UWs Dinwoodie Misses Mark

Brady Dinwoodie stood along the fence, shaking his head. Then he threw up his hands in frustration.

Nowhere did he see a yellow flag thrown by the rodeo judge inside the arena signaling that the University of Wyoming saddle bronc rider had missed the mark-out, giving the UW Cowboy a no-score aboard “Midnight Delight.” Usually, a flag is thrown when a rider is hit with an infraction, mostly when the contestant does not have his spurs above the horse’s shoulder coming out of the chute.

It appeared Dinwoodie came out cleanly. It was his final ride at this week’s College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) at the Casper Events Center.

After the crowd soundly booed the judge who apparently threw his yellow flag from his back pocket, Dinwoodie looked for an answer as to why he received a no-score, which cost him placing higher in the average.

He never received a good explanation.

“I’m really disappointed -- a lot,” Dinwoodie said. He finished seventh in the average with 198.5 points.

The transfer student from Canada entered Saturday’s short go sitting sixth in the average and was one of just six riders to cover three in the first three rounds.

Dinwoodie entered the championship round trailing leader Rusty Wright of the College of Southern Idaho by 24.5 points. Clay Elliott of Panhandle State University (Goodwill, Okla.) won the national saddle bronc riding title with 291.5 points.

“I thought I had a good ride tonight, everything felt good, but I guess it really doesn’t matter now,” Dinwoodie said. “There is nothing I can do about it; it’s out of my control. It’s not how I wanted to finish my career, that’s for sure.”

Dinwoodie was the only UW Cowboy competing in Saturday’s championship round. Two other UW team members qualified for the CNFR, but Brit Ellerman in team roping and Tylor Bond in steer wrestling did not reach the short go.

The Pokes finished 24th overall as a team with 140 points, with just two Cowboys scoring points during the week. Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas) won the national title with 915 points, while Panhandle State was second with 835. Casper College was the highest finisher among regional schools with 325 points.

Blue Mountain Community College (Pendleton, Ore.) took the women’s championship with 517 points, while McNeese State University (Lake Charles, La.) placed second with 420 points. The Casper College women placed 23rd with 70 points for the highest finish among region teams.