The road to the elusive buckle is often long and winding – and the journey for many aspiring rodeo icons takes them to the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.
While the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo has showcased some of the biggest stars in the sport over the course of its 94-year history, it also serves as a proving ground for the countless other competitors who also dream of seeing their names up in lights in Las Vegas at the Permit Members of the Year Challenge in December.
That allure drew a pair of up-and-coming talents to the ring for Thursday night’s opening action at the UMR Rodeo, as Bailey Small and Cauy Pennington usher in the next wave of Saddle Bronc talent.
Riding under the lights in Cortez, Small brought in a resume that places him on a shortlist of top Saddle Bronc riders in the country. He finished second in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) regional rankings in Saddle Bronc, and took a tie for first in the Rowell Ranch Rodeo last month, shortly after leading his college team – Tarleton State University (TX) – to a regional team title.
Small, 23, collected the Mountain States Circuit title last fall, narrowly edging college teammate and travel partner Ira Dickinson with a strong final ride in Loveland. The duo meet again in Casper, Wyoming, this time as teammates, as part of a 40-man field for the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo over the week of June 9-15.
Then, shortly after, both Small and Dickinson both head to the National Finals Rodeo Open – formerly named the National Circuit Finals Rodeo – in July by virtue of Dickinson winning the year-end title in 2023, and Small taking top spot in the year-average rankings.
“Being on my permit, I knew I couldn’t get to the Wrangler Nationals yet,” said Small, a Rock Springs, Wyoming native who won seven top billings in his 2023 PRCA campaign, “but this worked out perfectly – Ira and I push each other to get better, and now we’re both going to the NFR Open in Colorado Springs.”
“College rodeo was a great stepping stone for me,” added Small, “it allowed me to step into the Mountain States Circuit – and since pro rodeo is the real deal, if you don’t have that extra support, it makes it tough to build up on your own.”
Pennington, 22, who calls Kiowa home and competed collegiately for Clarendon College (TX), also made the Mountain States Circuit Finals in 2023. The Colorado cowboy found himself right in the mix with Small and Dickinson through the opening round, and Pennington hopes for another chance to contend this fall in what would be his third circuit finals.
“Circuit finals was a really good experience for me,” recalled Pennington, “I ended up splitting the first round – and I’m really hoping to get back there again this year.”
A school year in which Pennington earned Business Ag and Welding degrees, along with placing fifth in the NIRA Southwest Region, has him knocking on the door for an exciting and hectic summer ahead. The strong collegiate showing added to nine top-two finishes while taking on the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit from a year ago.
“It took it all to the next level,” said Pennington of his experience of collegiate rodeo, “being able to work with coaches on a daily basis – the consistency of focusing on fundamentals and getting on horses several times a week all helped me take the next step toward pro rodeo.”
As for that next step, Pennington seeks to make the permit finals, while Small hopes for a return trip after earning his way to a debut appearance at the Permit Members of the Year Challenge at South Point Arena in Vegas a year ago.
“It’ll be my last year on my permit,” said Small, who will go through a qualifying process beginning with action in Waco, Texas, “so I want to make sure I’m one of the top five guys to be able to get back to Las Vegas – because that was a great experience that opened a lot of doors for me.”
In Thursday night’s opening action at the UMR Rodeo, Small finished tied atop the leaderboard, posting a score of 82 atop Powder River Rodeo’s Rockin Cotton, matching the performance of Noel Johnson from Phoenix. Pennington placed fifth with a score of 71.5.
“Growing up on a ranch with horses, riding saddle bronc is something that I always wanted to do,” said Pennington before offering advice to the generation of riders that look to follow in his footsteps, “and if you’re going to do it, then do it 100 percent.”
Kicking off the 94th edition of the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo, Louisiana’s Owen Brouilette posted the lone score above 80 in the bareback event, hitting the number on the nose atop Jungle Fever. Utah’s Moe Heaton took second a point behind.
In steer wrestling, Lordsburg, New Mexico’s Tyke Kipp brought down his steer in five seconds flat, on a solid day for the whole field with five wrestlers going under 5.4 seconds.
Choc Westcott and Clinton Groff (4.5 seconds) edged Trey Blackmore and Whip Peterson (4.6 seconds) by one-tenth of a second in the team roping event, while Jake Hannum won the tie-down roping with an effort of 8.7 seconds.
The breakaway leader after Day One was Kaylee Billingsley of Phoenix, posting a time to beat of 2.9 seconds, besting Haley Kiehne by three-tenths of a second.
In a very tight barrel racing competition, the top four competitors finished within two-hundredths of a second, with a tie atop the leaderboard for Jana Bean and Kim Schulze at 17.54 seconds, with Tara Seaton crossing in 17.55 and Sami Buum at 17.56.
With over 90 thousand dollars in the total purse, no bull riders earned a qualifying ride on Day One to round out the action.
