Header Erich Rogers, of Round Rock, Arizona, and heeler Paden Bray, of Stephensville, Texas, wrap up their steer in 4.5 seconds Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, to take the lead in the team roping competition at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston.

HERMISTON — Rusty and Ryder Wright showed up to the first night of the Farm-City Pro Rodeo without their younger brother, Stetson, in tow.

Rusty joked they were tired of him and kicked him out of the truck.

Stetson Wright found his way to the FCPR on Thursday, Aug. 12, and promptly set an arena record in the saddle bronc — a record that stood for just 24 hours.

“My dad (Cody) said records are made to be broken,” Wright said.

Brody Cress set the arena record Aug. 11 with an 89-point ride, and Leon Fountain tied that mark Aug. 12 with an 89-point ride on Weekend Departure.

A few men later, Wright got on the back of a big surly horse named Baby Kibitz and the pair teamed up for a 90-point ride.

“When I saw what horse I had, I called Rusty and Ryder,” Wright said. “I’ve never been on him before, and they said he has bucked a lot of guys down. I knew he would be good. To get an arena record on a horse that is that hard to ride is nice.”

Wright sits second in the saddle bronc standing behind his brother Ryder — by about $11,000. A win in Hermiston could help bridge the gap.

Wright, who also rides bulls, leads the world all-around standings with a more than $100,000 lead over No. 2 Tuf Cooper.

It’s starting to become clear why his brothers kicked him out of the truck.

Barrel racing

Rookie Kylee Scribner and her horse BB made the most of their first trip to the FCPR. The pair turned in a time of 16.92 seconds to take over the lead in the events.

“I was just trying to have a good consistent run,” the Texas cowgirl said. “I just came out and tried to run my race. You can’t be worried about what everybody else is doing.”

Scribner is leading the WPRA rookie standings in the barrels with $32,152. After her run Aug. 12, she’s sure to add more.

“We are excited to be here,” she said. “This is a great rodeo. I will definitely be back.”

Steer wrestling

Rowdy Parrott is sitting 43rd in the world standings, and with the season winding down, a return trip to the NFR is not in the cards for the Louisiana cowboy.

But he had a great night at the FCPR, posting the top time of 3.5 seconds. He also collected $100 cash for winning the performance, and was awarded the Darrel Sallee Grey Ribbon Challenge, which is a $500 bonus to a steer wrestler selected by the Sallee family.

“That’s fuel money right there,” Parrott said.

Riding his trusty horse George, and his brother Remey Parrott as his hazer, Parrott was able to get a clean start and take down his steer.

“You have to get a fast start,” he said. “I had a good steer — luck of the draw is a big part.”

Marc Joiner turned in a 3.8-second run, and combined with a 3.9 on his first run, he leads the average on two at 7.7 seconds.

Bareback riding

Caleb Bennett moved into second place in the bareback with an 86.5-point ride on Yukon Rambler. That number is sure to put some money in the pocket of the No. 3-ranked man in the standings.

“That is a really good horse,” the Montana cowboy said. “I feel I rode him better than I did before. I don’t remember riding him, but the contractor said I did. It must not have gone really well for me.”

Bennett, who has made eight trips to the National Finals Rodeo, looks to be headed back for the ninth time.

“My goal this year was to come out strong,” he said. “I have been drawing good and I have been healthy. Hopefully I can end up No. 1. I’m close enough to catch him (Tim O’Connell) at the end of the year.”

Tie-down roping

Hermiston native Preston Pederson tied Travis James Eller, of Colville, Washington, in tie-down roping with matching times of 10.1 seconds.

“The hometown rodeo is the hardest rodeo to win,” Pederson said. “You know everybody here, and you don’t want to let anyone down, so you just go out and do the best you can do.”

Eller was excited with how his horse performed after having two weeks off because of an injury.

“He’s been outstanding,” Eller said. “I love him. We raised him. My grandfather and I raised him together, so he’s pretty special to us.”

Pederson’s run was one step short of disaster when his tie-down rope broke as he roped the calf.

“His whole head went up and he didn’t stop as hard because of it,” Pederson said.

Pederson was thrilled with how his horse, Ocho, performed. He purchased the horse from an eight-time world champion when the horse was 8 years old at a price of $8,000 — hence the name Ocho.

Pederson has been back in town working on his family farm and taking small jobs while saving up money to repair his truck, which recently “blew up” outside of Cody, Wyoming. He hopes to be back out on the road soon and will be at the Pendleton Round-Up going for the all-around title later this year.

Bull riding

Bull riding is typically the crowd favorite at rodeos, but Aug. 12’s competition turned out to be somewhat lackluster as only one man managed to complete his 8-second ride.

That man was Jake Gardner, from Fort St. John, British Columbia.

“I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I knew if I did the right moves I’d get it done,” said Gardner, who added that he’s been on a “dry spell” for a couple weeks with many falls.

Gardner knew he drew a good bull.

“When you get a bull like that, you want to set in your mind not to dive in there and just be patient,” he said.

He even received advice from world-champion rider Stetson Wright earlier in the day, who rode the same bull previously.

“He came up to me tonight and said for me to keep it simple and that bull would feel good,” he said. “And it helped.”

Gardner is currently living part-time out of his car while touring the circuit. He has a bed in the back of his truck and stays on couches when he can find them.

“I’m doing whatever it takes,” he said.

Team roping

The team of Erich Rogers and Paden Bray won team roping with a time of 4.5 seconds, defeating Washington natives Jack Fischer and Brent Falon’s 5.5-second performance.

“This was a pretty good run tonight,” Rogers said.

The only other two teams to put up times each were over the 10 second mark.

Bray and Rogers came into the competition ranked second in the world and said they will be staying in the Northwest for more competitions.