As if riding a bull or horse, roping cattle or wrestling a steer weren’t hard enough already, Mother Nature decided to throw an additional obstacle at the cowboys and cowgirls competing at the opening day of the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede rodeo.

With rain pouring down throughout the day Wednesday, the rodeo’s opener, the arena floor was a little more slippery than normal. While the mud may have left the rodeo contestants a little dirtier than usual, fans still saw plenty of action.

Tilden Hooper, of Catchage, Texas, won Wednesday’s bareback riding competition with a score of 86, a score that held through Thursday’s results. He’s currently ranked 15th in the event by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

In steer wrestling, Clay Cowan, of Highmore, S.D., leads with a time of 9.3 seconds.

Ty Blasingame and Cody Hintz won team roping Wednesday with a time of 14.9 seconds, but that time was quickly eclipsed Thursday by David Key and Marty Becker’s 9.4-second mark. Blasingame and Hintz fell to fifth overall through Thursday night.

Roy Johnson took saddle bronc Wednesday with a score of 84, a mark Cody Taton met Thursday.

In tie down roping, sixth-ranked Stran Smith’s 19.2-second mark set the pace Thursday, while Molley Powell was the top barrel racer Wednesday with a time of 17.94 seconds, a mark that held through Thursday. Danny McDowell was the only bull rider to finish, scoring an 84 Wednesday, but Marcus Michaelis, ranked 26th, scored an 86 Thursday to take the lead.

Friday’s results were unavailable at press time. Stampede finals take place tonight at 7, while tomorrow features Xtreme Bulls at 1 p.m.

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