Rookie Steer Wrestler Wins First Responders Rodeo

The annual Henderson County First Responders PRCA Rodeo returned to Athens, Texas, this year for two nights packed with exciting, fun, and tough competition. Rodeo fans enjoyed a Texas BBQ cookoff, a catfish and shrimp boil, raffles, shopping and booths, and, of course, intense rodeo action with the best athletes competing.

Fresh off of a big win at the Resistol Rookie Roundup, Joshua Ellison showed up to win in Athens, Texas. The 24-year-old is in his first year of the PRCA and has proven competitive against the best.
With a 4.9-second run, he topped the leaderboard and took the win.

The Rookie Roundup and the Henderson County First Responders PRCA both took place April 26-27, making for a very successful two days for Ellison. During the Rookie Roundup, he had a time of 4.7 seconds. Proving to be consistent, Ellison took the win at both events.

The winnings from these two helped boost his ranking in the Rookie standings, where he is currently ranked No. 9.

Bareback Riding: 1. Payton Lackey, 86 points on Diamond G Rodeo's Good Girl, $921; 2. Bodee Lammers, 82.5, $691; 3. Roedy Farrell, 76, $461; 4. Kash Martin, 73, $230.

Steer Wrestling: 1. Joshua Ellison, 4.9 seconds, $1,179; 2. Zach Hamar, 5.2, $976; 3. Ty Cochrane, 6.6, $772; 4. Jay Williamson, 6.8, $569; 5. Jeffrey Boriski, 10.1, $366; 6. J.D. Struxness, 10.3, $203.

Team Roping: 1. Shay Dixon Carroll/Jace Helton, 4.3 seconds, $1,636 each; 2. (tie) Jake Orman/Corey Hendrick and Reno Stoebner/Ben Gambrell, 4.8, $1,213 each; 4. Jayse Tettenhorst/Ty Arnold, 5.1, $790; 5. Wyatt Imus/Tyler McKnight, 5.4, $508; 6. Trevor Bartlett/Derric Alvey, 8.6, $282.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1. Brody Cress, 86 points on Diamond G Rodeo's Stiletto Night, $1,644; 2. Kody Rinehart, 82, $1,246; 3. Isaac Richard, 81.5, $897; 4. Isaac Diaz, 79.5, $598; 5. Coleman Shallbetter, 78.5, $349; 6. Joe Macqueen, 75, $249.

Tie-down Roping: 1. Roan Hudson, 9.5 seconds, $1,097; 2. Bryan Moon, 9.9, $908; 3. John Pereira, 10.2, $719; 4. Ike Fontenot, 10.6, $530; 5. Chris McCuistion, 11.9, $341; 6. Sterling Smith, 12.2, $189.

Barrel Racing: 1. Jymmy Cox, 15.54 seconds, $1,344; 2. Leslie Smalygo, 15.60, $1,152; 3. Jackie Ganter, 15.66, $960; 4. (tie) Tillar King and Alyssa Urbanek, 15.67, $736 each; 6. Kalli McCall, 15.68, $512; 7. Sara Winkelman, 15.74, $384; 8. (tie) Natalie Bland and Julie Plourde, 15.75, $224 each; 10. Shelley Morgan, 15.77, $128.

Bull Riding: No qualified rides.