Sept. 3, 2024
Provided Press Release
For the 2024 bull riding champ at the Elk City Rodeo of Champions, it was payback time.
Cash Toews, Canton, Kan., rode the Beutler and Son Rodeo bull Moody Muley for 86 points and a win.
“I’ve been on that bull a couple of times,” Toews said. “He threw me off the first two times so it was good to get a little redemption.”
The twenty-four-year-old cowboy has been plagued with injuries the last three years.
In 2021, he broke his elbow, and in the fall of 2023, he got hung up at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Duncan, Okla., “destroying” his riding elbow. That kept him out of competition till January, but after two rodeos back, he hurt his free arm and his neck.
Then in late June, he broke his back, not seriously enough to affect his mobility, but a broken back “isn’t something you want to ride with,” he said.
“I told my dad, the most bulls I’ve been on in a row without being sidelined is five. I didn’t get an opportunity to string much together.”
He’s ranked sixteenth in the Prairie Circuit standings, the pro rodeos in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, and his more than $3,000 in earnings in Elk City will help him move into the top twelve that qualify for the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo.
Toews was glad to come to a Beutler and Son Rodeo, after the tragedy that caused dozens of their horses to die due to bad feed.
“The Beutler family, there’s a reason they’ve been doing this for nearly 100 years,” he said. “They’re great stockmen and I believe they’ll bounce back. (Their toughness) comes with the country in western Oklahoma. There aren’t too many people there that aren’t built to handle bad things.”
In the saddle bronc riding, an Oklahoman repeated as champion.
Denton Ward, Goodwell, scored 83 points on the Beutler horse Long Ago to take the title for the second year in a row. In 2023, Ward scored 80 points to win.
The son of the well-known pickup man Billy Ward, Ward didn’t begin his saddle bronc riding career till he was 19, on the advice of Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bronc rider, Dan Etbauer.
“Dan told me not to get on any broncs till I was sixteen, and I followed that rule.” Small for his age, Etbauer knew Ward needed to mature physically before he started.
Even at age sixteen, “I wasn’t big enough to handle it then. I just kept getting banged up pretty bad, and it just wasn’t working for me.”
Now, at 28 years of age, “it’s a lot better. It’s way more fun.”
Deb Guelly won the barrel racing with a time of 16.04 seconds, one-tenth of a second faster than second place (Oceane Vellioux, 16.05) and two-tenths of a second faster third place (Fallon Taylor, 16.06).
A Canadian who splits her time between Springer and Weatherford, Okla. and Cat Springs, Texas, she was aboard a ten-year-old brown gelding whose registered name is Whiskey Drinkin Cowboy.
Raised by world champion barrel racer Kristie Peterson, Cowboy has the speed that can make up for any mistakes he might make.
“He’s so fast, he might go by the barrel but he’s fast enough that he can do that and still clock,” she said.
Guelly is a six-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier and a twenty-two-time Canadian Finals Rodeo qualifier.
Other champions at the 86th annual rodeo include bareback rider Roedy Farrell, Thermopolis, Wyo. (88.5 points); steer wrestler Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas (3.8 seconds); team ropers and brothers Klay Yaussi and Kash Yaussi, Udall, Kansas (4.8 seconds); and tie-down ropers Jarvis Demery, Beggs, Okla.; Cash Fuesz, Eureka, Kan., and Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas (9.2 seconds each).
During the rodeo, a check for $500 was given by the Elk City Rodeo Association to the Western Oklahoma Alzheimer’s Collaborative. The rodeo designated its Sunday night performance as “purple” night, to bring awareness of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Next year’s rodeo will be August 29-31, 2025.
More information can be found at www.elkcityrodeo.com.
Cutlines:
Cash Toews won the bull riding at the 2024 Elk City Rodeo. The Kansas man scored 86 points on the Beutler bull Moody Muley.
Barrel racer Deb Gruelly made the cloverleaf pattern in 16.04 seconds to win the event at the 2024 Elk City Rodeo of Champions.
Tie-down roper Jarvis Demery makes a victory lap after his run of 9.2 seconds. He split the title at the Elk City Rodeo of Champions with Cash Fuesz and Monty Lewis.
