Thursday, April 18, 2024
ROCKER STEINER: Steiner is just 17 years old but has already made a mark for himself in professional rodeo.
THREE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION: Will Lowe has three world titles in bareback riding and he added the Hood County Stampede's to his resume.
The Hood County Stampede played out before a full house Friday night at the Granbury Reunion Grounds. Stephenville Cowboy Jacobs Crawley recorded a 84.5-point ride to skyrocket the excitement.
RICKEY WILLIAMS: Granbury's Rickey Williams made it to the short-go with a scored ride of 79.5 points.
Three-time world champion Will Lowe got a run for his money against young gun Rocker Steiner as the two were just some of the many highlights of the evening at the Hood County Stampede at the Reunion Ground in Granbury Saturday.
Lowe won the bareback riding with a score of 89 points, snatching away first place from Steiner (85.5), a rising star in rodeo and whose recent appearance on the television series Yellowstone had the young ladies in the crowd snapping plenty of pictures.
Steiner made it to the short-go via a re-ride after his first horse stumbled and nearly went down in front of the chutes. The 17-year-old never missed a beat as he stuck to his horse, and after the trip, the judges gave him the option of taking another ride that he turned into 79.5 points.
Lowe took the same route to the finals as his first horse took the night off, and crow-hopped for more than half of the allotted eight seconds. As the last athlete coming out of the chutes, the Canyon cowboy made the most of his second chance and recorded the night’s highest scored ride with his 89.
“I’ve been looking forward to this event,” Lowe said before his rides. “This is one of those events close to my heart because the Hood County Stampede gives back to its community.”
Giving back to the community
The Rancho Brazos Community Center is this year’s chosen beneficiary of the stampede. As an outreach program of the Acton Methodist Church, the center serves as a critical resource and activity center, giving a “hand up” to “at-promise families” in Rancho Brazos, Sandy Beach, and Park 377/Carter Court.
With his win, Lowe punched his ticket to the most lucrative event in rodeo, The American.
After more than a year of COVID restrictions and the cancelation of last year’s stampede, people were chomping at the bit to cut loose and have a good time, and the stands were almost filled an hour before things got underway.
“We have missed you just as much as you have missed us,” Rockin Robbie Hodges said. The barrelman, musician, and joke teller ignited the crowd and kept things moving along as the chutes were loaded and events changed.
The cowboys weren’t there for the laughs, and it was serious business in the saddle bronc riding with Jacobs Crawley and Lucan Macza separated by a half-point in the short 84.5-84. However, it was a come-from-behind night for Blaise Freeman, whose 85.5 points won first place and one of the Henry rifles that went to each of the night’s winners.
Stampede is in its 4th year
The Hood County Stampede is in its fourth year of providing a great night of rodeo entertainment while also giving back to the local community.
The stampede is the brainchild of rodeo great and former world record holder Wes Stevenson.
Stevenson was the first cowboy to record 94 points when he covered Kesler Rodeo Company’s Covergirl at a PRCA event in Dallas. That record has since fallen to the wayside, but the rodeo community has a long memory, and the ride is still the stuff of legend.
Now Stevenson’s legacy is geared toward helping those less fortunate than he has been, and he has gathered people like board member Jeffery Ross around him to aid in the effort.
The beneficiary
“This is just so wonderful to be a part of and to see people come together to help others,” Ross said. “In the past, we have helped out places like the Paluxy Children’s Advocacy Center and Miracle League. Organizations present their information to the Hood County Stampede’s board of directors for consideration as a beneficiary.”
The Rancho Brazos Community Center has focused on education, health and wellness training, financial support, and life basics. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the past several years.
In addition to ESL classes, volunteers at the center served up 4,500 backpack lunches, 2,250 hot meals to kids, 225 hours of summer programs, and much more just in 2019.
Granbury’s Rickey Williams also made the finals of the bareback riding, scoring a 79.5. Stay tuned to the Hood County News for a full report and photos from the 2021 Hood County Stampede.
