Editor’s Note: Last Chance Stampede Press Release
Helena– A Montana cowboy jumped to the lead in the bareback riding after the second performance of the Last Chance Stampede in Helena.
Cache Hill, Baker, Mont., scored 83.5 points to edge out the number two cowboy, Luke Creasy, by a half-point.
Hill rode a Kesler Rodeo horse named Make Believe, who, he was told, would be a great ride. “I talked to the Keslers,” Hill said, “and they said she was a sweetheart. She was a really good horse to have.”
When he left the chute on Make Believe, his rigging was loose, but there was no time to pull it tighter. “I didn’t have much time, so I had to nod my head. She went out there and boiled out really good. (The ride) was muscle memory.”
This is the second biggest win of the 22-year-old’s pro rodeo career, which just started this year. He scored a half-point higher at the Mandan, N.D. rodeo on July fourth, which earned him a fifth place check. The competition was tougher in Mandan. “There were some big dogs up there, (world champion) Kaycee Feild, (Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier) Steven Dent.” But Hill is the big dog in Helena tonight. “Oh, man, I’m so excited.”
Hill, a student at the University of Providence in Great Falls, could have gotten his PRCA membership at the age of eighteen but chose to wait. His rodeo coach Dick Lyman told him to go pro this year. “I’ve been waiting,” Hill said, “to see if I was ready or not. I could have rode at eighteen and done all right, but why not wait till I’m in my prime, spurring horses and making money.”
He has one more semester of college before he will graduate with a business administration degree, which is a backup plan. “I’d rather be a bareback rider than a businessman, but we’ll see how everything goes. I’ll have a plan to fall back on. You can’t ride bareback horses past forty (years of age.)”
And he’s taking baby steps towards his goal, which, right now, is a spot at the Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo in January. He’d like to win the average there, which would qualify him for the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in April in Florida. He’s met the goals he’s made: qualifications for the National Junior High Finals, the National High School Finals, and the College National Finals Rodeo, which he competed at four times. He is currently ranked fifth in the Montana Circuit standings.
In the bull riding, two cowboys made qualified rides, and an Idaho man, Garrett Smith, had the high score for the rodeo so far. Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, scored 88 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Everyday Hustler. Smith, a two-time WNFR qualifier, has sat out several months of the rodeo season due to two ACL surgeries on the same knee. He tore the ACL in his left knee during the third round of the 2017 WNFR and then tore it again in April.
Other high scores and fast times for the night include steer wrestler Bear Pascoe, Morro Bay, Calif. (4.1 seconds); team ropers Delon Parker, Worden, Mont. and Ryan Zurcher, Powell, Wyo. (4.5 seconds); saddle bronc rider Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont. (80.5 points); tie-down roper Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho (9.7 seconds); and barrel racer Tia Murphy, Cut Bank, Mont. (17.76 seconds).
The final night of the Last Chance Stampede is Saturday, July 28 with a performance at 7:30 pm. The day is full of activities, including the Gold Buckle Dreamin’ Youth Rodeo at 8 am, and the Stampede Parade at 12 noon. The carnival opens at 1pm. Tickets are available online at www.LastChanceStampede.com and at the gate.
Cutline: Cache Hill, Baker, Montana, leads the bareback riding after the second night of the Last Chance Stampede. He scored 83.5 points. Photo by Josh Homer/Burning Ember Photography.
High scores/fast times from the second performance, Last Chance Stampede, Helena, Mont. July 27, 2018
Bareback Riding
1. Cache Hill, Baker, Mont. 83.5 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Make Believe; 2. Trevar McAllister, Polson, Mont. 82.5; 3. Trenten Montero, Winnemucca, Nev. 80.5; 4. Clint Laye, Cadogan, Alb. 75.
Steer wrestling
1. Bear Pascoe, Morro Bay, Calif. 4.1 seconds; 2. Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont. 4.2; 3.Ron Schenk, Joliet, Mont. 12.2; 4. Kyle Callaway, Blue Creek, Mont. 14.1.
Team roping
1. Delon Parker, Worden, Mont./Ryan Zurcher, Powell, Wyo. 4.5 seconds; 2. Cody Tew, Belgrade, Mont./Nano Garza, Las Cruces, N.M. 4.7; 3. Kal Fuller, Bozeman, Mont./Jerren Johnson, Casper, Wyo. 5.4; Hayes Smith, Central Point, Ore./JustinDavis, Cottonwood, Calif. 9.7.
Saddle bronc riding
1. Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont. 80.5 on Kesler Rodeo’s Coast Guard; 2. Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla. 80; 3. Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alb 79.5; 4. Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alb. 78.
Tie-down roping
1. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho 9.7 seconds; 2. Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas 10.2; 3. Trevor Sunvison, Livingston, Mont. 11.9; no other qualified runs.
Barrel racing
1. Tia Murphy, Cut Bank, Mont. 17.76 seconds; 2. Carrie Murnion, Jordan, Mont. 17.98; 3. Shelby Lyn Gill, Helena, Mont. 18.12; 4. Terri Kaye Kirkland, Billings, Mont. 18.13.
Bull riding
1. Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho 88 points on Kesler Rodeo’s Everyday Hustler; 2. Riker Carter, Stone, Idaho 84.5; no other qualified rides.
** All results are unofficial.
