Ceremonial short round set for Sunday

CHURCH ROCK, N.M.

Three years ago, Arizona saddle bronc rider Shane Phillips came up one-point shy of winning his first Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Rodeo crown.

On Saturday afternoon, Phillips put himself in contention to perhaps win that coveted crown with a 75-point effort aboard China Girl in the second performance of this year’s rodeo.

“I just had to ride up,” Phillips said of earning a spot in Sunday’s championship round. “I just had to get qualified for the short round. I’m taking it one horse at a time.”

The short go round will start at noon at Red Rock Park on Sunday afternoon with the top 10 contestant looking to be crowned champions. Sunday’s action will also include a few events from yesteryears in the Old School Rodeo. The events being offered include Pony Express Ride, Hide Race, Wild Cow Milking, Buffalo Ride and Men’s and Women’s Frybread Pan Throw.

In the saddle bronc event, Phillips’ score earned him a second-place finish in the long go, as last year’s Ceremonial winner Creighton Curley matched that effort aboard Pull the Trigger.

The two cowboys trail long go winner Oisten Charleston, who earned a 78-point ride during Friday’s performance on Teepee Creeper, a Running B5 horse.

“I think it’s one of his new horses,” Charleston said of his draw. “I’ve never heard of him before, but he was good. They told me that he’s going to be a hopper and he was.”

Admittedly, Charleston said Teepee Creeper made him work for his score.

“At the beginning of the ride, I felt good and I got too excited,” Charleston said. “He kind of rocked me a little loose and I just started hustling after that.”

And while he has a slight advantage with his long go round points, Charleston is not expecting to win the title outright.

“It’s going to be tough,” Charleston said. “Most of the guys that I’ve rodeo with are riding good. They covered their horses, too. A three-point lead could change tomorrow. All these guys ride good; it’s going to come down to what happens at the end of the day.”

Kayenta Fourth of July champion Bryan Moreno is another contender that could change the leaderboard during Sunday’s short go. On Saturday, Moreno rode Pale Face for 74 points as that score was fourth-best among the saddle bronc field.

“Usually, I don’t do good in the long go, so I was hoping to ride up today,” Moreno said, while adding he’s looking forward to competing on Sunday.

“Shoot, it would mean something if can keep this rolling,” Moreno said. “It’ll be cool to experience that and it’ll be a big confidence booster. But I’m not going to think about it; I just want to have fun out there.”

In Saturday’s barrel racing, four cowgirls moved into Sunday’s championship round, headed by Chinle’s Carli Jones, who earned a fourth-place finish in the long go with an 18.644 effort on her new mount, Taz.

“He did good,” Jones said of Taz. “He ran as fast as he could after we overshot that first barrel, but we made up some time.”

Jones is hoping they can master that first barrel on Sunday afternoon.

“If we can get that first barrel right, I think we’ll be okay because I know that he can do the rest by himself,” she said.

In addition to Jones, Nancy Montoya (18.661), Riana James (18.915) and Naci Charley (18.935) also advanced.

The barrel racing field will be chasing Arizona cowgirl Jocelyn Coneisenney, who set the bar with her sizzling 18.538 run as the first barrel racer out on Thursday morning with her horse Tank.

“It was our first run here on this setup,” Coneisenney said of the Ceremonial barrel racing pattern that is somewhat spaced out.

“It’s a little longer, so I had asked everybody about how big it was,” she said. “I was hesitant at first in entering, but I’m glad that I did.”

As for winning the long go, Coneisenney was stunned that she was able to maintain her lead.

“I was the first one out and I’m surprised that it held,” she said.

The 20 year-old cowgirl also made the short round in the breakaway roping and late Saturday afternoon she was looking to find an old school event to qualify her for the women’s all-around title.

Short round qualifiers

Bareback

1. Cauy Betony, 77.
2. Wyatt Betony, 71.
3. Alvaro Begay, 70.
4. Kordell Claw, 67.
5. Ryan Bitsui, 0.
6. Jess Wagner, 0.
7. Malaci Shorty, 0.
8. Jayden Quick Bear, 0.
9. Erick Claw, 0.

Bull Doggin

1. Jeremiah Jodie, 5.27.
2. Hiyo Yazzie, 5.77.
3. Braydon Boyd, 5.84.
4. Wendell Murphy, 8.00.
5. Tylon Tsosie, 8.06.
6. Nelson Charley III, 9.08.
7. JW Boyd, 9.40.
8. Avery Jodie, 9.50.
9. Tydon Tsosie, 9.51.
10. Brad Begay, 14.96.

Ladies Breakaway

1. Kylie Dodson, 2.84.
2. Erin Jones, 3.18.
3. Justine Doka, 3.28.
4. Kiallen Gibson, 3.29.
5. Aniyah Dahozy, 3.36.
6. Cyncere Ward, 3.38.
7. Latasha Murphy, 3.38.
8. Kayla Thomas, 3.47.
9. Jocelyn Coneisenney, 3.65.
10. Tyra Tsosie, 3.67.

Saddle Bronc

1. Oistin Charleston, 78.
2. Creighton Curley, 75.
3. Shane Phillips, 75.
4. Bryan Moreno, 74.
5. Jacob Yazzie, 69.
6. Chad Phillips, 46.
7. Lorenzo Benally, 0.
8. Hank Blackgoat, 0.
9. Leegene Barlowe, 0.
10. Mckyle Wilson, 0.

Calf Roping

1. Rooster Yazzie, 10.91.
2. Noah Haven, 11.37.
3. Gavaro Harrison, 11.91.
4. Marvin Tolth, 13.74.
5. Michael Bates, 14.72.
6. Allen Charley, 15.01.
7. Jerald Klade, 16.07.
8. Francis Begay Jr., 17.03.
9. Malachi Pablo,18.18.
10. Ty Sage, 19.66.

Ladies Barrels

1. Jocelyn Coneisenney, 18.538.
2. Jodelle Bitloy, 18.554.
3. Faith Jesus, 18.624.
4. Carli Jones, 18.644.
5. Nancy Montoya, 18.661.
6. Paige Dale, 18.723.
7. Karsyn Yazzie, 18.788.
8. Riana James, 18.915.
9. Naci Charley, 18.935.
10. Hayeden Pablo, 19.219.

Open Team Roping

1. Dwight Sells/Shane Jodie, 5.78.
2. Westley Benally/Denton Begay, 6.23.
3. Faron Candeleria/Blaine Redhorse, 6.37.
4. Kesley Phillips/Keacey Phillips, 6.40.
5. Cohen Wauneka/Lucius Sells, 6.77.
6. Cam Sells/Leonard Williams Sr., 6.97.
7. Tristan Tabaha/James Begay Jr., 7.05.
8. Ryan Garcia/Wacey Brady, 7.07.
9. Kesley Phillips/Cameron Tsiniginie, 7.30.
10. Nehemiah Begay/Chandler Ramone, 7.39.

Open Bulls

1. Jaiden Harrison, 91.
2. Trent Harrison, 84.
3. Biddy Deschine, 64.
4. Odey Tom, 0.
5. Antonio Lynch, 0.
6. Guytin Tsosie, 0.
7. Brad Lynch, 0.
8. Kolt Tom, 0.
9. Melton Curley, 0.
10. Ralph Gray III, 0.

Get instant access to this story by purchasing one of our many e-edition subscriptions HERE at our Navajo Times Store.

 

---