Layton Green gets big win in Redmond (Ore.)
Saddle bronc rider Layton Green’s game plan for entering Redmond’s High Desert Stampede was simple: win.
The plan worked perfectly during Saturday night’s performance with an 87-point run at Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Beaver Bend in the NFR Playoff Series presented by Pendleton Whiskey.
The winning plan did not stop there. It also included Green’s carrying partner, fellow jockey Coburn Bradshaw. The pair aimed to finish first and second and earned them, riding back-to-back in the final rodeo performance, with Bradshaw claiming second place with an 83.5-point run at Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Diamond Fever.
“We knew we had the power to win first and second,” the 28-year-old Green said.
After a 30-hour drive from Austin, Texas, to Redmond, a win was just what the doctor ordered before a few days of downtime in Canada before getting back on the rodeo trail.
“(Beaver Bend) is a very good horse,” Green said. “It’s one of those horses where the better you ride it, the better it is for you. It jumped and turned right in front of the slides and it was just what a man wants. I knew when he blew the whistle, he was going to have a very good score.”
This was Green’s first time aboard Beaver Bend and his first career win at Redmond. Green earned $4,258 for the win.
“I just want to keep making as much money as I can, every rodeo I go to,” Green said.
In terms of what Green is doing to stay rodeo-ready, he finds that working and riding colts that weren’t born of the hunched variety helps get the job done.
“Constantly riding saddle horses has helped my bronc ride a lot more and just helps keep you comfortable,” Green said.
After spending a few days at home in Millarville, Alberta, he returns to work for the MSU-Northern PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs Challenge in Havre, Mont., on April 1.
High Desert Stampede was just another hurdle cleared leading up to NFR 2022.
Green qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2017 and 2021, and he wants to make a return trip this year.
“Goals change as you go through the rodeo, but now I have a golden buckle in mind,” said Green, who battled a series of right leg injuries and a left shoulder injury from 2018-to 20 that hampered their seasonal races. “I came back strong and healthy in 2021 and I feel good now. Last year was a bit of a roller coaster. I went to four winter rodeos and made like $1,100 and went home. I didn’t get back in until June 1 and I put a heater on and next thing I knew I was going to the NFR and hopefully, I can keep things going the rest of this season.”
Other winners at the $141,832 rodeo were all-around cowboy Jordan Tye ($2,430, tie-down roping and team roping); bareback rider Jess Pope (87.5 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Meat Sweats); steer wrestler Josh Garner (4.9 seconds); team ropers Jake Minor/Jeff Flenniken (5.0 seconds); tie-down ropers J. Cody Jones and Roger Nonella (tie, 8.4 seconds); barrel racer Kacey Gartner (16.25 seconds); and bull rider Reid Oftedahl (80 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Snow Cougar).
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