Heading into the Sunday finals of the La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, Dave Mason had a steep grade to climb.
Ranked 11th out of 12 bull riders who made it back to Sunday’s short-go, Mason needed a big performance, and he got one. Turns out, he didn’t even need much of a big performance — just needed to stay on, for the most part.
Yet he gave the crowd a thrill with his 86-point ride atop Record Rack’s 90 Proof, winning $2,700 for the day’s work and another $3,394 for the aggregate on two bulls.
“Having a big win at the beginning of the year keeps you up, but at the end of the day, if you’re not having fun doing what you’re doing, it doesn’t matter when you do it,” said Mason, a former Professional Bull Riders rider.
Mason, a native of Australia who has only been competing in the United States for a few years, was one of just two bull riders to last all eight seconds on Sunday; Jeff Askey, of Athens, Texas, also held on but had a tame bull that landed him just a 69-point ride. That, however, was good enough for nearly $5,000 worth of winnings on Sunday, including his aggregate second-place finish.
Like Mason, Askey entered the day on the bottom of the totem poll but ended up flush because none of the other 10 riders made it through.
“I don’t ever look at the scoreboard or who’s getting on what bull,” said Mason, whose uncles were Australian rodeo champions.
“My job is to ride the bull they gave me, and I go home happy if I’ve done my job. My battle isn’t against the other guys, it’s against the bull they gave me.”
One Mason to Another
Unlike the two long-lasting bull riders, Mason Clements entered Sunday’s bareback championship near the top of the standings, figuring he had a good shot at a payday.
And while he didn’t have the best showing — Steven Dent of Mullen, Nebraska, had the day’s high score of 85.5 atop Little Jet — Clements scored an 83 nonetheless to take home the aggregate title.
“My mindset for the year was rodeo hard in the winter and spring, relax and get healthy and rest in May and then crave it more,” Clements said. “This was my big moment for the year so far. It’s exciting. I’ve never been more excited for the rodeo than this year.”
Other Tucson Rodeo winners
A pair of locals won the team-roping championship as Erich Rogers of Round Rock and Cory Petska of Marana finished at 12.7 seconds on two runs, winning nearly $6,000 for the aggregate score and another $1,407 for Sunday’s round.
Tyler Pearson won the steer wrestling aggregate with a standout 15.9 seconds for three attempts, taking home a $4,385 payday and another $809 for finishing fourth in Sunday’s short-go behind Sunday winner Ty Erickson.
Tyler Corrington followed up a big day yesterday with an 84.5 on Sunday, pushing him up to the top spot on the saddle bronc riding leaderboard, and tie-down roper Ace Slone also had a big day, winning both the aggregate and short-go.
Stevi Hillman won both the aggregate and short-go in barrel racing, too, winning nearly $4,800 after a two-day score of 34.95 seconds.
