Local cowboys, cowgirl fall short in rodeo finals

The Texas Youth Rodeo Association (TYRA) finals concluded Saturday with a few tough breaks for the Gonzales County rodeo athletes. With expectations high headed into the weekend, none of the athletes were able to snag a first-place finish. However, there were a few close calls.

Cullen Eppright from Cost was timed in the short-go round in two events. After a good first day in rodeo, Eppright took first place points in Chute Dogging and Ribbon Roping in the second round to qualify for the short go.

In Chute Dogging, Eppright’s times of 9.45 seconds and 2.94 seconds were good enough to make it to the short-go round where he finished the event at 3.97 seconds. Eppright ended up placing fifth in that event, finishing in ninth overall in the year.

In Ribbon Roping, Eppright, alongside runner Elizabeth Johnston, scored a time of 8.45 and 5.53 seconds in the first two runs to qualify for the short-go round. Their time of 5.21 seconds was not fast enough as they took second place in the finals with their total time of 19.19 seconds.

The team of Janson Dawson and Bailey Bennight barely edged them out with their total time of 19.13 seconds. Eppright finished the year in second to Dawson in this event.

Eppright also participated in Breakaway and Tie Down. Unfortunately, his times did not allow him to score in the short-go round. In overall Junior Boys Cowboy, Eppright finished the year in third in junior boys all around.

Loni Kay Lester also had a few close finishes but was unable to win an event at the TYRA finals. Lester was timed in the short-go round in Breakaway and Goat Tying.

In Breakaway, Lester no-timed in the first-go round but rebounded with a 2.38-second run to qualify for the short go. Her time of 2.88 seconds in the short go was good for third place in the round, but fourth place overall because of her first round no time. Lester finished the year in second behind Jimmie Smith.

In Goat Tying, Lester won the first-go with her time of 7.879 seconds. Her second-go time of 9.206 was good enough for ninth in the round and a short-go qualification. Unfortunately, her second-place time of 8.918 seconds in the short go wasn’t enough as her total time of 26.003 seconds was second to Smith’s total time of 25.538 seconds.  Lester finished the year in fourth in Goat Tying.

Lester also competed in Cloverleaf, Poles and Ribbon Roping where she scored in the first-round of all events but was unable to score any points in the second- and short-go rounds. In the all around leader board for senior girls, Lester finished in second, 15 points away from Smith.

Trace Herndon and Miles Svoboda were the other two Gonzales County kids to participate in the TYRA finals. Svoboda was in Chute Dogging and was timed at 14.69 and 10.75 seconds in the first two rounds but did not time in the short-go round, putting him in 10th place in the finals.

Herndon participated in ribbon roping, along side Madison Outhier. Their times of 15.11 and 15.20 seconds were not enough to score top-10 points. Herndon was also in the Tie Down event, though his no time in the first go and 28.68-second time in the second go was too much to make it to the short go.