Dalton Sanchez drove nearly 14 hours alone Monday night to attend the Greeley Stampede rodeo.
Sanchez advanced to the finals of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tournament after delivering a standout performance in bull riding on Tuesday night.
Sanchez, a 26-year-old from Pagosa Springs, tied for second with 84.5 points on the fifth night of competition after arriving in Greeley late Tuesday afternoon.
Sanchez fought Monday night in Prescott, Arizona, but did not earn any money before making the long trek to Greeley.
He’s referred to as a walk-up in the rodeo industry. A contender in rough stock sports, such as bull riding, can stroll up and enter a rodeo if there is room. Sanchez landed in Greeley at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
“Because I love it,” Sanchez said of making the long journey to Colorado. “This has been a passion since I was a kid.”
Sanchez’s walk-up performance guaranteed he’ll be one of 12 finalists on Wednesday, the last night of PRCA action. The finals start at 7 p.m.
The rough stock events at the Stampede are single-go-around competitions, which means that different contestants or athletes compete on each of the five nights leading up to the final.
The top twelve then advance to the finals. Rough stock events are bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding.
In timed events, contestants compete twice (taking two runs), and aggregate scores are combined, with the top 12 qualifying for the finals.
The timed events include steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and steer roping.
American bullfighting, not a PRCA event, will take place in the Stampede arena beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Oklahoman Lukasey Morris, ranked 23rd in the world this season, won the bull riding on Tuesday as the final rider of the night.
Morris received 86.5 points, although he fell hard at the end of his ride and had to be assisted out of the ring. Hunter Tate, a 23-year-old from Kansas, tied for second with Sanchez.
Cody Teel, the world champion, was the only other rider who scored points (77.5). Teel, a 32-year-old from Bryan, is ranked 21st in the PRCA this season.
Tuesday was Military Appreciation Night, and the crowd of 6,758 was especially enthusiastic.
Active-duty service members were invited to stand for a minute of recognition throughout the evening, which was notably cooler than previous days.
A group of five veterans from the Korean and Vietnam War eras rode out on the back of a truck and were met with enthusiastic applause.
Among those honored were Richard Peterson of Greeley and Pasquale Demarco of Windsor, both of whom served during the Korean War in the early 1950s.
In other rodeo events:
Nick Pelke of Mondovi, Wisconsin, won the bareback riding with 82 points.
Tanner Aus, the world’s eighth-ranked rider, received 77 points. Cody Devers of Perryton, Texas, won the steer wrestling event in 4.2 seconds.
Austin Crist of Fountain and J.W. Borrego of Weston have advanced to the finals in team roping after finishing in the top five. Crist and Borrego scored 7.6 seconds on Tuesday.
Talon Elshere, a 21-year-old from Hereford, South Dakota, earned the highest score in saddle bronc riding (79 points) and will compete in the finals. C
ole Clemons, a 20-year-old from Lipan, Texas, recorded the quickest tie-down roping time of 7.8 seconds.
Fallon Ruffoni of Arroyo Grande, California, won the women’ breakaway roping event in 2.6 seconds.
Breakaway roping is an event in which a horse rider purses a running calf to rope it without tossing or tying it.
Katie Jolly of Deer Trail was clocked in 2.7 seconds. Tanna Hansen from Wiggins was timed in three seconds.
Kelly Yates of Pueblo won the ladies barrel race in 17.43 seconds. Steely Steiner of Weatherford, Texas, finished second in 17.6 seconds, with Tessa Arnold of Coleman, Texas, coming in third (17.76).
