Rusty not rusty at all
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Friday, December 28, 2007 | 
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No comments [ Add Comment ]By Dennis Larsen
Standard-Examiner staff
dlarsen@standard.net
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By Dennis Larsen
Standard-Examiner staff
dlarsen@standard.net
» Story View
By Dennis Larsen
Standard-Examiner staff
dlarsen@standard.net
OGDEN -- Taking three months off prior to the 49th annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was a good move by Rusty Allen.
The 32-year-old saddle bronc rider, of Eagle Mountain, couldn't improve his positioning in the Crusher Rentals Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings, where he was sitting second ($114,958) going into the WNFR.
"I was sore with my left hip after getting stepped on at the 2006 finals," Allen said. "I didn't qualify for the last two events of the Ariat Playoff Series, so I took some time off before the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
"I'm as close to 100 percent as I can be," he said. "I hope I did the right thing by taking the time off. This is the first horse I've been on since the finals."
Allen spurred Bar T Rodeo Inc. Ladies Man, a 5-year-old gelding, to 85 points Thursday in the first round of the $73,691 Dodge Wilderness Circuit Finals.
He pocketed $818.78 for his round-winning ride in the Golden Spike Arena on a cold, winter night.
"I've never had the horse before, but I saw him this summer at Pleasant Grove where my traveling partner, Levi Berry, had him,"Allen said. "Nobody knew the horse, and Levi didn't give him enough rein.
"I gave him a little more rein tonight and it was good," he said. "He took a little run right out of the chute for three strides, found himself and broke in half. I was pretty thrilled with the ride."
Allen, a four-time Wrangler NFR qualifier, finished fifth ($150,919) in the 2007 Crusher Rentals World Standings.
He is sitting second ($12,815) in saddle bronc riding in the Wilderness Circuit, trailing Cody Wright, of Milford, who has won the year-end title ($17,665).
"I struggled mentally at the WNFR through the first three rounds and then got my head back on right," Allen said. "I started moving in the right direction, but it was a little late in the game.
"Cody has won the year-end, so I'm trying to win the aggregate," he said. "It's you against the horse, but nothing is funner when everybody in the pickup is winning. If we could be first and second at every rodeo, that would be fine by us.
"If I could have picked my horse tonight, it would have been (Bar T's) Robin's Nest, the horse that Levi had," Allen said. "I felt really good after the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo."
If Allen wins the three-head aggregate at the Wilderness Circuit Finals, he will make his fourth appearance at the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo on March 19-22 at Pocatello, Idaho.
Jessy Davis, of Payson, won the first round of bareback riding with an 83-point marking on Bar T Rodeo Inc. Thorn Bird, a 7-year-old mare.
Bud Kerby, of Bar T, switched the mare back and forth between bareback and saddle bronc riding during the summer.
"I've never had her, but I heard about her," said the 26-year-old Davis. "The bronc riders said she would be really good and would spin at the last of the ride. It's hard to hang on and keep your feet when their hind end doesn't come up far. I could have ridden her better.
"I guess I was too cold and not warmed up enough," he said. "I won the year-end and aggregate in 2003, and I would like to repeat this year. I had a good year and a good Wrangler NFR."
Davis was fourth ($170,053) in the final world standings, and is a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier.
He has wrapped up the year-end bareback riding title in the Wilderness Circuit ($16,648).
"I like when the horses are bucking, I'm riding well and feeling good," Davis said. "When the crowd gets behind you, it really makes it fun."
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