MEEKER | Under the glow of arena lights and with the smell of funnel cakes drifting from the nearby fairgrounds, Week Seven of the Meeker Summer Rodeo Series brought the town together once again for fast times and tough competition.
The night kicked off with steer riding, where three contestants vied for a $388 prize. None of the riders stayed on for the required eight seconds, allowing the pot to grow to $446 for next week’s winner.
In the open team roping event, national anthem singer Colton Kreider and his teammate Brett Watson claimed the top spot with a time of 11.65 seconds. The duo advanced to the #8 team roping division, where Lee Burton and D. Stoltzfus won with a run of 7.94 seconds.
Kreider wasn’t done yet. He picked up a second win in the Dally Ribbon Roping event alongside William S., finishing in 18.94 seconds.
In the open breakaway event, Ripley Bellio earned her fourth win of the series with a time of 3.43 seconds. Bellio previously won the first three weeks of the series in the ladies breakaway event.
“It feels good to get lucky and pull off another win. It’s definitely been a minute—just placing here and there but not necessarily winning,” Bellio said. “I know that every time I enter there is another chance to win. Dry spells don’t always last.”
Bellio rode her horse, Chrome, who she’s been competing on throughout the series.
“He has mostly been used as a team roping horse, so it’s been a struggle to jump back and forth between events and not be able to practice just in the breakaway,” she said. “But I’m excited for future runs with hope to get more time in the practice pen.”
In the ladies breakaway event, Fallon Neilson picked up her fourth win of the series with a time of 5.18 seconds. Neilson previously won the open breakaway event in Week Six and the ladies breakaway in both Weeks Four and Five.
There was no winner in the junior breakaway event, rolling over $26 into the pot for Week Eight.
In the open barrels, Taylor Davis of Rifle, Colorado, picked up another win with a time of 17.97 seconds. Davis has now won five times this season—three in the open breakaway (Weeks One, Three and Five) and two in open barrels (Weeks Six and Seven). She clocked 17.92 seconds in her previous barrel win.
In junior barrels, Landree Tate took the win with a time of 19.98 seconds.
There were no mutton busters that evening. In the first section of bull riding, Caleb Gieselman of Rifle scored 83.25 points to earn the lead. He was offered a re-ride but declined.
In the second section, all riders returned, and it was Cowboy Wyatt Powell of Hamilton who claimed the $500 prize. Powell edged out Gieselman’s score with 84.5 points.
Due to nearby wildfires and safety concerns, there will be no rodeo this Thursday. Week Eight of the Meeker Summer Rodeo Series has been postponed.
The series is expected to resume the following week, with slack beginning at 6 p.m. and the main performance starting at 7 p.m. as usual.
