WR cowboy exacts revenge on tricky bull

CAMP VERDE, Ariz.

After being bucked off at a previous rodeo last October, Colby Segay had another shot at his draw on Saturday afternoon.

The Window Rock cowboy exacted some revenge on that same bull as he recorded a 66-point ride during the opening day of the Camp Verde two-day rodeo, which was sanctioned by the Arizona Junior High School Rodeo Association.

“That bull he had some tricks but I just stayed focused and I made my ride count,” said Segay, who split the first check with San Tan Valley cowboy Sean Bastin.

“I was really happy to ride him this time,” he said.

Segay said he last rode his draw during the Buckeye rodeo and that didn’t end well as he came within roughly two seconds of making a qualified ride.

“My leg popped up and I rode him for six seconds,” he said of his previous try. “He was a little stronger that time.”

The homeschooled seventh-grader didn’t fare as well the next day as he rode his bull for six seconds. Nevertheless, he earned 9.5 points to push his season total to 27.5 points, which is third best among five bull riders.

“I’m going to work harder and I’m going to try to ride all of my bulls from here on out,” Segay said.

The Window Rock cowboy said he also placed in Sunday’s boys breakaway but his results were not posted on the AJHSRA website as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I knew the calf that I drew was going to be fast,” he said.

As for his other events, Segay said he didn’t have the best weekend, as he was a bit long in the boys goat tying and chute dogging events.

Dennehotso’s Gavin Warren was another cowboy that placed first as he won Sunday’s bareback event with a 56-point effort.

Coupled with his second-place ride of 53 points on Saturday, Warren won the aggregate race as he amassed 19 points towards the season standings.

With his two rides, Warren took over the driver’s seat as he leads the event with 76 points, which is five points better than San Tan Valley cowboy Carson Clark.

Warren also had a third-place showing in Saturday’s bull riding event with a 60-point score.

Leupp cowgirl Angelina Benally-Begay posted a pair of solid runs in the barrel racing event. She garnered five points on each day as she placed sixth with runs of 17.700 and 17.715.

The Tuba City Junior High eighth-grader posted those runs on her now recovered horse, Cheii, who suffered elephant’s feet, an ailment caused by equine lymphangitis. According to the website Farmer’s Weekly, there are three forms of equine lymphangitis and essentially it’s an inflammation of the lymph vessels, particularly in the hind legs.

“This is his first time coming back into the arena,” Benally-Begay said of Cheii. “I like using him because he’s very fast. I feel like we’ve made a good connection.”

In the pole bending event, Rock Point cowgirl Oodessa Barlow also had some positive results as she took third (22.065) and fourth (22.295) on respective days for 15 season points.

She is currently holding down the No. 2 spot in the season standings with 48 points, trailing event leader Lexie Miller by 17 points.

Shiprock cowboy Tyler Jim had a blissful day on Sunday as he racked up 22 points in four events.

Jim placed third in the boys breakaway (3.52), fourth in the chute dogging (4.18) and eighth in both the boys goat tying (12.820) and ribbon roping (17.03) with running partner Shilah Williams of Tuba City.

“Today was pretty good,” Jim said of his results on Sunday. “I ran a three in the breakaway and I took fourth in the chute dogging.”

Other top finishers who earned points include Chinle’s Troy Tenorio (chute dogging), Kayenta’s Travis McBride (chute dogging and breakaway), Casa Grande’s John Boyd IV (breakaway, ribbon roping and goat tying) and Tuba City’s Shilah Williams (ribbon roping and breakaway).

With two more rodeos left in the regular season in Safford and Holbrook, Jim said he wants to close in on the event leaderboards as he is sitting sixth in the boys breakaway, ninth in the chute dogging and 12th in the boys goats and ribbon roping.

Jim said he’s looking for a top 10 finish in all of his events before the start of the state finals, which is scheduled for Sonoita in southern Arizona on May 7 to 9.

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