Hoppin' into the saddle

SPRINGDALE -- The life of a professional rodeo cowboy can be summed up quickly just by looking at Tim O'Connell's travel miles the past four days.

O'Connell, a bareback bronc rider from Zwingle, Iowa, has logged more air miles than a commercial pilot since Wednesday. Currently ranked No. 2 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association bareback rankings, O'Connell has been to Greely, Colo., twice, sandwiched around trips to Cody, Wy.; Prescott, Ariz.; and Springdale.

O'Connell arrived at Saturday night's 71st Rodeo of the Ozarks about an hour before his scheduled ride atop Back in Black. He scored a 78 on the horse, which did not put him in the money.

"He was good. He was a big, strong horse," O'Connell said of Back in Black. "He didn't give a whole lot of air time, so there wasn't a whole lot of time to get to the front of his neck and then expose yourself and get back down, so really it was just awkward the entire time.

"It wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but God willing, I get to do it again."

O'Connell will board a plane today for the famed Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, dubbed the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Although he was a National Finals Rodeo participant last year, O'Connell said earning a spot in the Calgary Stampede might be a bigger accomplishment.

"I feel it's almost harder to make that rodeo than the NFR because you have to be in the Top 10 in the world not just the Top 15," he said. "There is so much money up for grabs."

O'Connell, the 2013 PRCA Bareback Rookie of the Year, will ride four times in Calgary and hopes for a spot in the finals where the winner will earn $100,000.

"I'd kinda like to be the the guy who walks away with that," he joked.

The Independence Day weekend is what rodeo cowboys call "Cowboy Christmas." There are many large rodeos across the country and cowboys try to hit as many of them as possible, hoping to earn paydays to add to their yearly winnings. The ultimate prize is a berth in the National Finals Rodeo at the end of the year for the top competitors in each event.

The Rodeo of the Ozarks is widely considered one of the top outdoor rodeos in the United States. Parsons Stadium was packed Saturday night for the final night of the rodeo. The Rodeo of the Ozark paid out more than $126,000 in prize money over the four-day event.

One of the biggest draws for top cowboys to compete in the Springdale rodeo is a chance to ride some of the top stock in the world provided by Stace Smith Pro Rodeo. O'Connell said that was what drew him to come from Greeley on Saturday.

"I would not come all this way out of the way if it was any old contractor," he said. "This is a cool place, great arena and it's packed on the Fourth of July. But the stock is why I'm here"

The final night of action saw a number of top rides and scores. The Mulberry team roping tandem of Cody Bailey and Tater Lux earned a payday of $1,154.86 each after winning the team roping overall title in 6.4 seconds.

None of the seven bull riders made the eight-second ride on Saturday, but Wagner Luciano of Rhondonia, Brazil, brought the crowd to its feet with the final ride of the night on the Smith Pro Rodeo bull Razorback.

Luciano made just 4.3 seconds on the bull, but the Brazilian cowboy who now lives in Florida will continue to try and move up in the PRCA rankings by competing in around 113 rodeos per year.

"I've been competing for about 10 years here in America," Luciano said.

Bull riding is a popular sport in Brazil, said Luciano who began riding bulls at the age of 18.

"It something everybody loves to go see," he said. "Old people, young people they all love it."

Sports on 07/05/2015