North Platte, Neb. (June 17, 2017) – Austin Foss knows he needs to persevere, and on a Saturday night in North Platte, that’s exactly what he did.

The bareback rider, on the last night of competition at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, turned in the highest score of the week, an 87.5, to win the 2017 title of champion bareback rider.

He gave kudos to Beutler and Son Rodeo’s bronc Pendleton Whisky’s Red Bandana, the horse he rode. “It’s a horse a guy is pretty happy to see his name next to,” the Terrebonne, Ore. man said. “He’s really strong right out of the chute, and he’s just honest. I was really blessed to have him.”

Foss, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, has had last year to let his body heal a bit. He didn’t rodeo hard, choosing to go to only a few, and that was good. “I wanted a year for my body to recoup. There’s guys my age who have had hip surgeries and all kinds of things. I don’t like the knife, so I try to do everything I can to keep myself away from it.”

Foss, who is 25 years old, is ranked eighteenth in the PRCA’s world standings. His check for $2,639 from the Buffalo Bill Rodeo should vault him up a few steps. “I’m climbing,” he said, of the goal to be in the top fifteen in the standings, to qualify for the Wrangler NFR. “Slowly but steady.”

He knows it’s a marathon, not a sprint, to the end of the pro rodeo season, which finishes Sept. 30. “Just keep persevering and keep pushing forward all the way to the end, because you never know, anything could happen,” he said.

It was déjà vu all over again for a Kansas cowboy.

For the second time, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., claimed the title of tie-down roping average winner at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo.

He won the title in 2012 and did it again this year with his time of 19.7 seconds on two head.

The cowboy, who is 27 years old, is having the best year of his pro rodeo career. He’s ranked twelfth in the PRCA’s world standings.

The biggest difference for him this year, he says, is horsepower. He rode his own horse for his first run in North Platte, but has ridden his traveling partner Ace Slone’s horse, Ripple, for most of the year and for his second run in North Platte, 8.4 seconds, which won him first place in the second round.

A good horse makes all the difference, Quaney said, and Ripple is good. The twelve-year-old sorrel “can really run and has pretty good timing.” Ripple is owned by the Justin Martin family from Evanston, Wyo.; Slone leases the horse. “It all starts with the horse,” Quaney said. “You have to be on the right horse to give yourself a chance.” And if the calf isn’t a good one, “the horse can make the majority of the calves in the pen better than they are.”

Quaney sat out about half of last year, after an ankle injury caused from a pickup game of basketball. He never went to the doctor to see if it was broken. “I probably should have (visited the doctor), looking back, but I did not.” He tried to rodeo with the injury, but it wasn’t 100 percenT. It may not be back to 100 percent now, “but I don’t notice it.”

He realizes that there are so many factors in rodeo that can dictate success, but he’s prepared to handle them. “It’s a roller coaster, and it’s going to be good, and it’s going to be bad, and you can’t worry about the bad.”

In the bull riding, Sulphur, Oklahoma’s Trevor Kastner topped the boards with an 87 point ride to win the 2017 title. The 29 year old cowboy rode the Beutler and Son Rodeo bull No. 124 for the win.

It’s a bit slower year than normal for the three-time Wrangler National Finals qualifier. He broke ribs at the Extreme Bulls competition in Rapid City in January, and took off a few weeks for them to heal. Then, while riding a colt on his Oklahoma ranch, he tore a meniscus. Surgery was March 1, where the doctor removed the meniscus, and he was out a few more weeks.

After ten years in the PRCA, he’s rodeoing smarter this year, taking fewer long trips to rodeos and flying less, “trying to be more efficient,” he said. He has qualified for the Prairie Circuit Finals, the regional championship rodeo for Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, three times.

The 2017 Trail Boss Award was awarded to Dr. Lawrence Schufeldt. Schufeldt, a chiropractor, has volunteered his expertise at the rodeo since the early 1990s, helping cowboy and cowgirl contestants stay in good physical shape, so they can compete. Schufeldt grew up on the family ranch south of Whitman; he is married to Jeannie and they have three grown daughters.

Other 2017 champions include steer wrestler Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D.(8.8 seconds on 2 head), saddle bronc rider Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla. (86.5 points), team ropers Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla. and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. (4.8 seconds), and barrel racer Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas (17.17 seconds).

More NEBRASKAland Days activities take place from now until June 25. The U.S. Cellular Summer Jam Concert Series is Fri., June 23 with Alan Jackson and special guest Dwight Yoakam. The Sat., June 24 concert is Chris Stapleton, with special guest Brothers Osborne. For more information, visit www.NebraskaLandDays.com.

