Kindyl Scruggs needed to have a good run on Thursday night, May 12 during the second performance of Rodeo Corpus Christi (RCC) . . . she needed to advance to Saturday night’s Showdown Round so she could stay in town and get some rest.
At home in Southaven, Mississippi, Scruggs works 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., four days a week, and that’s before she really gets to work. Once home, the 2016 International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) World Champion Barrel Racer teaches riding lessons, takes in outside horses for training and keeps her own herd in shape and tuned up to compete.
“Basically, I’m exhausted all the time,” Scruggs joked.
After posting a 14.593 at American Bank Center on Thursday, Scruggs can relax for a couple more days as she easily moved on to the next round at the World Champions Rodeo Alliance’s (WCRA) Triple Crown of Rodeo event. The top two competitors from each performance of the Progressive Round here advance to the final night of the $553,000 rodeo. Division Youth Rodeo qualifier Jada Trosper was second, becoming the third DY competitor behind team ropers Conley Kleinhans and Bray Fenogilio to advance to the final night.
“I may go to the Aquarium, lay on the beach. That’s the plan,” Scruggs said of her down time before competing for the title.
On Saturday, the Showdown Round is immediately followed by the Triple Crown Round with the top three times earning the second go. This odyssey began in the Qualifying Round on Tuesday at Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown and every round is sudden death as the pressure builds with each advancement.
The Triple Crown Round winner earns $15,000 and a trophy surfboard adorned with the Rodeo Corpus Christi logos.
“It’s not something I’ll try, but I’d sure love to hang that board on the wall,” Scruggs said of surfing.
Scruggs relied upon her IPRA World Champion mount, Bull, for the win in Corpus. The 11-year-old gelding’s registered name is Money Red Down Home. Bull is a son of Down Home Dash and out of an On the Money Red mare.
“I bought him from some now-friends in Quebec as a long four-year-old,” Scruggs noted.
The following year, she hauled young Bull across the USA and Canada, and used him for every rodeo en route to the IPRA title.
“He went from a futurity horse to a full blown rodeo horse as a five-year-old,” Scruggs said.
Since that year, Scruggs and Bull have been salty players in the IPRA, qualifying each year to the coveted International Finals Rodeo. This led Scruggs to choose WCRA nomination, and specifically the Corpus Christi event. Thanks to a sanctioning agreement between the WCRA and IPRA, competitors can count up to $10,000 of WCRA event earnings toward IPRA standings.
“I didn’t know anything about Corpus but I looked at some videos of the pen,” Scruggs said. “I thought it might be a good thing to nominate and try to get qualified. I’m glad I nominated now.”
Though the tiny set up inside American Bank Center has proven tricky for some competitors, Scruggs felt confident despite never taking a trip down the alley there.
“That’s all we run in back East,” she said of the small arena. “I was actually more focused on being dialed in out at Robstown and that long run to the first.”
“Sometimes he gets to running that hard down the pen, and his feet are moving so fast, it’s hard to gauge when to ask and get the timing right,” she said. “In the little pens, I know that I can drop him at the mouth of the alley and he knows what to do.”
Scruggs was on her game in Robstown, qualifying for the Progressive Round with the second fastest time. Along with her Thursday perf win, she has already earned $4,600.
Now, she’ll take advantage of being on her own for two days to rest up and prep for the big run Saturday.
“We’ll do the same thing,” she said. “I’ll try to keep him fresh. It’s not usually an issue but we’re just coming out of spring at home and it’s so hot down here.”
“Hopefully we can come back Saturday and do the same thing twice,” Scruggs concluded.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 Results
- Kindyl Scruggs, 14.593, $1,600*
- Jada Trosper (DY), 14.687, $1,200*
- Brooke McGehee, 15.018, $800
- Jordyn Koonsman (DY), 15.105, $400
- Savannah Palmore, 15.226
- Bryana Lehrmann, 15.405
- Jordan Driver, 19.552
- Acey Pinkston, 19.928
- Madison Ann Iager, 20.358
*Top 2 Advance to Showdown Round
