WELCOME RODEO NEWS FANS
For a steer-wrestling champ, Houston means 'atmosphere'
Luke Branquinho was a lousy roper growing up.
Not a problem. The big kid from Santa Maria, Calif., found his calling in steer wrestling, and so far, he's doing well.
"It was always my event," said Branquinho, 6 feet tall, 265 pounds and a world champion in 2004. "I was bigger, and I guess you could say I was stronger, but mostly just bigger."
Taking part in opening night at RodeoHouston, Branquinho was slow off the horse yet managed a time of 5.1 seconds for a top-five finish in Round 1 of the first of five three-round Super Series.
Mickey Gee won the event — and a $2,000 check — with a time of 4.4 seconds.
"We're hoping for a first place," said Branquinho, 26, back in the arena tonight for Round 2. "I want a first place."
His competition does, too.
One skillful — and perhaps a bit lucky — steer wrestler will leave Reliant Stadium with more than $50,000 in prize money at rodeo's end.
The bigger purse and new scoring system for the rodeo's 75th anniversary were the talk of cowboys and cowgirls in and around Reliant Stadium before the competition.
Branquinho, in his seventh year on the professional circuit and a five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, is a fan of more prize money, but he's sold on Houston for other reasons.
"As far as money to be won, it's one of the best rodeos," Branquinho said. "But Houston, to me, it's all about the atmosphere we're in.
"We're in a coliseum, where the Texans play, and with 50 of the world's top cowboys (in each discipline) competing for all that money."
But don't think for a second that bigger prizes will turn friends into foes at Reliant Stadium, said Wade Sumpter, a pal of Branquinho and fellow steer wrestler.
"Luke and I even rode down together from Tucson," Sumpter said. "We're in competition, but it doesn't really come down to that. It comes down to helping each other get down the road."
Except in the arena, of course.
"We're all like family," Branquinho said. "But when you're in the arena, you're trying your best, and hopefully you win something."
Read more at the www.chron.com
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