in steer wrestling and tie-down roping), bareback riders Shane O'Connell (85.5 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Caddy Wagon) and Tilden Hooper (85.5 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Raggidy Ann), steer wrestler Chance Howard (19.2 seconds on four head), team ropers Coleman Proctor and Billie Jack Saebens (38.1 seconds on four head), saddle bronc rider Hardy Braden (85 points on Calgary Stampede's Turbo Rocket), barrel racer Stevi Hillman (34.58 seconds on two runs), and bull rider Trey Benton III (88.5 points on Rosser Rodeo's Heartbreak).

Full Results

All-around cowboy: 
Ryle Smith, $7,051, tie-down roping and steer wrestling.

Bareback riding: 
1. (tie) Shane O'Connell, on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Caddy Wagon, and Tilden Hooper, on Bridwell Pro Rodeos' Raggidy Ann, 85.5 points, $6,028 each
3. Jessy Davis, 84.5, $3,867
4. Kaycee Feild, 83, $2,502
5. (tie) R.C. Landingham and Grant Denny, 82.5, $1,365 each
7. Richmond Champion, 82, $910
8. (tie) Justin Miller and Austin Foss, 81.5, $341 each

Steer wrestling:
 First round: 
1. Kody Dollery, 4.7 seconds, $1,871
2. Chance Howard, 4.9, $1,548
3. Baylor Roche, 5.0, $1,226
4. Tyler Pearson, 5.2, $903
5. Will Lummus, 5.4, $581
6. Luke Branquinho, 5.6, $323

Second round: 
1. Curtis Cassidy, 4.1 seconds, $1,871
2. Ryle Smith, 4.6, $1,548
3. John Franzen, 4.7, $1,226
4. (tie) Jarret New and Kody Dollery, 4.9, $742 each
6. (tie) Will Stovall and Sterling Lambert, 5.1, $161 each

Third round: 
1. Cody Pratt, 4.4 seconds, $1,871
2. Ryle Smith, 4.6, $1,548
3. Baylor Roche, 4.7, $1,226
4. (tie) Sterling Lambert and Chance Howard, 4.8, $742 each
6. Josh Peek, 4.9, $323

Finals: 
1. Chance Howard, 4.3 seconds, $870
2. Dakota Eldridge, 4.7, $720
3. (tie) Taylor Gregg and Luke Branquinho, 4.9, $495 each
5. Ty Erickson, 5.1, $270
6. Kody Dollery, 5.2, $150

Average: 
1. Chance Howard, 19.2 seconds on four head, $3,741
2. Kody Dollery, 20.5, $3,096
3. Ryle Smith, 21.4, $2,451
4. Ty Erickson, 21.7, $1,806
5. Dakota Eldridge, 22.2, $1,161
6. Sterling Lambert, 22.6, $645

Team roping: 
First round: 
1. Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 7.0 seconds, $1,613 each
2. Brandon Beers/Joel Bach, 7.6, $1,403
3. Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill, 7.8, $1,192
4. Derrick Begay/Clay O'Brien Cooper, 8.2, $982
5. Jake Barnes/Tyler Worley, 8.4, $772
6. Ryan Reed/Cody Pearson, 8.6, $561
7. Lane Livingston/Dakota Kirchenschlager, 8.8, $351
8. Lane Santos-Karney/Dalton Pearce, 9.1, $140

Second round: 
1. Brandon Webb/Kollin VonAhn, 6.3 seconds, $1,613 each
2. Luke Brown/Jake Long, 6.4, $1,403
3. Matt Sherwood/Walt Woodard, 6.9, $1,192
4. (tie) Shay Carroll/Todd Hampton and Doyle Hoskins/B.J. Campbell, 7.4, $877 each
6. Jake Stanley/Kyle Lockett, 7.6, $561
7. Clay Ullery/Riley Wilson, 7.8, $351
8. Case Hirdes/Cord Forzano, 8.1, $140

Third round: 
1. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins II, 7.1 seconds, $1,613 each
2. Hayes Smith/Russell Cardoza, 7.3, $1,403
3. Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 7.4, $1,192
4. Shay Carroll/Todd Hampton, 8.2, $982
5. Preston Burgess/Cody Cowden, 8.7, $772
6. Jake Cooper/Brady Norman, 9.0, $561
7. Blake Hirdes/John Chaves, 9.5, $351
8. Cory Kidd V/Cole Davison, 9.7, $140

Finals: 
1. Blake Hirdes/John Chaves, 7.6 seconds, $870 each
2. Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 8.0, $720
3. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins II, 8.8, $570
4. Shay Carroll/Todd Hampton, 8.9, $420
5. (tie) Cory Kidd V/Cole Davison and Dakota Eldridge/Jordan Ketscher, 10.1, $210 each

