IFR54 Round Three: Hudson Bolton extends lead atop standings in 2023 IPRA World Championship race with third straight win
GUTHRIE – After three nights of competition, Hudson Bolton (Milan, Tennessee) continued to dazzle fans in a near sold-out arena as the 17-year-old improved to a perfect 3-for-3. He is the only athlete to remain atop his bovine all three nights of competition.
Bolton danced with Taco Casa’s Crunchy to the requisite 8, awarded 84.5 points. Bolton won Round 2 Thursday night with a monster 89-point ride that has cashed in more than $19,000 over the three days.
The $5,555 payday on night three catapulted the rookie to $69,0520 in earnings, extending his first-place lead for the world title race.
Blayne Hughston (Mcbain, Indiana) shined in the bareback and lit up the arena on a cool night. Hughston conquered “Angel With A Bottle” for a solid 84.5 effort . The 17-year-old distanced himself from the second-place man, Stetson Bierman (Hildago, Illinois), by more than 4.5 points. This is the High School athlete’s second qualification to the IFR and his third matchup in 2023 with Angel With A Bottle.
The steer wrestling was a slugfest to the end, as the top five times were only a mere tenth of a second apart. In the end, it was Canadian Kim Langlois (Ste-Clotide-deHorton, QU) who was first out and set the pace of the discipline with a steadfast 4.10. The 2022 Canadian Finals Champion will head back north with $3,703 in earnings on top of the nearly $500 he cashed in during Round Two. Langlois began the evening as No. 6 in the world and now sits in fourth place.
Eric Flurry (Spiro, Oklahoma) and Tyler Hutchins (Rose, Oklahoma) posted the fastest time of the week in the team roping, with a rapid 4.30 seconds. The Oklahoman’s victory served IPRA’s World No. 1s Heath King (Leicester, North Carolina) and Stephen Britnell (Knoxville, Tennessee) the silver finish after they logged a 5.20. King/Britnell lead the pack with more than $43,000 a piece in earnings.
Saddle Bronc rider Rudy Troyer (Scottsville, Kentucky) matched Gray Lady jump-forjump en route to the mammoth 80.9 score, edging out Stephen Greafen’s (Hidalgo, Illinois) 78-points. In the 2023 IPRA World Champion race, Troyer rose one position.
Garrett Elmore (Springer, Oklahoma) secured the win in tie-down with a lightning fast 7.5-seconds after going toeto- toe with Glenn Jackson (Okmulgee, Oklahoma) and current world No. 1 Justin Thigpen (Waycross, Georgia). Elmore, the reigning IPRA All-Around Cowboy, ran the only time in the seven-second mark on Saturday night. Despite the thirdplace finish, Thigpen still sits atop the IPRA World Standings with over $41,177 in earnings.
Sarah Toole (Rydal, Georgia) was again victorious, this time beating her round one win time by nearly a second. The IFR newbie stopped the clock at 2.10 seconds and banked another $3,703 to move into the No. 3 position in the World Standings after coming into the event ranked No. 7.
Kindyl Scruggs (Southhaven, Mississippi) was crowned the round three winner in the Barrel Racing. After making her ninth trip to the IFR stop, her jawdropping 16.14-second push through the Lazy E Arena course propelled her to the top of tonight’s battle, beating Mary Books (Procter, Arkansas) 16.425-second effort and IPRA Rookie of The Year Emily Stiles (Plymouth, Tennessee) 16.455 run.
