RENO - The Reno Rodeo has been a chamber of horrors for saddle bronc rider Jake Hayworth.
His luck may be changing after he rode Nitro for 84 points Wednesday night at the 89th annual Reno Rodeo to move into the lead with a two-ride total of 169.
Anthony Bello is a point behind at 168, Chad Ferley is third at 165 and first-go leader Billy Etbauer is fourth at 164. Etbauer, who had a first-go 89, scored a 75 aboard Lap Dance.
Meanwhile Hayworth could only shake his head in wonderment at his two-ride effort.
"I think that's the best ride(s) I've ever had here," said Hayworth. "I've been here 10 or 11 times. I think the most I've ever won is $300.
"I have some good friends coming in here tomorrow. I don't expect to be in the lead by then. This is probably the last time I'm going to come here."
Hayworth has been slowed by injuries, including a knee injury in the fall.
"I probably came back too soon from that," Hayworth said. "Everytime I go out I feel better. The first six or seven times were hard emotionally and physically. There were a lot of times I've felt it should have been over last year."
The injuries and his horse training business in Idaho may force him to stay closer to home next year.
In bareback riding, Jared Smith (170) still has a comfortable six-point lead over Tim Shirley (164) and Chris Harris (164).
Rookie Kaycee Feild, who scored an 83 on his first ride, scored a 79 aboard Bit of Mind for a total of 162, good for fourth place. Feild, a student at Utah Valley University, is coming off a national championship last week in Wyoming.
"I had him (Bit of Mind) already," Feild said. "He's real strong and likes to jerk down. Mentally you have to stay up.
"She stopped bucking tonight; she quit. The last time he kept going."
Feild heads to Oregon for a circuit rodeo before hopefully returning to Reno for Saturday's championship round.
Jessy Davis had the best ride of the night, scoring an 83 aboard Snake Eyes for a two-day total of 156. It's borderline whether he will make it back to Saturday.
"I had him before," Davis said. "He's not your regular up and down horse. It's probably going to take 158 or 159. I hope I'm good enough to get back here. I need tour points.
The standings in bull riding remain unchanged after the riders failed to enjoy a successful ride in 10 attempts.
Sonny Murphy, Fred Boettcher and Clayton Foltyn are still tied for first with 90 points. Defending champion Wesley Silcox and B.J. Schumacher are tied for third at 87.
Monty Lewis, won the world championship in tie-down roping in 2005, wants to get back to Las Vegas in December. He was timed in 9.5 and is at 18.9 on two rides. He is searching for his second Reno championship if he runs fast enough on Saturday.
Tracee Young had the night's best barrel racing time in 17.14. Kendra Dickson was next at 17.37 followed by Rachael Myllymaki at 17.42.
Mary Burger still leads with a 34.02 on two rides followed by Tammy Key-Fischer, at 34.54.
John Franzen turned in the night's best steer wrestling time with a 4.5. B.J. Campbell was timed in 4.8 followed by Seth Brockman at 5.3.
Jason Miller leads the way with a 7.7 on two attempts, while Stockton Graves is next at 8.3 and Wade Sumpter at 8.3. Cash Myers is fourth at 9.0.
VANDEVER HONORED
Jonah Vandever is the Reno Rodeo's recipient of the wish program started back in 2003.
The program to identifies and assists young people in Northern Nevada who have unique and extraordinary medical needs wherein their short-term and long-term quality of life can be improved through the granting of a wish.
Vandever was born with severe physical deformities - no forehead, his hands were webbed and his legs were bent backward such that his clubbed feet rested slightly below his chin. He was given six months to live.
Jonah's twisted legs were amputated right above the knee when he was just 18 months old. With the help of two state-of-the-art prosthetic legs, Jonah now walks, runs, and is quite a skier.
ETC...
- For the second straight night, Mark Schlatter successfully parachuted into the arena with the American flag.
- Gordy Cowan, who will be president of the Reno Rodeo next year, collided with a flag girl during the nightly introductions. Cowan was going too fast and tried to turn his horse, but it didn't respond.
- Fallon's Jade Corkill and his partner Chad Masters failed to rope their calf in their slack performance Wednesday morning.
- Washoe Valley's Steve Smith Jr. and partner Wes Goodrich were successful on one of their two team-roping rides. The duo posted a no score and a 7.8.