Matt Austin Wins The Tuff Hedeman L'auberge du Lac Louisiana Shootout

Matt Austin Wins The Tuff Hedeman L'auberge du Lac Louisiana Shootout

by

Sheila Totten

 

 

I was not able to make it to the Tuff Hedeman L'auberge du Lac Louisiana Shootout  this weekend but from what I have been told it was a great event  that held the crowd on the edges of their seats all the way to the very last ride. With top riders  from both the CBR and PRCA  and even the PBR and top bulls from contractors as CBR's 2005 Stock Contractor of The Year Harlan Robertson/Henry Wilson, Jerry Nelson,Wes Bruce,Kevin Loudamy ,Vernon Guidry,Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo,Lyndal Hurst and Alan Murphy the excitement grew in momentum from ride to ride. And the crowd had an extra treat with 8X World Champion Donnie Gay along  side of the Outdoor Channel Broadcast  team of CBR President Tuff Hedeman, ESPN TV Analyst Jeff Medders,and the lovely and talented Pam Minick. This should make for a great TV broadcast in a few weeks. Donnie always livens things up with his remarks.

In the first section of the long go there were four  qualified rides .McKennon Wimberley is riding great this season and I can just picture the big grin on daddy Joe's face. McKennon topped a hard bull to ride in Robinson/Wilson's Mercury Rising to score 88.5 and take an early lead. Its good to see Robey Condra riding CBR. I used to watch him on the Mesquite Rodeo  broadcasts. Robey scored 84 aboard another R/W bull I really like - El Paso. Montigo Bay unseated Clint Craig while Travis Sellers scored 86 on Tin Man. Cooper Kanngiesser  took the lead with a great 89 point ride on Harlan Robertson's Rafter Jack.

There was only one qualified ride in the second section  as bulls from R/W,Vernon Guidry,Lyndal Hurst, and Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo blanked all but Chad Castillo who rode Guidry's great Western Hauler Dip for 84.LRR's Torque sent Ednei Caminhas down early while Lyndal Hurst's Crooked Eddie beat Brian Frost; and the man who is second in the CBR standings,Ronnie Kitchens ,fell victim to R/W's Tombstone.

Section three had one qualified ride as Pistol Robinson rode Wes Bruce's Bandolero for 87.5. Derald Riche  lost the match to the Bruce /Goodall little bull El Lobo.LRR's Spanky had his usual trip as he sent Cain Patterson down.

Matt Austin led off the fourth section aboard Frontier Rodeo's(Jerry Nelson) Woodstock to take the lead with 89.5 on a typical Austin ride. Kenny Westrope rode Jerry's Society 's Child for 87.5 while the rest of Jerry's bulls blanked the rest of the riders in the section.

In the last section only Jake Littlefield  qualified with 87.5 aboard Kevin Loudamy's Cha Ching.

Because there were only nine qualified rides in the long go  six riders were called back for the Championship Round.  Salty Cat beat Bryan Richardson while R/W's Vertical Limit got the best of Ednei Caminhas.Big City won the match against Clint Craig but Danell Tipton scored 89.5 on R/W's Priefert Texas to tie with Matt Austin's long go score. Guidry's Dippin XS Energy beat Cole Echoles while Wes Bruce's Cowboy Cut won the match against Mickey Stevens.One of my favorite bulls,Guidry's Hot Damn bucked off Robey Condra and Mean Machine(R/W) blanked Chad Castillo. Travis Sellers lost his match with Kevin Loudamy's Uncle Charlie while Jake Littlefield became the first rider to top two head and jumped into the lead with his great ride aboard Jerry Nelson's Flash for 90.5.R/W's Spiderman unseated Kenny Westrope to make it bulls nine and cowboys two. Pistol Robinson tied Littlefield's short go score with his equally great looking ride aboard R/W's CBR 2005 World Champion bull Biloxi Blues. Robinson edged ahead of Littlefield by a half point.

Guidry's One Night Stand ended McKennon Wimberley's hopes for a win while one of my very favorite bulls,LRR's Zorro, blanked Cooper Kanngiesser.And then came Matt Austin. Would he ride his bull and would it be enough to win. I waited on baited breath for my final result hoping for a positive outcome and jumped out of my seat when I got the score! Matt  might have had to play catch up with White Diamond but he rode the Robertson/Wilson  bull for 91 points and won the event with 180.5 on two head.His earning of $5,754 increased his lead over second place Ronnie Kitchens. Matt Austin, Pistol Robinson and Jake Littlefield were each awarded an American War Heroes $500 bonus for scoring 90 or above rides. Riders can thank the team of Bruce/Goodall for this program which honors our veterans and the riders.

The CBR heads out to Huron,S.D. on August 30-31 for their next event. I hope that many of my Lakota/Dakota/Nakota brethren will attend this event .