Locals master the bulls at Window Rock, set lofty goals

WINDOW ROCK

For the past two years, Ramon Curley arrived at the Annual Fourth of July Celebration & PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock a little wide-eyed.

The same could be said about Troy Tuni.

This year’s event had a different feeling for both bull riders as they made the whistle before a large crowd at the Dean C. Jackson Memorial Arena on Saturday night.

Curley rode “Gladiator” for 86 points and placed second overall while Tuni took fourth with an 84-point effort aboard “Man Down.”

“That was a pretty good bull,” the 20-year-old Curley said. “The bull went left and it was everything that I could have wished for.”

After nodding his head for Gladiator, his behemoth bovine went into a spinning motion that gave Curley a high score.

“All the bulls buck the same but that one turned out to be a good one,” Curley said.

Even though he got bucked off in his two previous tries at the PRCA rodeo in Window Rock, the Ganado, Arizona, cowboy was brimming with confidence.

“I placed third at the Prescott prorodeo last week so I knew I could ride,” he said.

Tuni was also feeling positive about covering his bull as he came off a second-place finish at the Flagstaff Pro Rodeo on June 30.

“This is the best feeling in the world,” Tuni said.

The Rock Point, Arizona, cowboy said his draw was a wild one to ride.

“He was hard to get by him but I am so proud of myself,” he said. “I just went blank when I called for him.”

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