Mounts a 'city boy' cowboy from Pine Bluff

Dean Smallwood, 4, of Bentonville reaches for the ground Saturday while falling during the mutton bustin’ competition at the 73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks in Parsons Stadium in Springdale. Visit nwadg.com/photos for more photographs from the rodeo.
Dean Smallwood, 4, of Bentonville reaches for the ground Saturday while falling during the mutton bustin’ competition at the 73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks in Parsons Stadium in Springdale. Visit nwadg.com/photos for more photographs from the rodeo.

SPRINGDALE -- Rodeos aren't just for country folks.

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Cody Mounts of Pine Bluff competes in bareback riding Saturday during the final night of the 73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks in Parsons Stadium in Springdale. Visit nwadg.com/photos for more photographs from the rodeo.

City boys like to ride, too.

73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks

Overall Results

BAREBACK RIDING

NAME^SCORE

Tim O’Connell^3,955

Bill Tutor^3,032

Clayton Biglow^2,341

Tanner Phipps^1,010

Steve Peebles^1,010

STEER WRESTLING

KC Jones^2,571

Blake Mindemann^2,235

Riley Duvall^1,800

Cody Harmon^1,397

Clayton Haas^1,397

TEAM ROPING

Ward/Ward^1,579

Thompson-Berryhille/Heflin^1,184

Turner/DeShazo^789

SADDLE BRONC RIDING

Curtis Garton^3,668

Jacobs Crawley^2,810

Kobyn Williams^2,077

Roper Kiesner^1,099

TIE-DOWN ROPING

Marty Yates^4,572

Sterling Smith^4,090

Cole Wilson^3,368

Ace Stone^3,368

Hunter Herrin^2,647

BARREL RACING

Stevie Hillman^3,656

Kassie Mowry^2,925

Lacinda Rose^2,376

Ivy Hurst^1,645

Jackie Ganter^1,645

BULL RIDING

Joseph McConnell^4,671

Markus Mariluch^3,730

Trey Benton III^2,923

Joseph Ramagos^2,117

Cody Mounts of Pine Bluff was among a handful of cowboys from Arkansas competing before a large crowd on the final night of the 73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks at Parsons Stadium. While most rodeo participants are from rural areas, Mounts is a 2008 graduate of Watson Chapel High School and he works in the street department for the City of Pine Bluff.

Mounts has plenty of experience on the rodeo circuit. But he was bucked off early Saturday and his entries will be limited this year because of a new addition to his family.

"I'm getting used to being a daddy," said Mounts, who is a new father to Aubrey Lynn, who is a month old. "I'm going home and I'll be back at work on Monday."

Mounts played youth league football in Pine Bluff before deciding to focus on rodeo. It was an easy decision considering his father, Charles Mounts, was a bareback rider for over two decades.

"My dad rode bareback horses for over 20 years and carried me all over the country," Mounts said. "So, it was kind of born into me, I guess."

Bravery, brawn, and beauty were on display Saturday night, when Molly Musick of Ozark was crowned Miss Rodeo of the Ozarks for 2017 at Parsons Stadium.The top stock fared well this year, especially in bull riding, where there were only four qualifying rides. But there was plenty of excitement in barrel racing where Savannah Pearson of nearby Summers scored 17.72 seconds for the second-fastest time on the night.

Saturday's fireworks concluded the 73rd Rodeo of the Ozarks, which was held before the July 4th holiday for the second consecutive year. The move proved beneficial with top cowboys and cowgirls stopping in Springdale before continuing west to participate in rodeos during a busy period called "Cowboy Christmas."

The grandstand was full of rodeo fans on the west side and most of the bleachers seats on the east side were filled on the final day of the four-day event. Rodeo of the Ozarks President Texas Holt said over $103,000 dollars in ticket sales were collected this year compared to $93,000 in ticket sales last season.

"This crowd is awesome," Holt said. "I think this is a win-win situation by backing it off on the 4th, because people like to do other things, like going to the lake. We've had four nights of perfect rodeo and the weather has been unbelievable. We are very happy."

Sports on 06/25/2017

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