When Jana Griemsman heard Dickinson received torrential rain on Friday night, she was discouraged.
The Piedmont, S.D., barrel racer said she and others scheduled to run Saturday evening at the Roughrider Days Rodeo were convinced they wouldn’t have much of a chance to finish in the money.
“We were all a little discouraged thinking we wouldn’t have a chance if the ground was wet,” Griemsman said. “But we got here, and we were all really impressed.”
Griemsman, however, was the one who left everyone dazzled. Three tight turns on a near-perfect path helped her set a Roughrider Days barrel racing record with a time of 15.51 seconds. Griemsman said her horse had struggled recently to make tight turns on the final barrel.
“I knew when she finished it tonight, my other two barrels were so close I knew I was going to have a good run,” Griemsman said. “I knew it was going to be good. I didn’t know I’d be winning it, but I was tickled when they announced my time.”
Griemsman, the Badlands Circuit barrel racing standings leader, said she hopes the arena record is good enough to hold up through today’s third and final performance, which begins at 7 p.m.
“I’ve got to hold my breath for 12 more girls and see how it ends up,” she said.
Like Griemsman, bareback rider Tanner Aus knows the Dickinson arena well.
He’s just used to being there when it’s snowing.
The fourth-ranked rider in the world standings, who once competed in college rodeos in Dickinson as a member of Iowa Central Community College before moving to the pro ranks fulltime, climbed atop the rodeo’s leaderboard with an 85-point ride on Korkow Rodeo’s Flaxy Lady.
Though a stiff westerly wind whipped through the arena as the bareback riders kicked off the evening, Aus said he’s accustomed to competing in weather while in Dickinson.
“Usually during the college rodeo, it’s snowing and windy,” he said with a smile.
Aus, from Granite Falls, Minn., said he was pleased with his draw and had been matched up with the mare before, though he said this ride was a personal best on her.
“I was really thankful to see that one next to my name,” he said.
Aus has earned nearly $60,000 this year and appears to be a shoo-in for the National Finals Rodeo.
Mandan’s Casey Breuer, who’s currently on the outside looking in in the NFR standings, sat atop the bareback riding for a hot minute with an 80-point ride before Aus moved to the top.
“Things have been rolling,” Aus said. “I’m just taking it one horse at a time. You can’t take anything for granted in this sport.”
Saddle bronc rider Chase Brooks didn’t let a pair of broken ribs stop him from competing. And it sure didn’t keep him from winning the second performance and setting the pace for the rodeo.
Brooks sat up on Korkow Rodeo’s Arabella — a horse who bucked him earlier this year in Jackson, Miss. — as it took a straight line and kicked him to an 85-point ride.
“I was glad to have her,” Brooks said. “… The rematch was nice. I’m glad I waited until after the whistle to fall off of her this time.”
While Brooks followed that with a laugh, he said this was likely his last rodeo for at least a week as he tries to let his ribs heal.
Sitting fourth in the Montana Circuit standings, the 21-yearold from Deer Lodge, Mont., said he’s gaining confidence by knocking off some of the cowboys he grew up idolizing. He bumped veteran J.J. Elshere out of the top spot on the leaderboard Saturday.
“It’s cool to be riding against a lot of these guys,” Brooks said. “I’ve looked up to them for a long time and now it’s nice to feel like I fit in and compete with them as well as I’ve got to this year.”
Bull rider Bart Miller seized his shot at climbing the Badlands Circuit standings.
The Pleasanton, Neb., bull rider drew Sunken Treasure, which lived up to its moniker. Though it took a couple seconds, the bull sunk down and spun just right for Miller, who held on for an 82-point ride to move into the lead.
“He gave me a big ol’ jump, kinda turned around to the right and pulled me back down, and once I got set up on him, he was awesome,” said Miller, who sits fourth in the Badlands Circuit. “It all worked out. Shoot, it’s a good day when you have stuff work out like that in your favor.”
Clay Schaack laughed and said he “got lucky,” with his pacesetting 4.5-second turn in the steer wrestling.
The 44-year-old veteran from Wall, S.D., who entered the rodeo alongside his son, said an otherwise basic run came together quickly — even if it wasn’t perfect.
“There was nothing that started real great, but it all came together in the end,” he said. “There was nothing pretty about it.”
While it was a good night for most, both the team ropers and tie-down ropers had trouble against the wind as the leaders remained unchanged in those events.
Clint Gorrell, of Beach, and Jesse Dale, of Timber Lake, S.D., moved into fourth in the team roping with a performance-leading 8.1-second run. Tucker McDaniel, of Midland, S.D., and Jeff Nelson, of Phillip, S.D., lead the rodeo with a time of 5.8 seconds.
Taylor Santos of Creston, Calif., won the second performance in the tie-down roping with time of 11.4 seconds, but he sits third in the standings. Trey Young of Dupree, S.D., leads with a 9.1-second time set Friday.
Roughrider Days Rodeo
Note: Standings after two of three performances; third performance scheduled for 7 p.m. today.
Bareback riding, 1, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 85. 2, Casey Breuer, Mandan,
80. 3, Blade Elliott, Centreville, Ala., 75. 4, Paden Hurst, Navasota, Texas, 63.
Tie-down roping: 1. Trey Young, Dupree, S.D., 9.1. 2, Blake Eggl, Minot, 10.9. 3, Taylor Santos, Creston, Calif., 11.4. 4, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 11.7. 5, Cooper Martin, Alma, Kan., 11.8. 6, Matt Peters, Hot Springs, S.D., 12.2
Saddle bronc riding: 1, Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., 85. 2, J.J. Elshere, Hereford, S.D., 84. 3, Troy Crowser, Whitewood, S.D., 79. 4, Dusty Hausauer, Dickinson, 77.5. 5, Travis Schroth, Buffalo Gap, S.D., 76.5. 6, Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta, 76; Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D.,
76.
Steer wrestling: 1, Clay Schaack, Wall, S.D., 4.5. 2, Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D., 5.7. 3, Tye Hale, Faith, S.D., 5.9; Tee Burress, Piedmont, S.D., 5.9. 5, Del Ray Kraupie, Bridgeport, Neb., 6.4. 6, Cameron Morman, Glen Ullin, 7.1.
Team roping: 1, Tucker McDaniel, Midland, S.D., and Jeff Nelson, Phillip, S.D., 5.8. 2, Caleb Mitchell, Mason, Texas, and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., 5.9. 3, Tim Nelson and Jade Nelson, Midland, S.D., 6.6. 4, Clint Gorrell, Beach, and Jesse Dale, Timber Lake, S.D., 8.1. 5, Eli Lord, Sturgis, S.D., and Jace Davis, Stephenville, Texas, 9.4. 6, Shaw Loiseau, Flandreau, S.D., and Tel Schaack, Edgemont, S.D. 11.3.
Barrel racing: 1, Jana Griemsman, Piedmont, S.D., 15.51. 2, Kristen Darnell, Goshen, Ala., 15.63. 3, Ahnna Peterson, Velva, 15.65. 4, Kassidy Dennis, St. Francis, S.D., 15.66; Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 15.66; Layna Kight, Ocala, Fla., 15.66.
Bull riding: 1, Bart Miller, Pleasanton, Neb.,
82. 2, Ardie Maier, Timber Lake, S.D., 80; Taryl Smith, Litchville, 80. 4, Newt Brasfield, Lane, Okla., 79. 5, Wyatt Gregg, Belle Fourche, S.D., 76. 6, Cain Smith, Pendleton, Ore., 71.
Dustin Monke 