Jesse Bail didn't think twice about taking the summer off when he broke his arm and his wrist in two separate rodeo events in mid-May.
"I had last summer off with a broken leg," said the 26-year-old native of Camp Crook, S. D., who won the saddle bronc riding event in the opening round of the Days of '47 Rodeo at the Delta Center with a score of 85 points despite having to hold on with a broken arm. "I tried using my other hand, but it didn't work out too well so over the Fourth (of July), I tried it with my left hand. It worked better than I thought it would. I just kind of hang on (to the rope) with my four fingers . . . It sure felt a lot better than using my other hand."
The one thing he didn't seriously contemplate was not riding.
For one thing, he is sitting about 15th in the world-wide standings for saddle bronc riding. If he finishes in the top 10, he'll earn another trip to the National Finals Rodeo. That's what most of the cowboys and cowgirls competing in this week's rodeos are hoping to do — besides earning a little money.
The first of seven rodeos attracted about 2,000 fans and featured some of the world's top rodeo athletes. The top score in bareback riding was also an 85, earned by Tyson Thompson, of Templeton, Calif. He didn't need any help getting his adrenaline pumping as he got to the rodeo just 15 minutes before his event started.
"We were laying around the hotel room killing time," he said with a grin. "I thought the rodeo started at 8 p.m . . . So I was a little rushed. I've been going about 900 miles an hour since I got here."
He said the ride went pretty smoothly despite a loose rigging, which he holds onto while he rides the bucking horse.
"It felt good, except for that," he said.
The Days of '47 Rodeo continues through Monday, with the show on the 24th starting at 4 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. Also, there is no rodeo on Sunday. New this year is a laser show to start each rodeo and Friday, Saturday and Monday, Intermission will feature Motocross stars doing stunts in the arena.
Tyson Thompson, Templeton, Calif., won the bareback riding Monday night with a score of 85 points. Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., finished second with 82 points.
Rod Jones, Tremonton, won the steer wrestling with a time of 4.0, while Brock Andrus, St. George, was second with a time of 4.5 seconds.
Tyler Bingham, West Haven, was the only contestant in the youth bullriding challenge to stay on eight seconds, but all five youngsters received belt buckles for participating.
Monte Lewis, Hereford, Texas, won the tie down roping with a time of 7.9 seconds. Denis Luetge finished second with 8.2 seconds.
Lita Scott won the barrel racing with a time of 12.95 seconds, while Danni Scheer finished second with a time of 13.10.
In the saddle bronc riding competition, Jesse Bail finished first with a score of 85, while Luke Leist and Cooper McBride tied for second with 76 points each.
Colby Siddoway, Hooper, and Kirt Jones, Decatur, Texas, finished first in the team roping, and Brandon Bohac and Kurt Lassmann, both of Texas, finished second with a score of 5.1 seconds.
In the bullriding, Logan Knibbe, Texas, finished first with a score of 78, while Jim Crosby, Washington, and Richard Echols, Louisiana, tied for second with a score of 73 points.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com