Results, North Platte, Nebraska – Buffalo Bill Rodeo 2017

Bareback riding – 2017 champion: Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore.
1. Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore. 86.5 points on Pendleton Whisky’s Red Bandanna; 2. David Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 85.5; 3. Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb. 84; 4. Orin Larsen, Ingles, Manitoba 83.5; 5. Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas 82.5; 6. Trey Moore III, Anniston, Alberta 82; 7. (tie) Evan Jayne, Marseille, France and Grant Denny, Minden, Nev. 81.5 each.

Steer wrestling – 2017 champion: Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D.
1st go-round
1. (tie) Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala. and Ryan Swayze, Freedom, Okla. 4.0 seconds each; 3. John Franzen, Riverton, Wyo. 4.1; 4. (tie) Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis. and Jake Johnson, Mound City, Kan. 4.3 each; 6. (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., Mitchell Gardner, Dover, Okla. and Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas 4.4 each.

2nd go-round
1. Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D. 4.0 seconds; 2. (tie) Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., Blair Jones, Colby, Kan. and Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah 4.1 each; 5. Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan. 4.3; 6. Cole Edge, Durant, Okla. 4.5.

Average
1. Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D. 8.8 seconds on 2 head; 2. Nick Guy, Sparta, Wisc. 9.0; 3. John Franzen, Riverton, Wyo. 9.1; 4. (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. and Tom Lewis, Lehi, Utah 9.3 each; 6. (tie) Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala. and Kyle Whitaker, 9.5 each.

Tie-down roping – 2017 champion: Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan.
1st go-round
1. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 9.0 seconds; 2. Ace Slone, Cuero, Texas 10.0; 3. L.D. Meier, Texhoma, Texas 10.1; 4. Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas 10.8; 5. Cody Huber, Albia, Iowa 11.1; 6. (tie) Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D. and Tweety McBride, Brenham, Texas 11.2 each.

2nd go-round
1. Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan. 8.4 seconds; 2. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla. 9.2; 3. Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas 9.4; 4. Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas 9.6; 5. (tie) Justin Scofield, Wessington Springs, S.D., Ace Slone, Cuero, Texas and Trevor Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D. 10.0 each.

Average
1. Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan. 19.7 seconds on 2 head; 2. Ace Slone, Cuero, Texas 20.0; 3. Dane Kissack, Spearfish, S.D. 21.3; 4. Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D. 22.0; 5. Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas 22.7; 6. LD Meier, Texhoma, Okla. 22.8.

Saddle bronc riding – 2017 champion: Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla.
1. Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla. 86.5 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Painted Desert; 2. Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas 86; 3. Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo. 84.5; 4. Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, S.D. 84; 5. Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D. 79.5; 6. Shade Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla. 79; 7. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas 78.5; 8. Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D. 78.

Team roping – 2017 champions: Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla. and Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla.
1. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Billie Jack Saebens, Nowata, Okla. 4.8 seconds; 2. Britt Ellerman, Ft Lupton, Colo./TJ Watts, Eads, Okla. 5.1; 3. Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo./Wyatt Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif. 5.3; 4. Jay Tittel, Pueblo, Colo./Richard Durham, Henrietta, Texas 5.7; 5. Brett Christensen, Alva, Okla./Dawson McMaster, Madison, Kan. 5.8; 6. Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D./Matt Kasner, Cody, Wyo. 6.1; 7.(tie) JB Lord, Sturgis, S.D./Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D. and Cole Cooper, Sheridan, Wyo./Ryon Tittel, Pueblo, Colo. 6.8 each.

Barrel racing – 2017 champion: Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas
1. Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas 17.17 seconds; 2. Ari-Anna Flynn, Charleston, Ark. 17.24; 3. Tracy Nowlin, Nowata, Okla. 17.43; 4. Britta Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D. 17.52; 5. Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M. 17.59; 6. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, Victoria, Texas 17.61; 7. Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas 17.63; 8. Ivy Hurst, Springer, Okla.17.65; 9. Emily Miller, Weatherford, Okla. 17.72; 10. (tie) Kynder Starr, Catoosa, Okla. and Sidney Forrest, Lipan, Texas 17.79 each; 12. Taci Bettis, Round Top, Texas 17.81.

Bull riding – 2017 champion: Trevor Kastner, Sulphur, Okla.
1. Trevor Kastner, Sulphur, Okla. 87 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s No. 124; 2. Bart Miller, Oshkosh, Neb. 84; 3. Tanner Bothwell, Rapid City, S.D. 74; 4. Nate Perry, Elk City, Okla. 73; 5. Cullen Telfer, Thonotosassa, Fla. 65.5.

** All results are unofficial.