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Weaver has success in his sights at rodeo

By Alicia Johnson ajohnson@poststar.com | Posted: Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:20 am | (0) Comments

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T.J. HOOKER T.J. Hooker - thooker@poststar.com Eric Beach of Lake Luzerne is thrown from a bull named Powerline during the 19th annual Adirondack Stampede Charity Rodeo held at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Friday, November 06, 2009.

GLENS FALLS -- This time around, Grant Weaver left the contact lenses at home. After missing his calf in the tie-down roping competition last year, the Argyle resident was playfully teased by friends for almost a year.

So when the 19th annual Adirondack Stampede Charity Rodeo opened at the Civic Center Friday night, Weaver decided to wear his glasses.

The decision and the teasing paid off. Weaver posted the best time in the tie-down roping competition, at 12.8 seconds.

"It feels amazing," said Weaver about his performance. "I've come here a lot of years and not had a lot of success. But being here, everyone I know is at this rodeo. It means a lot."

The 38-year-old has been roping calves since the age of 12 under the tutelage of Dave Reynolds. All those years on the horse does little to calm his nerves when he heads to the Civic Center.

"Here and Washington County fair is where I see the most people I know all year," he said. "You can go all year and not see 10 people (you know) other than contestants. And you can come here and see 100 or at the Washington County Fair see 300 that I know."

The fans knew him as well, giving their local cowboy a rousing applause when his time was announced.

"Family comes first, God comes first," said Weaver as he held his two son's hands. "It's just certain things that are more important than winning rodeos, but I do like winning rodeos."

Though the object is to hold on in the bareback riding competition, Terry Lee Owens Jr. held on just a little too long Friday night. After staying on Simon Says long enough to record a score, Owens' gloves got stuck underneath his riggings, a leather strap that's used to keep the rider stable. Despite the setback, Owens finished first in the event with a 72.

"The rigging I was using, I just bought it," said Owens, who now resides in Lake Luzerne. "It was brand new to me, I've never used it before. I was riding with old gloves I didn't know how it was going to fit til tonight. It's just a little too tight. I have to work on it. It felt good other than that."

While Owens struggled to get off, Cody Knowlton struggled just to stay on. The Corinth resident by way of Uniondale, Pa. was bucked off in the saddlebronc riding competition. Knowlton took the year off to focus on his family and Friday night was his second time back on a horse.

"I got a horse that I was kind of excited about," Knowlton said. "I did all right, but not good enough."

Score one for Shake N Bake and Arrowhead of the Painted Pony as all seven bull riders were thrown off their bulls Friday night. The two bulls are heading to the national competition in Las Vegas and showed why after throwing their riders in mere seconds.

The second night of competition kicks off tonight at 7:30 p.m. And with no scores in the bull riding and the saddlebronc riding event, the field is wide open.

"Here everyone is kind of like a family," said Owens. "So it's a good time. ... We always get a good crowd, it's one of the best rodeos of the year."

Posted in Sports on Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:20 am Updated: 1:20 am. | Tags: Rodeo

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