Results, Elk City Rodeo of Champions
August 30-September 1, 2024
All-around champion: Wyatt Muggli, Lane, Okla. (tie-down roping, team roping)
Bareback Riding
1. Roedy Farrell, Thermopolis, Wyo. 88.5 points on Black Kat; 2. Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah 87; 3. Tuker Carricato, Saratoga, Wyo. 81.5; 4. Bryce Eck, Redfield, Kan. 78; 5. Brazos Winters, Texline, Texas 77; 6. Ethan Crouch, Gonzales, Texas 75; 7. Gauge McBride, Kearney, Neb. 73.
Steer Wrestling
1. Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas 3.8 seconds; 2. Mason Couch, Bronaugh, Mo. 3.9; 3. Kodie Jang, Byers, Colo. 4.2; 4. Tyler Scheevel, Alva, Okla. 4.3; 5. Skyler Woolls, Sour Lake, Texas 4.4; 6. Marc Joiner, Loranger, La. 4.5; 7. Chance Howard, Sallisaw, Okla. 4.8; 8. Ty Batie, Leedey, Okla. 5.1.
Team Roping
1. Klay Yaussi, Udall, Kan./Kash Yaussi, Udall, Kan. 4.8 seconds; 2. Manny Egusquiza, Hico, Texas/Evan Arnold, Stephenville, Texas 5.0; 3. Ryon Boatright, Stillwater, Okla./Joe Day, Kechi, Kan. 5.5; 4. Brent Mibb, Pryor, Okla./Blayne Horne, McAlester, Okla. 5.6; 5. (tie) Zack Woods, Walters, Okla./Gavin Foster, Elmore City, Okla. and Cam Hoelting, Olpe, Kan./Dawson McMaster, Madison, Kan. 5.9 each; 7. Wyatt Muggli, Lane, Okla./Casey McCleskey, Guthrie, Texas 7.0; 8. Tyler Hobert, Alva, Okla./Shannon Frascht, Alva, Okla. 7.1.
Saddle Bronc Riding
1. Denton Ward, Goodwell, Okla. 83 points on Long Ago; 2. Coleman Shallbetter, Gunnison, Colo. 82.5; 3. Tom Webster, Weatherford, Texas 81; 4. Skinny Parsons, Springdale, Ark. 80.5; 5. Trent Burd, Madison, Kan. 80; 6. (tie) Tanner Hayes, Elkhart, Kan. and Dahlyn Thomas, Woodward, Okla. 79.5 each; 8. Brady Irvine, Bloomfield, Ind. 78.5.
Tie Down Roping
1. (tie) Jarvis Demery, Beggs, Okla., Cash Fuesz, Eureka, Kan. and Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas 9.2 seconds each; 4. Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas 9.7; 5. Kallen Johnson, Amarillo, Texas 10.0; 6. Wyatt Muggli, Lane, Okla. 10.2; 7. Austin Lawrence, Sperry, Okla. 10.5; 8. Blake Carter, Seminole, Okla. 11.3.
Barrel Racing
1. Deb Guelly, Cat Springs, Texas 16.04; 2. Oceane Vellieux, St. Alfred, Quebec 16.05; 3. Fallon Taylor, Dallas, Texas 16.06; 4. Julie Plourde, Saint-Gedeon, Quebec 16.12; 5. Lanita Peirce, Comanche, Okla. 16.15; 6. Shy-Anne Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. 16.28; 7. Chelsie Shoop, Pryor, Okla. 16.32; 8. Ivy Hurst, Springer, Okla. 16.33; 9. Cayla Small, Afton, Okla. 16.38; 10. Lindsey Muggli, Lane, Okla. 16.39.
Bull Riding
1. Cash Toews, Canton, Kan. 86 points on Moody Muley; 2. (tie) Jace Trosclair, Chauvin, La. and Jacob Carige, Stephenville, Texas 84.5 each; 4. Trey Benton III, Richards, Texas 80; 5. (tie) Lucas Lund, Carthage, Mo. and Brody Nelson, Minot, N.D. 78.5 each; 7. Lukasey Morris, Union City, Okla. 75; 8. Jesse Hopper, Mangum, Okla. 73.
Copyright 2024 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
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