World champion enjoys N.M. homecoming

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That's pretty lofty company for a small-town boy who won $201,000 as a rookie on the PRCA circuit in 2007. But if you chat with him, success hasn't gone to his head.

"I bought a few cows (for his parents’ 50-section ranch outside of Corona) and just saved up to go rodeoing again," he said about two hours before taking on a bucking bronc named Suzy Q.

Muncy, who won more than $92,000 at the NFR, seems like a typical college junior. Inside the locker room, checking his equipment and wraps, the conversation with his buddies was about girls and school. Outside, he attended the pre-event cowboy prayer event and spent time with his family.

With younger sister Jordan around, there's no chance Muncy will get a big head. All she has to do is remind him that she was a national champion first, having won the high school barrel racing title in 2006.

"She keeps me in line," he said.

Muncy said he didn’t feel any extra pressure performing before a home-state audience.

“It’s pretty nice to come back and ride in my home state. My whole family is here," he said.  "They don’t get to watch you ride all the time, so it’s actually a lot of fun. It’s kind of special.

"Pressure is always there," he said. "I actually love being in those positions. I love it when I have to stay on some horse to win something big. I love being in that position. It just pumps me up. It really excites me.

"I’m just going to go and have some fun tonight. My family's here and I’ve been visiting with them for the last 30 minutes or so (after coming in from Denver). It’s just going to be a fun, relaxed rodeo.”

And Muncy would put on a show for his family, friends and the crowd. His ride was good for 82 points, second best for the night and good for a three-way tie for third place for the event and a check of $942.08.

After the event,  Muncy seemed satisfied if not pleased with the effort.

“No sir, I’d never seen him before,” he said. “I talked to a bunch of people who said he’s a real nice horse. As you can see, all of the horses here were good. (Stock contractor) Scotty (Lovelace) has real good horses.

“It went good. That horse is just a real nice honest horse,” he said. “You can get a check on him almost everywhere he goes. He’s just one of them solid horses that your probably not going to win first on him, but you dang sure you can place on him everywhere you go.

“Now I’m ready to go home for a couple of days.”

Though he’s been besieged by interviewers and on the go since the NFR, he said the reality of it all hasn’t sunk in.

“I don’t know how much longer it will take. It really hasn’t hit me yet,” he said. “It hasn’t really slowed down. We just started back up again (after a little time off for the holidays). They’re these little bronc riding matches going on during New Year’s.”

Told he could skip some of those events now that he’s a world champion, he laughed and said, “No. I just love riding broncs, so I go and enter. That’s what I like to do, so I enter up when I can.”

“My goals at this time last year were to make the college finals and the NFR. I just got lucky and ended up winning both of them. It was just unreal,” he said. “My goal this year is just to make it back to the finals, try to make it back to the big show.

“The hardest thing is to get to the finals. There’re so many guys that ride so well. That, and maybe become more consistent on my riding.”

Lucky? Or is it skill?

"A little bit of both, I guess – I don’t know exactly. I say it’s luck because I feel there are a lot of guys out there who ride 10 times better than me. I just drew good horses and stayed on them when I needed to.”

Muncy, a junior at Oklahoma Panhandle State in Goodwell, Okla., is a student of other riders, too.

“I like watching and learning,” he said. “I don’t like looking at standings. I try to just say focused on my part. If a guy goes out and gets 88 points, he deserves 88 points. I might have a weaker horse or something like that. I’ve still got to try to the best of my ability to ride my best.

“I try not to pay too much attention to everything that’s going on. I just try to focus on my ride.

Though stardom has been thrust upon him suddenly, Muncy seems to handle it naturally. One thing’s for sure – he doesn’t think about it much.

“You just have to stay focused. This is what I love to do and I get to do it for a living for a while,” he said.  “As long as I’m healthy, you’ve got to take advantage of it. There’ll be time for that later. Maybe in 20 years in retire I can do that.”

One thing that might contribute to his laid-back style is growing up in Corona, a small ranching community south of Mountainair.

“I couldn’t pick a place where I’d rather live than Corona,” he said. “The town is always supportive and I have really good friends there. It’s a really nice, clean community. Everyone gets along with everybody. It’s a nice place to live – nice and quiet and peaceful.”

Many 20-year-olds, given $200,000 in a year, would abandon their education. Not Muncy.

“I’m going to take some Internet classes and try to get by,” he said. “It’s tough. Internet classes are hard, too, because you’re always traveling or doing a lot better things than schoolwork, but it all works out in the end I guess. My rodeo coaches really helped me out a bunch on that. They really want to see me get a degree (in agricultural business.)”

