Sydney Graham Cashes in On West Texas Rodeo Win
The ABC Pro Rodeo has been a member of the PRCA since 1943 and hosts their event at the Mallet Event Center in Levelland, Texas. Professional cowboys and cowgirls from all over come to compete at this rodeo, and some even make it a point to stop in and compete on their way out west to the California run.
The rodeo consists of a slack round on Wednesday followed by action-packed four performances, ending on Saturday night. The competition was fierce, but one cowgirl prevailed and found herself in the No. 1 spot when the dust settled.
Sydney Graham from Abilene, Texas, edged out her fellow competitors by 3 tenths of a second in the Ladies Barrel Racing to win $2,262 for her efforts. She jockeyed her trusty gelding, Hesa Mind Bender, to the winner's circle this weekend.
Graham and Hesa Mind Bender, or Tio as she calls him, are a partnership that has been together for a long while, and at the age of 17 years young, the sorrel gelding continues to outrun his younger competition. The gelding also clocked a 16.8-second run on a standard pattern this weekend to take the win in Andrews, Texas, at the PRCA pro rodeo.
The pair can be seen next at the final stop for the “Texas Swing” in San Angelo on April 13 at 1:00 P.M. CST in the matinee performance, where they hope to advance to the rodeo’s final rounds.
ABC Pro Rodeo Full Results:
All-Around Cowboy: Lane Webb, $1,455, tie-down roping and team roping.
Bareback Riding: 1. Roedy Farrell, 86.5 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo's Tango, $1,191; 2. Tuker Carricato, 84, $902; 3. (tie) Bryce Eck and Payton Lackey, 83, $541 each; 5. Jade Taton, 81, $253; 6. (tie) Clayton Hibler and Tim Murphy, 80, $90 each.
Steer Wrestling: 1. Emmett Edler, 4.0 seconds, $1,452; 2. Adam Musil, 4.6, $1,201; 3. Tyke Kipp, 4.7, $951; 4. (tie) Tyrel Cline and Brad Ralph, 4.8, $576 each; 6. Ty Cochrane, 5.0, $250.
Team Roping: 1. Riley Kittle/Will Woodfin, 4.2 seconds, $1,622 each; 2. Cole Morgan/Jess Morgan, 5.2, $1,410; 3. Zane Kilgus/Tator Taton, 5.6, $1,199; 4. Bridger Ketcham/Caden Beaty, 5.7, $987; 5. Chace Thompson/Chad Williams, 7.2, $776; 6. Zack Woods/Gavin Foster, 7.5, $564; 7. Cash Duty/Clay Green, 9.7, $353; 8. Jhett Trenary/Jake South, 11.2, $141.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1. Sterling Crawley, 85.5 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo's No Show Jones, $1,731; 2. (tie) Gus Gaillard and Joe Priebe, 82, $1,128 each; 4. (tie) Danny Cassidy and Liam Pauley, 79, $498 each; 6. Walker Rezzonico, 76, $262.
Tie-Down Roping: 1. Jarvis Demery, 8.4 seconds, $1,963; 2. (tie) Brody Stallard and Lane Webb, 8.6, $1,455 each; 4. Matt Kenney, 9.1, $948; 5. Tate Teague, 9.4, $609; 6. Walker Warkentin, 9.5, $338.
Barrel Racing: 1. Sydney Graham, 15.87 seconds, $2,262; 2. Ryann Pedone, 16.12, $1,922; 3. Dena Kirkpatrick, 16.21, $1,583; 4. Cheyenne Wimberley, 16.24, $1,357; 5. Dona Rule, 16.26, $1,131; 6. Chloe Gray, 16.28, $792; 7. Ilyssa Riley, 16.31, $565; 8. Taylor Carver, 16.32, $452; 9. Sadie Wolaver-Troyer, 16.33, $396; 10. (tie) Emily Beisel and Stevi Hillman, 16.34, $311 each; 12. (tie) Timber Allenbrand and Keyla Costa, 16.35, $113 each.
Bull Riding: 1. (tie) Braden Richardson, on Beutler & Son Rodeo's Fake Friend, and Ethan Winckler, on Beutler & Son Rodeo's Bruce, 86 points, $1,439 each; 3. Chase Wimer, 84.5, $893; 4. (tie) Isaak Dyck and Avery Mullins, 79, $472 each; 6. Hayden Welsh, 77, $248.
KAITLYN WOODMAN
Kaitlyn grew up in a small east Texas town called Marshall, Texas, and now resides in the “Cutting Horse Capital of the World” Weatherford. The rodeo lifestyle was instilled into Kaitlyn at a young age as her entire family has a rodeo background. She spent most of her life at Martha and RE Josey’s ranch just down the road from her house. Kaitlyn was lucky enough to have been surrounded by incredible role models in and out of the arena that got her to where she is today both as a competitor and a person. As a barrel racer, Kaitlyn has competed at just about every level the sport offers. The barrel racing industry is something that she is deeply passionate about, whether it be the futurity and derby scene, the rodeo world, or even the breeding side, she finds herself excited to learn new things and grow the industry as much as she possibly can. Kaitlyn graduated from Sul Ross State University in December of 2023 with a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture degree and knew that upon graduation she wanted to get a start in the western sports media industry. Before graduating from Sul Ross, Kaitlyn was able to start a career as an Equine Insurance Agent and takes pride in protecting her customer’s most valuable assets. Kaitlyn is excited to share her passion for the Western Sports and Agriculture industries through her writing, and she strives to reach audiences far beyond our community to advocate for the betterment of our lifestyle!