BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Royce Ford, of Husdson, Colo., celebrates his ride during the finals of the Reno Rodeo on Saturday. Ford split first place with Davey Shields.
RENO - Cody DeMoss won not one, but two sets of spurs, in the Reno Rodeo championship round Saturday night at the Reno Livestock and Events Center.
DeMoss won the saddle bronc riding and teamed with Clayton Haas for an eighth place in team roping to grab the all-around title, which goes to the cowboy who wins the most money in more than one event. DeMoss finished the Reno event with approximately $11,000 in his pocket.
DeMoss finished his three-ride saddle bronc stint with 246 points, including a 79 on Shadow Dancer on his final ride. He finished well ahead of Jeffrey Willert, who turned in a last-round 84 en route to a 238.
"I wasn't too worried," said DeMoss, who started roping when he was 13 or 14. "I had a pretty good lead going in. I had a good draw, and I knew if I did my part I would win. I didn't have to ride that well. I wanted to win this rodeo ever since I heard about rodeos.
"I didn't have a horse (that was going to score). I just wanted to ride good."
Morgan Forbes was third at 237, Josh Reynolds was fourth at 236 and Fallon's David Howard finished with a 74 aboard Smokin' Smurf to take fifth at 232.
"He's a nice horse," said a disappointed Howard. "I needed a lot more than that."
The most disappointed cowboy had to be former Battle Mountain High School star Matt Marvel, who entered the final round in second place with an 82. Marvel's horse, Cool Toddy, stalled twice in the chutes. After a brief delay, the horse came out of the chutes and threw off Marvel after two bucks.
The bareback title was shared by early leader Davey Shields Jr., who scored an 83 aboard Spider Monkey and ended up at 248, and Royce Ford, who scored a 90 aboard Spring Fling. Originally it was thought Ford had won by a point, but scores were adjusted and the pair were declared co-champs.
Bo Casper, who thrilled the crowd with a final ride of 87 aboard Justin Boots, finished third at 244. Rowdy Buechner finished with a 79 aboard Miss Behavin to finish with 242 and finished fourth. Matt Mosher scored an 81 aboard Lady Black Hawk and finished with 240 for fifth place.
It's the first set of Reno spurs for Ford, whose father, Bruce, won a Reno title many years ago.
"I'm going to call him as soon as I get this tape off," Ford said. "I'll hang those spurs next to his.
"I had one of the best horses in the world. I was excited to have him. I rode him in Pocatello. He's always been good to me. I was either going to get bucked off or win the round."
Ford said Casper's score got him excited.
"When you watch a friend have a great ride, it gets you pumped up." Ford said. "I was happy for him." It was Ford's turn a few minutes later, and he didn't disappoint the sellout crowd.
It's the second set of Reno spurs for Shields, who won in 2003.
"I knew he (Ford) would probably win the round with that horse," Shields said. "My horse was just a good, average horse."
Dustin Elliott showed his flair for the dramatic with a 91-point ride aboard Red One to win the bull riding title with a two-ride score of 178, two points ahead off Matt Austin, who finished with a 176. Austin briefly took the lead right before Elliott with a 91-point ride of his own aboard Black Smoke.
Elliott's bull seemed to go around in a tight circle and didn't cover a lot of ground from the chutes.
"I had a 90 on that bull earlier in the year," Elliott said. "When I rode him before, he went to the right. This time he went left.
"I came .02 away from winning last year. Other than a world title, the spurs are what everybody wants."
Jake Wade, who entered the final go as the leader (92), finished with a 77-point ride on Tahonta en route to a tie for third with Zack Oakes, who scored an 85 on Carisa Plains.
Todd Suhn, who led the steer wrestlers after two rounds, turned in a 5.0 on his final effort to finished with a 14.6, a full second ahead of Brock Andrus (5.3, 15.6).
It was Suhn's first paycheck in Reno since 1996. He had a nice run in the Pace Picante Chute-Out with a 17.0 score for three rounds en route to cashing a check for $7,750.
"It was a good week in Reno," he said. "The guys go at it. There are some great riders out there."
Steve Purcella and Britt Bockius defended their team roping title. The duo recorded a time of 5.3 in the final round to edge Charly Crawford and Richard Durham by .7 seconds. Crawford and Durham were timed in 6.3 for their final effort. Colt Baden and Jace Crabb, and Joe Roderick and Jay Ellerman tied for third at 18.4.
Linda Vick won the barrel racing with a final-go total of 51.39. Previously, she won the aggregate title at La Fiesta de los Vaqueros in Arizona, won the Natagorda County Fair in Texas and won the Wrangler Pro Rodeo Tour round.
Vick said she larned to barrel race by attending a clinic, and the rest has come by trial an error. She was a model of consistency with three scores in the low 17s.
Monty Lewis, defending NFR and world champion, won the tie-down roping with a three-go total of 26.9. Jerome Schneeberger, thanks to a final-round 7.8, was second at 27.6. Jake Hannum, who scored 8.9 in the last round, finished at 29.7.