RENO - Utah cowboys Rusty Allen and Levi Berry not only travel the circuit together, but compete fiercely against either in saddle bronc riding.
Berry logged an 84 aboard No Dice and Allen was right behind with an 82 on Miss Salley, and both put themselves in good position to reach the championship round with impressive performances on Thursday at the 88th annual Reno Rodeo at the Reno Livestock Events Center.
Berry's score was the third-best in the opening round, and Allen was in a five-way tie for fifth at 82. Anthony Bello logged an 81. Justin Arnold is well back at 78 and Cory Horwedel had a first-round 77.
Berry said he got a little bit of advice from Allen, who had previously ridden No Dice.
"He (Allen) said to get ready to have some fun," Berry said. "He takes the same trip everytime."
Allen hopes to continue what has been a storybook season. He's won at Fort Worth, Santa Maria, Calif., Houston, Montgomery, Ala. and Logan, Utah.
"The biggest difference is that I won Houston and Fort Worth in the winter," Allen said. "I've placed in about 90 percent of the rodeos. When you can win two big rodeos like that, and consistently place at other rodeos, that's big. It's been an outstanding season.
"This rodeo (Reno) has been hit and miss. I've cashed five or six times in 10 years. It seems I've had one good horse and just one average horse. I've always wanted to win here."
Jesse Bail currently leads the saddle bronc competition with 168, followed by Chet Johnson at 165, Jess Martin 164, Cody Wright 162 and Matt Hebbert 162. Cody DeMoss and Morgan Forbes are at 161.
In bareback riding, diminutive Scotty Drennan scored an 83 aboard Butter Milk, one point better than Kaycee Field. Drennan is currently tied for second with Jason Jeter and Cleve Schmidt after the first go-round.
The overall leaders are Heath Ford and Jason Havens at 167 for two rides, and Kelly Timberman is third at 166.
Drennan has fought injuries - herniated disc and knee surgery - over the past few years.
"I had a nice horse," Drennan said. "They scored an 82 on her the other night. He's the kind of horse you like to get on. He's a little bit daring. Stub your toe and he'll buck you off. I was tickled to death when I found out I had drawn her.
"I haven't taken care of myself the last few years. I was getting too comfortable at home. I'm more involved. I've been working with the guys I travel with."
Drennan is looking forward to tonight because he drew Dual Motion, another strong horse.
Field's horse jumped up high twice early and then started bucking.
"The higher you go, the more style points you get," Field said. 'You don't want a spinner. You don't get any style there."
Zeb Lanham roared into third place in bullriding with an 89 aboard Water Hou. Only four riders made successful rides out of 11 attempts.
Lanham trails Wesley Silcox and J.W. Harris by one point entering Saturday's finals
"He was just a good bull," Lanham said. "They (other riders) said he'd be good. It felt good the whole time. He felt whippy. He kept going to me and stayed in the middle."
The Reno Rodeo hasn't exactly been a good one for Lanham. A couple of years ago during Xtreme Bulls, Lanham broke his jaw. He came back to ride the next day, and got knocked out.
Ted Bert scored an 80, Beau Schroeder 78 and Thomas Bert 74.
In steer wrestling, Clay Cowan posted a 4.7 and Gardnervile's Jim Usher logged an 8.4.
Todd Suhn remains the overall leader at 8.7, followed by Stockton Graves at 9.5 and Ben Goodman at 9.6.
Cody Hutchison and Beau Hutchison posted the lowest team roping score at 5.4, and Topaz's Matt Hussman and Fernley's Jake Boegle recorded a 6.1. David Motes and Matt Kasner teamed for a 6.8.
The teams of Jimmy Edens and Ryan Motes, and Chad Masters and Allen Bach are tied for the overall team roping lead at 10.6. Chance Johnson and Gary Ford are third at 10.8.
Tracee Young posted a 17.14 to lead the barrel racers and Stephanie Fryar was timed in 17.34. Ashton Elder was third for the night with a 17.46.
The overall barrel racing standings remain unchanged. Jill Moody leads at 34.17, Maegan Reichert was second at 34.31 and Brandie Halls was third at 34.47. Lindz Sears is fourth at 34.52 and Codi Baucom is at 34.75.
Michael Otero was the fastest in tie-down roping at 9.9 followed by Darrell Johnson at 15.7, Ty Sturza 19.4 and Seth Hooper 19.5.
Casey Crow is the overall leader at 19.5, followed by Cade Swor 20.0, Joseph Parsons 20.7 and Otero at 20.7.