A little change isn’t always a bad thing. Josh Garner is proof of that.
Before the Live Oak, California, cowboy could even get behind the barrier for his steer wrestling run at the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo during Thursday morning’s slack, Garner was told the steer he had originally drawn would need to be swapped out.
“They gave me the steer I actually ran, and he was a lot better,” Garner said with a laugh.
His time of 4.6 seconds was good enough to take second in the opening round and earn himself a spot in the finale. Garner’s second run finished in 3.6 seconds, best in the round, and resulted in an aggregate time of 8.2 seconds to win the rodeo. It’s the second time he has walked away from Sisters as the steer wrestling champion, having last won the title in 2018.
The success in Oregon was the latest in a string of good runs for Garner since the calendar flipped to June just a few days ago.
Garner placed in both rounds at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo in California to start the month, helping him take second in the average. Over the first 11 days of the month, the longtime steer wrestler has won more than $8,400 to help him climb up the steer wrestling leaderboard into the top 30.
It’s a far cry from his 2022 season, which resulted in just $16,123 in winnings and one victory.
“It just seemed like everywhere we went last year, we had to be under four-flat to scratch a check. I think that kind of got in my head. I was trying to speed the runs up when you couldn’t,” Garner said. “A lot of people thought I’d quit rodeoing. A bunch of local friends were like, ‘Oh, did you retire?’ I was like, ‘No, I didn’t retire. I’m just having a bad year guys.'”
Coming into the season, Garner decided to reset his approach and change things up.
He’s been riding Sterling Lambert’s horse, Buzz, which has resulted in a fair amount of success thus far. The duo were together for four money-winning runs at RODEOHOUSTON back in March, which helped Garner get the season started on the right foot.
Now, it’s just a matter of keeping that mindset going as he moves on to Greeley, Colo. and Reno, Nev. next weekend.
“Honestly, I’m just trying to go back to having fun. I love rodeoing and sometimes it gets a little hectic and kind of turns into more of a job instead of just going back to having fun,” Garner said. “This year, I kind of told myself I’m going to go back to having fun. I’m not trying to stress myself out so much. I’ve been riding good, drawing really good in June, and trying not to get too amped up.”
Other winners at the $216,834 rodeo were all-around cowboy Stetson Wright ($4,605, saddle bronc riding and bull riding); bareback rider Mason Clements (87 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Trail Ryder); team ropers Lightning Aguilera/Jared Fillmore (4.8 seconds); saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright (88 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Barmaid); tie-down roper Richard Newton (17.6 seconds on two head); barrel racer Katie Halbert (17.19 seconds); and bull rider Ky Hamilton (89.5 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Stand By Me).
Source: ProRodeo
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