FORT WORTH, Texas (January 26, 2017) -- On Wednesday night, Clayton Hass from Weatherford and his team roping partner, John Robertson from Poulson, Mont., took the lead in the first round at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

All they needed was a good, penalty-free run on Thursday night to be in contention for a title here and that is just what they did. With Hass doing the heading and Robertson heeling, they stopped the clock in 6.0 seconds. That is currently third in the second round and probably will not hold through the rest of the rodeo. However, they took command of the overall standings with a total time of 10.5 seconds on two runs and are looking good to be competing for the championship.

They have a two-second lead over the men in second place, Ty Blasingame from Ramah, Colo., and Kollin VonAhn from Blanchard, Okla. Hass is a talented all-around contestant who just won the steer wrestling title at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo in Denver.

He is currently second in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings in the steer wrestling. Any money he wins here will move him into the all-around standings and could put him into the team roping standings as well.

Ari-Anna Flynn from Charleston, Ark., and her great palomino horse had the crowd on the edge of their seats in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing. The daughter of world champion bull rider Denny Flynn and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo barrel racer Lynn Flynn, stopped the clock in 16.80 seconds.

She moved into second place in the first round of competition. The barrel racing here has 211 entries that all compete once. The best 70 from that competition get to run again. Ari-Anna will be among the top that return for a second run. Her father won the bull riding title here in 1982. The Fort Worth championship is among the most legendary titles in rodeo and the family tradition could see another Flynn added to the championship this year.

There are two performances at the rodeo on Friday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.