FORT WORTH, Texas -- A smiling and grateful Tim O'Connell took a knee at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Friday.

The reigning world champion bareback rider had his second-round ride at the matinee performance, and when the judges added up his scores, he had the highest-marked ride at the rodeo. O'Connell, who also won this rodeo last year to kick off his very successful season, scored 88 points on J Bar J Rodeo's Dirty Rags for the win.

He added $3,242 to the $973 he won in the first round. He had his third-round ride Friday night where he scored 78.5. That was his lowest score of the rodeo, but still gave him the overall lead at 249. Steven Dent, from Mullen, Nebraska, is just one point behind him.


The first round of team roping was also competed on Friday with part of the big money staying in north Texas. Clayton Hass who lives in Weatherford and his roping partner, John Robertson from Polsen, Montana, won the round with a 4.5-second time. They each won $5,020.

This was especially important for Hass. He won the steer wrestling at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo two weeks ago in Denver. He is second in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings in that event with $21,525. The money he already won here will qualify him for the all-around, and when they update the world standings on Monday, Hass is very likely to be the number one ranked all-around cowboy.

He and Robertson also lead the overall standings coming into Saturday night's final round so he stands to add to that total significantly. Caleb Smidt, the 2015 world champion tie-down roper from Bellville, Texas, leads the all-around world standings with $22,817. He is second in the tie-down roping here but has yet to win any money.


Fort Worth's rodeo will pay nearly $650,000 to contestants and can have a big impact for the winners. Last year's winners averaged earnings of $13,550 which will go a long way towards a Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification. Of the eight champions that were crowned here in 2016, all but the bull rider finished among the top 15 that compete at rodeo's championship event every December in Las Vegas.

Two of those men are at the top of the leaderboard in the race for this year's titles. O'Connell won the bareback riding here last year with a total score of 333 points on four rides. Jake Wright from Milford, Utah, won the saddle bronc riding last year with 251 points on three rides. His two-score total of 168 is at the top of the board with one performance left before Saturday night's championship finals.

The 121st Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo continues Saturday with rodeo performances at 2 PM and 7:30 PM.

By Susan Kanode

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