MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The moment certainly wasn’t too big for bull rider Clayton Foltyn.

The three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier had his skills on display as he posted a 91-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Kathmadu to win the Southeastern Livestock Exposition Rodeo (March 17-19).

“Everything was kind of touch-and-go,” Foltyn said about his ride, which took place March 18. “It sure wasn’t no day off, but it was a lot of fun.”

Foltyn left Garrett Coliseum with $4,145 in winnings, allowing him to move up from 34th in the March 14 WEATHER GUARD PRCA World Standings to 22nd this week. Foltyn made trips to the WNFR in 2005, ’11 and ’15.

“I’ve seen that bull for four or five years now,” Foltyn said about Kathmadu. “He’s an older bull, but he still doesn’t get rode a lot. (Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame bull rider) Donnie Gay gave me a little bit of advice and told me how the ride was going to go and sure enough, it went that way.”

When Foltyn made the whistle, he knew it was a special ride. It tied for the highest-scored ride of the 2016 season with Jeff Askey’s 91 on JK Rodeo’s Page Break at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver.

“I jumped off and I was happy,” Foltyn said. “I knew I was going to be a lot of points. One of my buddies (Roscoe Jarboe) was 89 points a couple of bulls right before me, and it was just a heck of a rodeo. Pretty much every time Frontier Rodeo puts on a rodeo, if you do your part you have a chance to win some money.”

Frontier Rodeo was voted 2015 PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year.

Foltyn said this is the first time he has won the SLE Rodeo in Montgomery. His 91-point ride was one point off the rodeo’s bull riding record of 92 points, set by Clint Craig in 2003.

“It’s awesome that I won this rodeo,” Foltyn said. “My grandpa (Dickey Cox) won this rodeo in 1963, so it’s cool to join him. This also is the first time I’ve ever had any success at this rodeo.”

Cox, a four-time National Finals Rodeo bull rider, passed away March 20, 2015. Cox qualified for the NFR in 1963-64, ’68 and ’70. His best season in the Rodeo Cowboys Association, a precursor to the PRCA, was in 1963, when he was the reserve world champion behind gold buckle winner Bill Kornell. Cox’s other best finishes came in 1964 (sixth), 1968 (13th) and 1970 (ninth).

A year ago, Foltyn finished a career-best fifth in the bull riding standings with $183,957. He had a superb WNFR in Las Vegas, collecting $118,731, thanks to winning Rounds 2 and 9 and placing in two other rounds.

Other winners at the $91,523 rodeo were all-around cowboy Tim Pharr ($1,786, tie-down roping and team roping), bareback rider Wyatt Denny (83 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Cash Deal), steer wrestler Gary Gilbert (4.2 seconds), team ropers John Alley and Clark Adcock (8.5 seconds on two head), saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston (88 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman), tie-down roper Randall Carlisle (7.8 seconds) and barrel racer Tiany Schuster (14.33 seconds).

Team ropers Dustin Egusquiza and Brad Culpepper broke the arena record and posted the fastest time of the 2016 season with a 3.5-second run to win the second round in Montgomery. Egusquiza in the younger brother of PRCA team roper Manny Egusquiza Jr., and Culpepper is a seven-time WNFR qualifier. Alley and Adcock broke the two-head average record with their time of 8.5 seconds.
For more coverage of the Southeastern Livestock Exposition Rodeo, check out the April 8 issue of the ProRodeo Sports News.

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