Hollister’s Elliot French takes first in Klamath Falls, second
in Santa Barbara last weekend
Following his big payday at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in late July,
when bronc rider Elliot French posted a first-place score of 86,
the Hollister cowboy scheduled to take the weekend off,
rodeo-free.
It was a somewhat surprising move, especially after earning the
largest payout of his career in Salt Lake City. But going at a
frantic pace for nearly 60 days, the week off was much needed, and
it may have come at the perfect time.
Hollister’s Elliot French takes first in Klamath Falls, second in Santa Barbara last weekend
Following his big payday at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in late July, when bronc rider Elliot French posted a first-place score of 86, the Hollister cowboy scheduled to take the weekend off, rodeo-free.
It was a somewhat surprising move, especially after earning the largest payout of his career in Salt Lake City. But going at a frantic pace for nearly 60 days, the week off was much needed, and it may have come at the perfect time.
French returned to the circuit last weekend and entered in four rodeos. He placed in all four, including a first-place finish in Oregon at the Klamath Falls Great Northwest PRCA Rodeo, as well as a runner-up standing at the Old Spanish Days Stock Horse Show and Rodeo in Santa Barbara.
“I was really wanting it, to be out there again,” French said following his week off. “It really drove me to get back out there and do well, sitting at home and listening to everybody else out there.”
Taking care of business at home, French said he doesn’t regret scheduling a week off, and was able to get a brief breather while somewhat indirectly finding a spark of motivation; sitting at home and watching the competition advance in the standings can usually provide that.
“I’m pretty happy I took it off,” he said.
Coupled with a pair of second-place finishes at rodeos in Turlock and Crescent City last weekend – each of which is part of the California Cowboys Pro Rodeo Association – French’s rodeo return in Klamath Falls and Santa Barbara vaulted the 24-year-old cowboy back into the top 50 world standings in saddle bronc.
Previously holding down 42nd place for several weeks earlier this year in the PRCA World Standings, an all-important top-50 position that unlocks certain key rodeos during the regular season, French currently sits at the No. 50 spot, the first time he’s been listed since he was knocked from the rankings during the Fourth of July weekend.
Going rodeo-free to a four-rodeo weekend is no easy task, of course. But French seems to be finding his groove, and his inclusion in the World Standings backs up his recent performances.
When asked if bronc riding is getting any easier as the season progresses, French said, “It seems like it, but I don’t know why.
“My riding style hasn’t changed. But I’ve been drawing well and it’s just been clicking.”
In Klamath Falls, French rode atop “Tommy,” who fellow cowboy and friend Ben Londo rode on in Livermore, and won.
“So the horse was proven and known as a good one,” French said. “I knew I had a good chance, and it worked.”
French scored an 81 on “Tommy,” before compiling a 68 at Santa Barbara for second place. Tres Pinos resident Jeff Rianda finished third in saddle bronc at the Santa Barbara rodeo.
Recording scores in the 70s in both Turlock and Crescent City, the four-rodeo performance was a mere taste of what French will be experiencing over the next month or so.
The local bronc rider will try and hit four rodeos a weekend for the next four weeks, and maybe even hit two rodeos a day, if necessary. This weekend, he’ll be competing in Hermiston, Ore., Burley, Idaho, Payson, Ariz., and Tehachapi, Calif.
A top-50 ranking in the PRCA World Standings usually provides access to more and more rodeos.
“It’s pretty much as many good rodeos as I can get into,” French said. “And it’s gonna come easier now to get into them.”
Good thing French took a week off to rest up.
