Tucker, MLB pitcher win celebrity cutting event
Country/western music star Tanya Tucker has competed in the annual celebrity cutting event in Fort Worth for more than two decades.
When the title was at stake Friday night at 2014 Careity Foundation Celebrity Cutting, Tucker and her partner, Aaron Cook, a professional baseball pitcher, clinched the title after the duo had turned in a two-ride aggregate score of 427.5.
Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek, and his partner, Leah Turner, another accomplished country/western music artist, finished second with a 427 at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.
When Tucker learned she and Cook had won, Tucker was elated, knowing she had struggled during her 2 1/2-minute run.
“I loved it,” Tucker said of her run. “But I just didn’t have any good cows. That’s just the luck of the deal. You go in there and you get a good cow or you don’t.”
Tucker turned a 209.5. But Cook, most recently with the Colorado Rockies, posted an attention-grabbing 218.
When she heard that she and Cook had won, Tucker initially didn’t believe it until longtime friend Shelly Mowery informed her that she and Cook had clinched the title by a half point.
“There’s something wrong with those judges’ eyes,” Tucker said jokingly. “I need to get them a seeing-eye dog.”
The Careity Foundation Celebrity Cutting traditionally is conducted in conjunction with the National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity, which is the sport’s most prestigious show. The 2014 NCHA Futurity began Nov. 24 and runs through Dec. 13.
NFR update
Turtle Powell of Stephenville and Dakota Kirchenschlager of Morgan Mill each have earned $38,004 at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas after winning the first two rounds of team roping.
On Thursday night, Powell and Kirchenschlager posted the fastest Round 1 time in NFR history when they won with a 4.0. During Round 2 on Friday, the duo turned in a 3.8, seven-tenths of a second faster than second-place finishers Coleman Proctor and Jake Long.
Kirchenschlager is competing in his second NFR. Powell is a nine-time National Finals qualifier who won the world title in 2011 while partnering with Jhett Johnson.
After a couple of round wins, Powell is ranked second in the team roping heading world title race with $107,314. Clay Tryan is ranked No. 1 with $129,490.
In the heeling world race, Kirchenschlager is ranked fourth with $103,954. Jade Corkill is ranked No. 1 with $129,490.
In saddle bronc riding, Jacobs Crawley of Stephenville won the Round 2 with a score of 82.5 and earned 19,002.40. He also tied for second in Round 1 with an 80.5 ($9,654.44). After finishing in the money during the first two NFR performances, Crawley’s NFR earnings are $28,656.
In the world title race, Crawley is ranked third with $117,385. Taos Muncy is ranked No. 1 with $136,533.
In tie-down roping, Trevor Brazile finished second in Round 2 with a 7.9 and earned $15,018. He also finished second in Thursday’s Round 1 with a 7.5.
After all that, Brazile is ranked No. 1 in the world all-around title race with $338,059. Tuf Cooper is ranked second with $158,537.
Cooper is ranked No.l in the tie-down roping world standings with $153,822. He has not finished in the money in Round 1 and Round 2. But Brazile, who has placed in both rounds, is ranked second with $123,884.
World Finals update
The 2014 NCHA Open and Non-Pro World Finals is scheduled to conclude today. The performance is scheduled for 4 p.m. at W.R. Watt Arena. In the open division, Chubby Turner of Weatherford and One Time Choice will enter the closing performance with the world title clinched. They have finished No. l for the second consecutive year. Constance Jaeggi of Weatherford and Saguaro Ichi have clinched their first non-pro world championship.
This story was originally published December 5, 2014 at 11:54 PM with the headline "Tucker, MLB pitcher win celebrity cutting event."