Average: 
1. Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 38.1 seconds on four head, $3,226 each
2. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins II, 38.5, $2,806
3. Shay Carroll/Todd Hampton, 43.3, $2,385
4. Blake Hirdes/John Chaves, 47.4, $1,964
5. Cory Kidd V/Cole Davison, 49.6, $1,543
6. Jake Cooper/Brady Norman, 53.8, $1,122
7. Jake Stanley/Kyle Lockett, 54.4, $701
8. Dakota Eldridge/Jordan Ketscher, 57.0, $281

Saddle bronc riding: 
1. Hardy Braden, 85 points on Calgary Stampede's Turbo Rocket, $5,922
2. Jesse Wright, 84.5, $4,540
3. (tie) Jake Watson and Zeke Thurston, 83.5, $2,764 each
5. Cody Wright, 83, $1,382
6. (tie) Tyrell J Smith and Sterling Crawley, 82.5, $888 each
8. (tie) Taos Muncy and Allen Boore, 82, $296 each

Tie-down roping:
 First round: 
1. Marty Yates, 8.9 seconds, $1,818
2. D.J. Parker, 9.4, $1,504
3. Timber Moore, 9.6, $1,191
4. Catfish Brown, 10.1, $878
5. Sterling Smith, 10.2, $564
6. Cody McCartney, 10.4, $313

Second round: 
1. Westyn Hughes, 8.4 seconds, $1,818
2. Cooper Martin, 8.7, $1,504
3. Cy Eames, 8.9, $1,191
4. (tie) Luke Jeffries and Cory Solomon, 9.1, $721 each
6. Clint Nyegaard, 9.2, $313

Third round: 
1. Trell Etbauer, 8.9 seconds, $1,818
2. Ryle Smith, 9.3, $1,504
3. Luke Landry, 10.2, $1,191
4. Cimarron Boardman, 10.7, $878
5. Jake Pratt, 10.8, $564
6. Roger Nonella, 11.1, $313

Finals: 
1. Cimarron Boardman, 8.7 seconds, $1,140
2. Mesquite Mahaffey, 8.9, $855
3. Westyn Hughes, 10.0, $570
4. Monty Lewis, 10.1, $285

 Average: 
1. Westyn Hughes, 40.9 seconds on four head, $3,636
2. Cimarron Boardman, 42.8, $3,009
3. Catfish Brown, 43.0, $2,382
4. Mesquite Mahaffey, 43.5, $1,755
5. Trell Etbauer, 43.8, $1,128
6. Jake Pratt, 45.6, $627

Barrel racing:
 First round: 
1. (tie) Carley Richardson and Christine Laughlin, 17.26 seconds, $2,346 each
3. (tie) Tiany Schuster and Kellie Collier, 17.37, $1,684 each
5. Jana Bean, 17.38, $1,203
6. Taylor Langdon, 17.42, $963
7. Jill Welsh, 17.50, $722
8. Stevi Hillman, 17.56, $481
9. Jaime Hinton, 17.58, $361
10. Carman Pozzobon, 17.61, $241

Second round: 
1. Stevi Hillman, 17.02 seconds, $2,527
2. Sydni Blanchard, 17.07, $2,166
3. Nellie Miller, 17.19, $1,805
4. Taylor Langdon, 17.22, $1,564
5. Tiany Schuster, 17.23, $1,203
6. Jaime Hinton, 17.33, $963
7. Kris Gadbois, 17.35, $722
8. Mary Jo Camera, 17.40, $481
9. Sami Morisoli, 17.41, $361
10. (tie) Brittany Kelly and Kellie Collier, 17.42, $120 each

Average: 
1. Stevi Hillman, 34.58 seconds on two head, $2,527
2. Tiany Schuster, 34.60, $2,166
3. Taylor Langdon, 34.64, $1,805
4. Carley Richardson, 34.71, $1,564
5. Kellie Collier, 34.79, $1,203
6. Sydni Blanchard, 34.86, $963
7. Jaime Hinton, 34.91, $722
8. Jill Welsh, 34.96, $481
9. Kris Gadbois, 35.04, $361
10. Nellie Miller, 35.07, $241

Bull riding: 
1. Trey Benton III, 88.5 points on Rosser Rodeo's Heartbreak, $6,340
2. Tim Bingham, 85.5, $4,861
3. Roscoe Jarboe, 84, $3,593
4. Garrett Tribble, 82, $2,325
5. Jordan Hansen, 81, $1,479
6. Cain Smith, 80, $1,057
7. Brennon Eldred, 76, $845
8. Jesse Petri, 74, $634

Courtesy of PRCA 

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