Unfortunately for those coaches, Muncy said he won’t compete in collegiate rodeos this year. One reason is his extensive travel schedule.

“I love to travel. Sometimes when you’ve been gone for a month and you’re living out of your truck, it kind of gets a little old,” he said. “Once you get to the rodeo everything’s fine again, because it’s so much fun to me. Whenever I get tired and don’t feel like traveling, I think about the next rodeo and how much fun it is, not (about) getting there.

“I’m not going to college rodeo this year. It was pretty expensive for me to try to make college rodeos. I’d bee somewhere in California or somewhere a million miles away and then try to make it to a college rodeo in Kansas or Oklahoma. It was real expensive to fly back and forth to try to be somewhere, and then be back to school on Monday.”

Despite the hectic pace, he is literally and figuratively just enjoying the ride.

"I have fun every day," he said.


For the most part, the stock had the upper hand for most of the night. Bull riders opened the event 0-for-7 in the first section, but Rorey Maier of Timber Lake, S.D., saved face for the cowboys with an 87-point rde on Heaven Gate on the last ride of the night to win the overall competition. This was after Miles Hirsch of Highmore, S.D., posted an 85 to tied for the overall lead with Thursday night rider Douglas Duncan.

Maier said winning the whole competition on the last ride  "just makes it that much better. I drove about seven hours to get here today  I’ve got a bad cold and I’m not feeling real well, but that cures me. I’m just glad everything came together."

For Maier, Heaven Gate proved heavenly -- to the tune of the top prize at the rodeo, $2,850 plus $100 more in Santa Ana Star Casino coupons for winning the night.

"He’s just a young bull. I’ve never seen him or heard anything about him," Maier said. "They said he was good last night (when he combined with Ben Longhofer of Stover, Mo., for an 81-point score.)

“Man, he was great tonight."

Only one other Saturday performer got to first place in the overall. Isaac Diaz of Davie, Fla., earned 85 points from the judges in the saddle bronc to beat Muncy for the performance and equal the score posted by Rod Hay on Friday.

Four other competitors came close to the top on the final night:

* Team ropers Brandon and Tim Gonzales of Los Lunas, N.M., were just a hair slow, roping their calf in 5.3 seconds, one tenth behind winners Marco and Lucius Sells.

* Trevor Duhon of Phoenix posted a 3.5 second time in steer wrestling, two tenths of a second behind Jonathon Ferreira's time from Friday morning's "slack" performance set up to handle overflow entries.

* Barrel racer Syni Blanchard posed a 14.26 second time to finish fourth behind Marlene McRae's 14.20, also posted in the slack.

*  And Chris Harris managed an 85-point performance to for fifth in the bareback riding, three points behind opening night winner Tim Shirley.

Of the three winners in slack, all three times stood up to win. In addition to Ferreira and McRae, Stran Smith's 7.6 second effort in tie-down roping stood up as the event winner. Saturday's closest competitor was Clay Cerny of Brazoria, Texas, who posted an 8.5 second time to edge Russ Sullivan of Peralta, N.M., by one tenth to win the nightly prize.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was when the seven-time national champion roping team of Jake Barnes and Clay O'Brien Cooper missed their calf and posted no time. Chris Francis, the nephew of Rio Rancho Department of Public Safety spokesman John Francis, and his partner Shotgun Passig were also shut out in the team roping event.

Saturday's results

The results of Saturday night's performance at the New Mexico Stampede PRCA rodeo at the Santa Ana Star Center, with position, name, hometown and score or time. The winners in each event (including ties) earned $100 in coupons that can be redeemed at for games at the Santa Ana Star Casino.

Bull riding

1, Rorey Maier, Timber Lake, S.D., 87
2, Miles Hirsch, Highmore, S.D., 85
3, Derald Riche, Helper, Utah, 83
4, Cody Hodges, Omaha, Texas, 77
5, Jordan Hooten, Dangerfield, Texas, 76

Steer wrestling

1, Trevor Duhon, Phoenix, Ariz., 3.5 seconds.
2, Zane Hankel, Radcliff, Alberta, Canada, 4.3
3, Zack Cobb, Pampa, Texas, 4.7
4, Tony Byers, Lubbock, Texas, 5.7
5, Colby Price, Loraine, Texas, 14.5

Bareback

1, Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 86
2, Bud Munns, Snowville, Utah, 83
2, Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas, 83
2, Stetson Herrera, Albuquerque, N.M., 83

