SPRINGDALE -- Sweat dripped off Ty Erickson's nose as he walked out of Parsons Stadium.
The 6-foot-5 steer wrestler from Montana wasn't used to the 90-plus degree heat on this late June Thursday night but was pleased with his performance at the 74th Rodeo of the Ozarks, putting his steer on the ground in 4.6 seconds to share the best time of the go-round with Cody Sullivan.
74th Rodeo of the Ozarks
Parsons Stadium, Springdale
Thursday’s Results
Bareback
Jake Brown^86
Lane McGee^81
Zach Hibler^80
Sandro Ferretti^79.5
Dustin Smith^78.5
Blake Smith^74.5
Wyatt Ortega^73
Steer Wrestling
Ty Erickson^4.6
Cody Sullivan^4.6
Tyler Waguespack^5.0
Juan Alcazara^12.0
Kamry Dymmek^13.7
Team Roping
Wyatt Nelson-Trace Porter^5.4
Joshua Torres-Jonathan Torres^13.0
Saddle Bronc
Isaac Diaz^87
Cody DeMoss^85
Weston Peirschbacher^81
Brody Cress^80
Jacob Lewis^75
Logan Allen^74
Tegan Smith^73
Tie-Down Roping
Marshall Leonard^8.2
Paul Tierney^8.7
T.J. Hobson^9.2
Cody Kimball^10.3
Barrel Racing
Lindsey Hayes-Banks^17.51
Amber Scales^17.65
Ashley Leggett^17.80
Chloe Gray^17.81
Julie Thomas^17.89
Heather Clemons^17.90
Taylor Carver^18.02
Lacey Scott^22.52
Donna Jackson^22.82
Bull Riding
Clayton Sellars^87
Colten Beaty^84.5
"I was riding a great horse," said Erickson, the 2011 Profession Rodeo Cowboys Association Rookie of the Year. "Tyler Pearson, the 2017 world champ, I've been traveling with him, and he has two really good horses. He lets me get on one of those everywhere we go. That's the biggest factor."
Erickson was the runner-up to Pearson last year in the world standings and has earned more than $800,000 in his career including more than $250,000 last year.
Erickson, Pearson and fellow steer wrestler Tyler Waguespack all travel together as a team, Pearson said.
"We just come to all these rodeos as a team, and we pull for each other," Pearson said. "We want everybody to do good, and we support one another."
Pearson is 33, and the elder cowboy of the trio. The Atoka, Okla., cowboy has won more than $591,000 in his career, although he did not score Thursday night.
"I have a bulldogging horse, and the guy over there with the bald head (Kyle Irwin) has a haze horse, and we just have the best horses that we have, and we bring them out and just go at 'em," Pearson said.
As quickly as the trio could change and knock the dust of the arena floor off their boots, they were piling into a rental car and heading to the West Texas town of Pecos to compete in the West of the Pecos Rodeo tomorrow night.
The next 10 days are what rodeo cowboys refer to as "Cowboy Christmas."
"Over the Fourth of July there are so many good rodeos," Erickson said. "These rodeos pay out such good money, and we as cowboys are trying to get to as many rodeos as we can. So we're going up to three rodeos per day over the next 10 days just because there is so much money to be won."
Erickson, 27, did not start steer wrestling until he was a junior in high school in Montana. He was an all-state basketball player in high school and plans to get married in October.
"I really liked it right off the bat," he said. "I roped a bunch in high school, but steer wrestling fit me, so I just kept with that and have been rolling with it the last 8-10 years."
In the bull riding on Thursday, Florida rookie Clayton Sellars brought the crowd to its feet with a stellar ride that scored an 87, the best score of the week so far.
Sellars, 20, is a first-year PRCA rider and, like most of the competitors Thursday night, will be pulling an all-night drive to Pecos for the next ride.
"I didn't really know what he was going to do," Sellars said of his bull Happy Jack. "He came back there on the left, and I stayed in it. He did exactly what I wanted him to do.
"This is my first full year on the card, and I'm in it deep, so I'm trying to win as much money as I can."
Rodeo action will continue tonight and Saturday at Parsons Stadium.
Sports on 06/29/2018