October 11, 2017 - Panola College Rodeo team made the long trip to Uvalde worth their time. The 2nd rodeo of the season, held in Uvalde Oct. 5-6, proved to be very exciting.
Sophomore, Logan Cook, took the number one spot in the Saddlebronc riding with an amazing ride scoring 78 points. Logan was fresh off the victory from the Panola rodeo, winning two rodeos in a row, and giving himself a superior lead in the region for his event. Cook was not done there; he also tied his calf in speedy fashion of 8.4 seconds. The time was good enough to win 3rd place in the tie down calf roping. Multi event cowboys like Logan, are considered all around hands, Logan also came out with the all-around men’s title. Logan is definitely a great asset to our team on both ends of the arena and we will continue to see him win as he battle for a couple national titles.
Bareback riders Travis Chapman and Tyler Johnson continued to come through for the Ponies as well. Tyler, a freshman from Athens, and Travis, a sophomore from Woodville, both scored a 77 point ride to win 3-4 places at the rodeo. The pair of bareback riders is at the top of the regional standings with Travis setting in the number 2 position, while Tyler is in the number 4 position. Both riders are very dedicated to their event and will be contenders for national and regional titles.
Bodreaux Campbell bested the field in the bull riding with an 81 point bull ride. Boudreaux also won points at the Panola rodeo and is now at the top of the region in the standings. Campbell is also making his living riding bulls; he has qualified for his first NFR in Las Vegas this December. The NFR is the richest rodeo in the world and is every cowboys and cowgirls dream.
The finals in Vegas will pay around 26,000 dollars a night, for ten nights in a row. The top 15 in the world qualify for this event and is the rodeo where the true World Champion will be crowned. Boudreaux will be ready and he will be very prepared, we wish him the best.
Panola College freshman, Campbell Grover, showed out again in the barrel racing. Campbell comes from Purvis, MS. Campbell and her 4 year old barrel horse ran a very fast time of 17.16 for an 8th place finish. Grover has placed at both of our regular season rodeo’s, being a freshman on a four year old horse, that’s an unheard of feet. We are very excited to have Campbell here and very excited about the things she will do for us.
The Panola Ponies men’s team is strong and is in 2nd place for the region at this time. The top 2 teams in each region will move on to the CNFR in Casper, WY.” We just need to keep up what where doing and stay healthy; we have a goal of winning the region and moving on. We are too busy to count the points we will just keep pressing on toward our goal” says Jeffrey Collins, coach of the rodeo team.