Tie down roping

1, Clay Cerny, Brazoria, Texas, 8.5
2, Russ Sullivan, Peralta, N.M., 8.6
3, Royce Lynch, Deming, N.M., 8.8
4, Clay Kobza, Brighton, Colo., 12.3
5, Wesley McConnel, Aztec, N.M., 12.8
6, Cody Scott, Cuervo, N.M., 16.8

Saddle bronc

1, Issac Diaz, Davie, Fla., 85
2, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 82
3, Raytom Meiers, Mills, Wyo, 80
3, Tate Owens, Platteville, Colo., 80
5, Olan Borg, Camp Verde, Ariz., 74

Team roping

1, Brandon Gonzales, Los Lunas, N.M., and Tim Gonzales, Los Lunas, N.M., 5.3 seconds.
2, Jake Brown, Wolfforth, Texas, and Jody Pinkert, Lubbock, Texas, 5.9
3, Cooper Wimberly, Bosque, N.M., and James Gilliand, Tularosa, N.M., 6.1
4, Paul Sullivan, Peralta, N.M., and Levi Garcia, Albuquerque, N.M., 6.7
5, Kyle Polich, Cortez, Colo., and Eddie Nieto, Los Lunas, N.M., 6.8

Barrel racing

1, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M, 14.26
2, Kirstin Carlson, Carlsbad, N.M., 14.52
3, Renee Morgan, Avondale, Colo. 14.62
3, Nancy Velasquez, Blanco, N.M., 14.62
5, Rachel Van Cleve, Bosque Farms, N.M., 14.79
6, Lacie Cline, Yeso, N.M.,15.84
7, Stephanie Harris, Itasca, Texas, 19.60
8, Kelsi Elkins, Aztec, N.M, 19.62
9, Stephanie Rodriguuez, Seminole, Texas, 20.12
10, Kendra Honeyfield, Bosque Farms, N.M., 21.04

Overall results

Final results of the first New Mexico Stampede PRCA rodeo, contested Thursday through Saturday at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, with placing, name, hometown, prize score or time, and money won. Ties are designated by duplicate placing numbers. Each performer made only one appearance in each event.

Bull riding (pays top 8)

1, Rorey Maier, Timber Lake, S.D., 87 points, $2,850
2, Douglas Duncan, Alvin, Texas, 85, $1,900
2, Miles Hirsch, Highmore, S.D., 85, $1,900
4, Brandon Reynolds, Pike Road, Alberta, Canada, 84, $1,045
5, Derald Riche, Helper, Utah, 83, $665
6, Camo Mullins, Phoenix, Ariz., 81, $380
6, Ben Longhofer, Stover, Mo., 81. $380
6, Terrance Granger, Tuba City, Ariz., 81, $380
9, Justin Archibeque, Albuquerque, N.M., 80
9, Cody Hancock, Taylor, Ariz., 80
11, Willy Ives, Omak, Wash., 78
12, Cody Hodges, Omaha, Texs, 77
13, Jordan Hooten, Daingerfield, Texas, 76
14,  Kyle Joslin, Caldwell, Idaho, 74
15, Clayton Savage, Cheynne, Wyo., 73


Steer wrestling (pays top 6)

1, Jonathon Ferreira, Fort Jones, Calif., 3.3 seconds, $1,515.25
2, Trevor Duhon, Phoenix, Ariz., 3.5, $1,254
3 Dean McIntyre, Wickenburg, Ariz., 4.3, $862.12
4, Zane Hankel, Radcliff, Alberta, Canada, 4.3, $862.12
5, Zack Cobb, Pampa, Texas, 4.7, $365.75
5, Matt Reeves, Pampa, Texas, 4.7, $365.75
7, Cody Glover, Tucson, Ariz., 4.8
7, Jordan Auker, Byron, Ill., 4.8
9, Cody Moore, Artesia, N.M. 4.9
9, Trey Tixier, Lindrith, N.M., 4.9
11, Wes Lockard, Susanville, Calif., 5.0
12, Steven Campbell, Midwest, Wyo., 5.1
12, Jeremiah Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 5.1
14, Tanner Winkler, Pampa, Texas, 5.2
15, Klate Greany, Helena, Mont., 5.7
15, Tony Byers, Lubbock, Texas, 5.7
17, Shawn Schulz, Alamosa, Colo., 5.9
18, Rusty Hamilton, Capitan, N.M., 8.0
19, Jim Bob Allen, Melrose, N.M., 8.7
20, C.J. Aragon, Tucumcari, N.M., 11.4
21, John Denson, Belen, N.M., 14.2
22, Colby Price, Loraine, Texas, 14.5
23, Michael Bates Jr., Mexican Springs, N.M., 16.1

