CODY — The fireworks started long before dusk at the Cody Stampede Rodeo on July 4.

No one was happier about that than Leighton Berry of Weatherford, Texas. Berry was the final bareback rider to compete at Stampede Park where they definitely saved the best for last. He rode the Frontier Rodeo horse named Breaking News for 88.5 points earning him $11,703. It was a needed win for the four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier who is working hard to secure his fifth trip to rodeo’s championships next December.

Berry’s schedule over the Fourth of July rodeo run known as Cowboy Christmas was slightly abbreviated compared to some of his fellow competitors. Along with the rodeo here, he also competed at Killdeer and Mandan, North Dakota and Oakley City, Utah. The strategy paid off. Along with the win here, he also was doing well at Killdeer.

“This has been one of the shortest Fourth of Julys that I’ve had,” he said. “This is my fourth and final rodeo and this is chalking up to being one of my best Fourth of Julys.”

It has been several years since Berry has competed here. He’s had scheduling conflicts and injuries and been affected by the draw. This year, everything came together when he got on Breaking News.

“I guess God was just waiting to align the stars to let me have the one that I got on today so I could come here and get the gold,” he added. “In my opinion, that’s one of the best bucking horses going down the road right now. To buck that hard every time and be that athletic is just spectacular.”

This was a very important rodeo for saddle bronc rider Shorty Garrett from Eagle Butte, South Dakota. Garrett is a veteran of the sport having joined the PRCA in 2014. He qualified for the WNFR in 2020, which was held in Arlington, Texas, and has been close to another trip, but came up short. So he has never competed in the famed yellow bucking chutes in the Thomas and Mack Center.

Prior to Cody’s rodeo, he was just inside the top 15. Then he scored 91 points on the Double J Rodeo Company horse named Talkin Smack for the win at Stampede Park. When he found out what horse he would be riding, the first thing he did is call his grandpa Johnny Holloway.

“My grandpa raised that horse’s mother,” Garrett explained. Holloway sold a mare named Table Talk, to legendary stock contractor Harry Vold. Table Talk gave birth to a bucking filly that the Vold’s named Talkin Smack. Then when Frontier Rodeo bought their horses, Table Talk was part of the deal.

“Grandpa said ‘Just right,’ and I knew it would be really special to ride her,” he added. “I’ve always wanted to win Cody and to do it on a horse that my family had a part in raising really means a lot.” It also gets him closer to his goal of a trip to Las Vegas to compete at the NFR for the first time.

Total payoff at this year’s events was over $500,8000 including the rodeo and Xtreme Bulls. The 108th Cody Stampede Rodeo will kick off June 30 with the Xtreme Bulls and conclude on July 4, 2027 with the final performance of the rodeo.

The following are unofficial leaders after the fourth performance at the Cody Stampede:

 • Bareback Riding: 1, Leighton Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 88.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Breaking News, $11,703. 2, Clay Jorgenson, Watford City, N.D., 87.5, $8,972. 3, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Kade Sonnier, Carencrow, La., 86.5, $6,461. 5, Jesse Pope, Waverly, Kan., 86, $2,731. 6, (tie) Tristan Hansen, Dillon, Mont., and Kashton Ford, Sturgis, S.D., 84 and $1,755 each. 8, Keenan Hayes, Harden, Colo., 83.5, $1,170.  

 • Steer Wrestling: 1, Cash Robb, Altamont, Utah, 3.6 seconds, $8,319. 2, (tie) Cody Harmon, Lipan, Texas: Jaden Whitman, Whitehall, Mont.; Gavin Soileau, Bunkie, La.; Don Payne, Stephenville, Texas; and Bryn Roy, Dalemead, Alberta; and Kall Mayfield, Midwest, Wyo., 3.9 and $5,454 each. 8, (tie) Cody Devers, Perryton, Texas, and Winsten McGraw, Gill, Colorado, 4.0, $3,050. 10. (tie) Dalton Massey, Hermiston, Ore.; Riley Westhaver, high River, Alberta; and Rhett Witt, Valentine, Neb., 4.1, $1,941. 13, (tie) Cole Walker, Springtown, Texas; Jacob Wang, Laramie, Wyo.; J.D. Struxness, Miilan, Minn.; and Colt Honey, La Junta, Colo.; 4.2, $624.

 • Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Hoboken, Ga., and Junior Nunes Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 4.1 seconds, $8,527. 2, (tie) Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash.; and Ketch Kelton, Mayer, Ariz., and Denton Dunning, Surprise, Ariz.; 4.2 and $7,106 each. 4, Coy Rahlmann, Elsinore, Mo., and Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M., 4.3, $5,685. 5, Tee Mcleod, Waldeck, Saskatchewan, and Jake Edwards, Fort Ann, New York, 4.5, $4,548. 6, Curry Kirchner, Ames, Okla., and Tanner Braden, Dewey, Okla., 4.6, 4,548. 7, (tie) Luke Brown, Rock Hill, S.C., and Hunter Koch, Vernon, Texas; Korbin Rice, Hobbs, N.M., and Cooper Freeman, Carthage, Mo.; Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif.; and Lane Mitchell, Bolivar, Tenn., , 4.7, $3,411 each. 10, (tie) Riley Kittle, Woodland, Ala., and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo.; and Wyatt Bray, Stephenville, Texas, and Chris Young, Wittman, Ariz., 4.8, $2,132. 12, Garrett Tonozzi, Lampasas, Texas, and Cullen Teller, Ault, Colo., 5.0, $1,705. 13, Corben Culley, Lawton, Iowa and Bryce Graves, Poplarville, Miss., 5.1, $1,137. 14, (tie) Jayse Tettenhorst, Jacksonville, Texas, and Belden Cox, Weatherford, Texas; and Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala., and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 5.3, $711. 

 • Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Shorty Garrett, Eagle Butte, S.D., 91 points on Double J Rodeo’s Talkin Smack, $11,477. 2, Stetson Wright, Beaver, Utah, 89.5 $8,799. 3, Jake Finlay, Goondiwindi, Queensland, Australia, 89, $6,504. 4, Wyatt Casper, Miami, Texas, 88, $4,208. 5, Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont.; Gus Galliard, Morse, Texas; and Q Taylor, Nanton, Alberta; 87.5 and $2,040 each. 8, Ben Andersen, Eckville, Alberta, 86.5, $1,148. 

 • Breakaway Roping: 1, (tie) Cadee Williams, Big Timber, Mont.; Joey Williams, Volberg, Mont.; Hali Williams, Comanche, Texas; and Summer Williams, Mineral Wells, Texas; 2.1 seconds and $7,442 each. 5, Danielle Lowman, Gilbert, Ariz., 2.3, $4,036. 6, (tie) Brooke Bruner, Parker, Colo., and Rylie George, Oakdale, Calif., 2.4, $2,775. 8, (tie) Rickie Engesser, Spearfish, S.D.; Nicole Hadley, Goodland, Kan.; and Bradi Good, Abilene, Texas; 2.5, $2,018. 11, Haiden Thompson, Yoder, Wyo.; Aspen Miller, Santa Fe, Texas; and Amy Ohrt, Victoria, Texas, 2.6, $1,261. 14, Ryland Pinter, Menan, Idaho, 2.8, $757. 15, (tie) Martha Angelone, Stephenville, Texas, and Alissa Erickson, Snelling, Calif., 2.9, $252.

 • Tie-Down Roping: 1, Stran Dunham, Souris, Manitoba, 7.5 seconds, $9,898. 2, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 7.6, $8,578. 3, Ty Harris, San Angelo, Texas, 8.0, $7,919. 4,  (tie) Chance Oftedahl, Pemberton, Minn., and Marcos Costa, Iretama, Parana, Brazil, 8.1 and $6,269 each. 6, (tie) Hagen Houck, Henrietta, Texas, and Dylan Hancock, San Angelo, Texas, 8.3, $4,949. 8, Cash Enderli, Liberty, Texas 8.4, $3,959. 9, (tie) Riley Webb, Denton, Texas, and Ace Reese, Aguilla, Texas, 8.6, $2,969. 11, (tie) Ladd King, West Weber, Utah, and Chet Weitz, London, Texas, 8.8, $2,145. 13, Bo Pickett, Caldwell, Idaho, 9.1, $1,320. 14, Rylee Rogers, Ogden, Utah, 9.2, $825. 14, Dakota Felton, Mountain Home, Texas, 9.2, $825.   

 • Barrel Racing: 1, Lanita Peirce, Wynnewood, Okla., 17.06 seconds, $11,308. 2, Anita Ellis, Blackfoot, Idaho, 17.14, $9,057. 3, Carlee Otero, Lipan, Texas, 17.16, $7,350. 4, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 17.17, $5,654. 5, (tie) Piper Cordes, Wall, S.D.; Tricia Aldridge, Sanger, Texas; and Devon Brown, Stratford, Okla.; 17.21, $3,581. 8, Tayla Moeykens, Three Forks, Mont., 17.25, $2,544. 9, (tie) Taylor Carver, Broxton, Ga., and Makenzie Mayes, Scroggins, Texas, 17.28, $2,120. 11, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 17.30, $1,696. 12, Katelyn Scott, Odessa, Texas, 17.32, $1,414. 13, Shy-Anne Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 17.33, $1,131. 14, Kim Squires, Carnegie, Okla., 17.34, $848. 15, Lisa lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.35, $565.

 • Bull Riding: 1, (tie) Tristen Hutchings, Monteview, Idaho, on Frontier Rodeo’s Frontier Coffee and Noah Lee, Mineral Wells, Texas, on Frontier Rodeo’s Carmen, 91 points and $10,313 each. 3, Sage Kimzey, Salado, Texas, 89, $6,616. 4, Colten Fritzlan, Rifle, Colo., 87.5, $4,281. 5, Jeter Lawrence, Council Hill, Okla., 86, $2,724 6, Cullen Telfer, Plant City, Fla., 85.5, $1,945. 7, Coltan Byram, Mound City, Kan., 85, $1,557. 8, (tie) Tyler Kippes, Stephenville, Texas; TJ Gray, Dairy, Ore.; and Trey Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 84, $369.