By Susan Kanode for the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo with contributions from Blanche Schaefer of Barrel Horse News

San Antonio, Texas — February 22, 2020 — When the San Antonio Rodeo started February 6, contestants were hoping that on February 22 they would get to ride around the arena in the back of a pickup as the newly crowned champion.

On Saturday night, that became a reality for eight of them who came from across the nation to compete in the AT&T Center. Each of the champions got their titles based on earnings in San Antonio, and those earnings topped $20,000 in each of the standard rodeo events.

Two Texans tied for the fastest time in barrel racing Saturday night with a 14.02. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi of Lampasas rode her homebred, -raised and -trained 2011 mare Babe On The Chase (Chasin Firewater x Streakin Six Babe x Streakin Six), and Jill Wilson of Snyder rode her 15-year-old gelding Lean Mean Blue Dean (Dean Miracle x Luv Her Winner x Runaway Winner) to tie for the win in the final go-round. While they each won $13,500, Tonozzi got the San Antonio Rodeo championship title with total money of $23,500. Her earnings surpassed Wilson’s by a mere $250.

Jill Wilson turning a barrel at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo
Jill Wilson earned a total $23,250 in 2020 San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo earnings aboard Lean Mean Blue Dean, ultimately finishing reserve. San Antonio Rodeo photo by Robbie Freeman

A year ago, the San Antonio Rodeo used a draft system to let the bareback, saddle bronc and bull riders pick the animals they would ride in the championship finals rather than the standard random draw. That system was in place again and it worked very well for Mason Clements of Draper, Utah. Clements was the second bareback rider to pick a horse from the list, and he knew exactly which horse he wanted. He chose Frontier Rodeo’s Gunfire, a horse that fellow Utah bareback rider Caleb Bennett set an arena record on in Cody, Wyoming, last summer. Bennett was 93.5 points on Gunfire then, so Clements knew he could be a lot of points on the buckskin gelding here.

Clements finished at the top of the leaderboard by two points with a 91. He was two points ahead of Mandan, North Dakota, cowboy Ty Breuer and Zwingle, Iowa, bronc rider Tim O’Connell, who each scored 89. Clements earned $15,000 for the effort and the San Antonio Rodeo championship with $24,750. Prior to San Antonio’s rodeo, he was in the top 15 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The money Clements won here will give him a big boost in the standings. One year ago, he didn’t get to compete here after having knee surgery. His season got a late start and he finished 16th in the 2019 world standings, missing qualifying for his third Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by one spot. He is determined to be there in December 2020, and if Clements continues to ride like he did at San Antonio, there could very well be a world championship in his future.

Tie-down roper Shad Mayfield competed in the AT&T Center for the second time in his young career this year. Mayfield was in high school while competing at San Antonio one year ago. This year his sole focus is on roping, and that showed with a big win. He had the fastest time of the rodeo at 6.9 seconds. The Clovis, New Mexico, cowboy added $24,500 to his earnings and is making his way toward his second NFR.

Tyler Waguespack of Gonzales, Lousiana, won the steer wrestling at San Antonio a year ago, and with a 3.8-second run clinched the title again this year. He had total earnings of $23,250.

There was a tie at the top of the leaderboard in the team roping. Dustin Egusquiza from Marianna, Florida, and Travis Graves, from Jay, Oklahoma, as well as Matt Sherwood of Pima, Arizona, and Trey Yates of Pueblo, Colorado, each had 4.0-second runs. Their Saturday night efforts were worth $13,500, however, Egusquiza and Graves had the highest total earnings at $24,000 for the coveted San Antonio Rodeo championship buckles.

Brody Cress of Hillsdale, Wyoming, used a last-chance opportunity at the Wildcard Round on Friday night to advance to the finals. He chose the Cervi Championship Rodeo horse named Womanizer, and the match-up was outstanding. Cress, who is working on his master’s degree at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, got a 90.5 on the ride to earn $15,000 and the championship with total earnings of $24,750.

There were three bull riders who made it to eight seconds. Denton Fugate of Niangua, Missouri, had the high-score of 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s bull Make My Day. Trevor Kastner of Roff, Oklahoma, had an 88 and Dustin Boquet of Bourg, Louisiana, had an 85. Fugate’s Saturday night ride saw him collecting $16,500 and gave him total earnings of $23,000.

Plans are underway for the 2021 San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, which will once again feature the best that pro rodeo has to offer.

Semifinal Two Results

Semifinal One Results

Bracket Five Results

Bracket Four Results

Bracket Three Results

Bracket Two Results

Bracket One Results

FINAL RESULTS

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — February 22, 2020 — The following are unofficial results from the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, the 14-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year.

–Final-round winners followed by total money

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, (tie) Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, and Jill Wilson, Snyder, Texas, 14.02, $13,500 each. 3, Jimmie Smith, MCDade, Texas, 14.04, $7,500. 4, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 14.09, $4,500. Total money: 1, Tonozzi, $23,500. 2, Wilson, $23,250. 3, Smith, $14,375. 4, Grimes, $13,000.

Bareback Riding: 1, Mason Clements, Draper, Utah, 91 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, $15,000. 2, (tie) Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 89 points and $9,750 each. 4, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 88.5, $4,500. Total money: 1, Clements, $23,500. 2, O’Connell, $19,875. 3, Breuer, $17,250. 4, Berry, $13,000.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 3.8 seconds, $15,000. 2, Curtis Cassidy, Donalda, Alberta, 4.1, $12,000. 3, Jace Melvin, Fort Pierre, S.D., 4.2, $7,500. 4, (tie) Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., and Bridger Anderson, Carrington, N.D., 4.3 and $2,250 each. Total money: 1, Waguespack, $23,250. 2, Cassidy, $21,375. 3, Melvin, $12,500. 4, Brunner, $11,750.

Team Roping: 1, (tie) Dustin Egusquiza, Marianna, Fla., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla.; and Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo.; 4.0 and $13,500 each. 3, Charly Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, and Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M., 4.9, $7,500. 4, Jeff Flenniken, Caldwell, Idaho, and Tyler Worley, Berryville, Ark., 5.5, $4,500. Total money: 1, Egusquiza and Graves, $24,000. 2, Sherwood and Yates, $20,500. 3, Crawford and Medlin, $15,375. 4, Flenniken and Worley, $11,000. 

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyoming, 90.5 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Womanizer, $15,000. 2, (tie) Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, and Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, S.D., 88 and $9,750 each. 4, Wyatt Casper, Pampa, Texas, 87.5, $4,500. Total money: 1, Cress, $24,750. 2, Boore, $21,000. 3, Garrett, $17,167. 4, Casper, $16,250.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 6.9 seconds, $15,000. 2, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 7.5 seconds, $12,000. 3, Catfish Brown, Collinsville, Texas, 7.7, $7,500. 4, Cody Huber, Albia, Iowa, 8.0, $4,500. Total money: 1, Mayfield, $24,500. 2, Moore, $19,250. 3, Brown, $13,125. 4, Huber, $14,0000.  

Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Denton Fugate, Niangua, Mo., 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Make My Day, $16,500. 2, Trevor Kastner, Roff, Okla., 88, $13,500. 3, Dustin Boquet, Bourg, La., 85, $9,000. Total money: 1, Fugate, $23,000. 2, Kastner, $21,250. 3, Boquet, $18,750. 4, Piva, $16,222.

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