Bareback riding (pays top 8 and ties)

1, Tim Shirley, Bailey, Colo., 89 points, $2,451
2, Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 88, $1,879.10
3, Bo Casper, Fort Scott, Kan., 87, $1,388.90
4, Brian Bain, Culver, Ore., 86, $898.70 
5, Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, 85, $490.20
5, Justin McDaniel, Porum, Okla., 85, $490.20
7, Wes Stevenson, Kaufman, Texas, 84, $326.60
8, Bud Munns, Snowville, Utah, 83, $49.02
8, Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas, 83, $49.02
8, Stetson Herrera, Albuquerque, N.M., $49.02
8, Andy Martinez, Pavillion, Wyo., 83, $49.02
8, Jared Green, Socorro, N.M., 83, $49.02
12, Wyatt Hancock, Taylor, Ariz., 82.
12, Royce Ford, Briggsdale, Colo., 82
12, Forest Bramwell, Pagosa Springs, Colo., 82
15, Tom McFarland, Wickenburg, Ariz., 80
16, Heath Ford, Greely, Colo., 79
16, J.R. Chino, Mescalero, N.M., 79.
18, Clay Geronimo, Mescalero, N.M., 76
18, Steven Dent, Mullen, Neb., 76.

Tie-down roping (pays top 6)

1, Stran Smith,Childress, Texas, 7.6 seconds, $$1,680.55
2, Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 7.8, $1,390.80
3, Clay Cerny, Brazoria, Texas, 8.5, $1,105.05
4, Russ Sullivan, Peralta, N.M., 8.6, $811.30
5, Wes Lockard, Susanville, Calif., 8.7, $521.55
6, Royce Lynch, Deming, N.M., 8.8, $289.75
7, John P. Etcheverry, Carlsbad, N.M., 9.2
8, Jerrad Hofstetter, Portales, N.M., 9.3
9, Jon Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 11.4
10, J.D. McKinley, Las Cruces, N.M., 12.3
10, Clay Kobza, Brighton, Colo., 12.3
12, Wesley McConnel, Aztec, N.M., 12.8
13, Wes Mack, Raton, N.M., 13.1
1, Kyle Dutton, Las Cruces, N.M., 16.3
15, Dustin Pool, Canyon, Texas, 16.4
16, Cody Scott, Cuervo, N.M., 16.8
17, Wade Watkins, Canyon, Texas, 17.1
J18, eremiah Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 17.2
19, Troy Trimble, Marana, Ariz., 19.1
20, Joseph Parsons, Marana, Ariz., 19.8
21, Erik Dublanko, Thorsby, Alberta, Canada, 19.9
22, Tyson Runya, Las Cruces, N.M., 20.5
23, J.D. Kibbe, Portales, N.M., 25.1
24, Christian Sanchez, Bloomfield, N.M., 28.8

Saddle bronc (pays top 8 and ties)

1, Rod Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, 85 points, $2,139.87
1, Issac Diaz, Davie, Fla., 85, $2,139.87
3, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 82, $942.08
3, Tyler Corrington, Hastings, Minn, 82, $942.08
3, J.J. Elshere, Quinn, S.D., 82, $942.08
6, Cody Horwedel, Shandon, Calif. 81, $403.75
7, Dan Mortensen, Billings, Mont., 80, $141.31
7, Louie Brunson, Interior, S.D., 80, $141.31
7, Raytom Meiers, Mills, Wyo, 80, $141.31
7, Tate Owens, Platteville, Colo., 80, $141.31
11, J.W. Todd, Loving, N.M., 79
12, Cody Taton, Newell, S.D., 78.
13, Nate Oetter, Basalt, Colo., 77
14, Morgan Forbes, Kaycee, Wyo., 74
14, Olan Borg, Camp Verde, Ariz., 74
16, Brandon Biebelle, San Lorenzo, 72
17, Robert Aragon, Solano, N.M., 69
18, Darrell Triplett, Waterflow, N.M., 66

Team roping (pays top 6; each competitor gets amount)

