National qualifiers turn up heat in finals
File photo Brad Moreno finished fifth in the bareback steer riding at the National Junior High Rodeo Finals in Lebanon, Tennessee last week. Moreno rode three draws for an aggregate of 187 points.
WINDOW ROCK
After watching others win, place, or show, Dean Holyan and Brad Moreno experienced that kind attention for themselves in the final performance of the National Junior High Finals Rodeo.
Moreno won the short round in the bareback steer riding with Colorado cowboy Keenan Hayes as both cowboys recorded a 68-point ride at the James E. Ward Ag Center in Lebanon, Tennessee last Saturday night.
“I had a good steer,” Moreno said. “I felt really good and I was real energized.”
Holyan, meanwhile, took second in the tie-down event with a 12.45 run behind go round winner Trevor Hale of Perryton, Texas. Hale tied his calf in 11.25 seconds.
“I knew I had a good calf,” Holyan said of his final draw. “They missed him two times but I got him tied.”
Nonetheless, the 14 year-old Coyote Canyon, New Mexico, cowboy had to make some adjustments.
“He went to the left a little bit so I had to get my horse over and rope him good,” he said.
Holyan said there was no concern about drawing his final calf even though the ropers before him recorded a pair of no times.
“I thought he was good calf,” the reigning Arizona state tie-down champion said. “They basically missed him.”
With his short round run, Holyan finished third overall in the average race with an aggregate of 45.9 seconds on three heads.
“It was a good week and I had a lot of fun,” he said.
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