1, Marco Sells, Rough Rock, Ariz., and Lucius Sells, Rough Rock, Ariz., 5.2 seconds, $1,046.90
2, Tanner Bryson, Cornville, Ariz., and Tom Bill Johnson, Kirkland, Ariz., 5.3, $776.15
2, Brandon Gonzales, Los Lunas, N.M., and Tim Gonzales, Los Lunas, N.M., 5.3, $776.15
4, Reese Kerr, Comfort, Texas, and Jesse Echtler, Huntsville, Texas, 5.6, $505.40
5, Dustin Pool, Canyon, Texas, and Marcus Elkins, McIntosh, N.M., 5.9, $252.70
6, Jake Brown, Wolfforth, Texas, and Jody Pinkert, Lubbock, Texas, 5.9, $252.70
7, Cooper Wimberly, Bosque, N.M., and James Gilliand, Tularosa, N.M., 6.1
8, Paul Sullivan, Peralta, N.M., and Levi Garcia, Albuquerque, N.M., 6.7
9, Kyle Polich, Cortez, Colo., and Eddie Nieto, Los Lunas, N.M., 6.8
10, Paul Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., and Bob Scribner, Edgewood, N.M., 13.2
11, Kerstie Allen, Stephenville, Texas, and Dirk Peterson, Navasota, Texas, 13.4
12, Shain Sproul, Benson, Ariz., and Bobby Baze, El Paso, Texas, 15.1

Barrel racing (pays top 10)

1, Marlene McRae, Ramah, Colo., 14.20 seconds, $1,411.46
2, Jessie Moody, El Paso, Texas, 14.22, $1,209.82
3, Regina Kiehne, Hereford, Texas, 14.24, $1,008.19
4, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M, 14.26, $873.76
5, Brittany Hofstetter, Portales, N.M., 14.28, $672.12
6. Benette Barrington, Lubbock, Texas, 14.32, $470.48
6. Andrea Clark, Lusk, Wyo., 14.32, $470.48
8, Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz.,14.39, $268.85
9, Cindy Smith, Hobbs, N.M. 14.43, $201.64
10, Dara Hopkins, Cleburne, Texas, 14.51, $134.42
11, Kirstin Carlson, Carlsbad, N.M., 14.52
12, Rachelle Shure, Queen Creek, Ariz., 14.55
13, Christine Atwell, Santa Fe, N.M., 14.59
14, Lindsay Black, Sisters, Ore., 14.61
15, Renee Morgan, Avondale, Colo. 14.62
15, Nancy Velasquez, Blanco, N.M., 14.62
17, Marie Autrey, Mountainair, N.M., 14.63
18, Caren Lamb,Ft. Sumner, N.M., 14.66
19, Bailey Gow, Las Cruces, N.M., 14.67
20, Jill Welsh, Prescott, Ariz., 14.69
21, Jenna Cadwallader, Phoenix, Ariz., 14.71
22, Johnna Garcia-Kimble,Clayton, N.M., 14.72
23 Julie Pluemer, Bosque Farms, N.M., 14.74
24, Rachel Van Cleve, Bosque Farms, N.M., 14.79
25, rista Irlbeck, Happy, Texas,14.91
26, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 15.00.
27, Kerstie Allen, Stephenvile, Texas, 15.01
28, Janet Mosier, Clayton, N.M., 15.02
29, Priscilla Medina,  Elida, N.M., 15.03
30, Leslie DiMenichi, Yoder, Colo., 15.05
30, Chasity Tamburro, Round Rock, Texas, 15.05
32, Lacey Reddell, Dewey, Ariz.,15.19
32, Dylan Carter, Merkel, Texas, 15.19
34, Terri Malia, Shepherd, Mont., 15.33
35, Shyann Haddock-Seng, Sonita, Ariz., 15.74
36, Lacie Cline, Yeso, N.M., 15.84
37, LeAnne Wolfe, Flora Vista, N.M., 19.38
38, Stephanie Harris, Itasca, Texas, 19.60
39, Kelsi Elkins, Aztec, N.M, 19.62
40, Kimberly Howard, Elida, N.M., 19.65
4o, Stacy Dial,  Vista, Calif., 19.65
42, Johnna Taylor,Las Cruces, N.M., 19.78
43, Kandace Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 19.94
44, Jodi Klind, Worden, Mont., 20.02
45, Whitney Robinson, Mesilla Park, N.M., 20.03
46, Sharon George, Belen, N.M., 20.04
47, Julie Baish, Las Cruces, N.M., 20.05
48, Stephanie Rodriguuez, Seminole, Texas, 20.12
49, Juls James, Pinedale, Wyo., 20.35.
50, Lindsay Shaw, Queen Creek, Ariz., 20.38.
51, Shasta Van Cleave, Show Low, Ariz.,  21.00
52, Kendra Honeyfield, Bosque Farms, N.M., 21.04
53, Leslie Hurford, Prineville, Ore., 25.01