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Steer wrestler Bud Hallman won the average of the Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, which was held Nov. 5-7 in Davie, Fla. Hallman, from Webster, Fla., finished with a time of 16.5 seconds on three head to qualify for the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, April 7-10 in Pocatello, Idaho. Hallman, 56, probably won’t be quitting his day job to rodeo full-time. He is a Fifth Circuit Court Judge in Sumpter County when he is not competing in ProRodeo.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The first thing Bud Hallman did when he woke up this morning in his Webster, Fla., home was launch a search for the champion’s buckle he won at the Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco.

“I told my wife Cathy that I was afraid I might have dreamed the whole thing,” Hallman said.

It was an understandable moment of doubt. Hallman is a 56-year-old circuit court judge from Florida’s Sumter County who, until he attended friend Spunk Sasser’s steer wrestling school in early 2008, had not competed in a rodeo, and not even ridden a horse in nearly 15 years.

Not improbable enough? Before Hallman could get to Davie, Fla., for the rodeo and way before winning the thing with a three-head time of 16.5 seconds, he had to have a number of elements that were utterly out of his control work out just right.

Hallman finished 25th in the Southeastern Circuit standings this year, but let Sasser talk him into entering the circuit finals “because you never know what’s going to happen.” Because a number of bulldoggers failed to meet qualification guidelines or were unavailable, Hallman arrived at the final cut in 13th place, as the first alternate.

Then Tyler Pearson, last year’s Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo champion, injured his knee. Hallman was in the field.

There was still the matter of his day job. Judge Hallman was supposed to begin a murder trial at the end of last week, which seemed to preclude him from being able to take advantage of his rodeo opportunity.

“That’s when the attorney for the defense filed a pre-trial motion to disqualify evidence,” Hallman said. “That is almost always automatic grounds for a continuance. Normally judges are irritable about delays like that. In this case, I thought, ‘Well, this is interesting.’”

Hallman had qualified for the Southeastern Circuit Finals four times previously, but not since 1994 when, at 40 and fully engaged in his law career, he decided to retire from the sport. For 15 years, his only connection to rodeo was watching the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on TV each December.

After visiting Sasser’s 2008 bulldogging school and mixing it up a bit, Hallman got the urge to compete again. He competed in 12-15 circuit rodeos that first year and 26 this year, and although he had wins at the Orange Blossom Festival in Davie and the Williston (Fla.) Pro Rodeo this year, his goals remained modest.

“Making the circuit finals didn’t seem realistic, not at 56,” Hallman said. “I just wanted to enjoy myself. I’m a competitive guy, but it never dawned on me that I would qualify. Spunk kept pushing me. At one point I got aggravated with him. I didn’t want to have to go back to training like you need to do, but he kept after me, and the last few months I’ve really been training pretty hard.”

The win at the circuit finals automatically qualifies Hallman for his first appearance in the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Pocatello, Idaho, next April.

After he set up his championship saddle and buckle in his chambers this morning, Hallman started working on getting the time off to make the trip.

“I’ve been in contact with the chief judge of the circuit,” Hallman said. “He’s a rancher, too, so I think he’ll be OK with it.”

The other champions at the Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo were bareback rider Scott NeSmith (246 points on three head), team ropers Will Lynd and Daniel Salley (19.8 seconds on three head), saddle bronc rider Justin Browning (226 points on three head), tie-down roper Justin Thigpen (26.5 seconds on three head), barrel racer Jewels DeNapoli (46.76 seconds on three runs) and bull rider Friday Wright II (243 points on three head).

Dodge Southeastern Circuit Finals Rodeo, presented by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco (Davie, Fla.) Nov. 5-7

All-around cowboy: Justin Thigpen, $6,747, steer wrestling and tie-down roping.
Bareback riding: First round: 1. J.T. Taylor, 83 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Teaspoon, $1,255; 2. Scotty NeSmith, 82, $941; 3. Tim Hensley, 81, $628; 4. Dustin Smith, 79, $314. Second round: 1. (tie) Scotty NeSmith on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Dusty Trails and Jeremy Mouton on Four L Rodeo Company’s Breakin Up, $1,098 each; 3. Dustin Smith, 80, $628; 4. Chip Dees IV, 79, $314. Third round: 1. Jeremy Mouton, 85 points on Silver Spurs Club’s Lorena, $1,255; 2. Scotty NeSmith, 82, $941; 3. (tie) Dustin Smith and Brandon Holmes, 77, $471 each. Average: 1. Scotty NeSmith, 246 points on three head, $1,883; 2. Jeremy Mouton, 243, $1,412; 3. Dustin Smith, 236; 4. (tie) Chip Dees IV and J.T. Taylor, 232, $235 each.
Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Quinn Campbell, 3.8 seconds, $1,255; 2. Justin Thigpen, 4.5, $941; 3. Bud Hallman, 4.7, $628; 4. Troy Smotherman, 4.8, $314. Second round: 1. Justin Thigpen, 4.4 seconds, $1,255; 2. John Barnett, 4.6, $941; 3. Quinn Campbell, 5.0, $628; 4. Jake Thomas, 5.1, $314. Third round: 1. Brad Hartt, 4.1 seconds, $1,255; 2. Ivon Nelson, 4.2, $941; 3. (tie) John Barnett and Juan Alcazar, 4.3, $471 each. Average: 1. Bud Hallman, 16.5 seconds on three head, $1,883; 2. Quinn Campbell, 22.7, $1,412; 3. Juan Alcazar, 23.4, $941; 4. Justin Thigpen, 23.6, $471.
Team roping: First round: 1. (tie) Kaston Peavy/Phillip Kelce and Randy Melder/John Woodson, 5.2 seconds, $1,098 each; 3. Jimmy Tanner/Kyle Lawrence, 5.6, $628; 4. Wes Kent/Nick Kent, 6.2, $314. Second round: 1. Ross Lowry/Stephen Britnell, 5.0 seconds, $1,255; 2. Travis Dorman/Manny Egusquiza Jr., 6.2, $941; 3. Will Lynd/Daniel Salley, 6.6, $628; 4. Kaston Peavy/Phillip Kelce, 6.8, $314. Third round: 1. Spunk Sasser/Donnie Savage, 4.8 seconds, $1,255 each; 2. Ross Lowry/Stephen Britnell, 5.1, $941; 3. (tie) Chad Saunders/Michael Harris and Adam Wallace/Josh Moss, 5.4, $471 each. Average: 1. Will Lynd/Daniel Salley, 19.8 seconds on three head, $1,883 each; 2. Travis Dorman/Manny Egusquiza Jr., 21.4, $1,412 each; 3. Wes Kent/Nick Kent, 24.4, $941; 4. Chad Saunders/Michael Harris, 25.2, $471.
Saddle bronc riding: First round: 1. Cody DeMoss, 86 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Flaming Desire, $1,255; 2. Justin Browning, 81, $941; 3. Jim Burnette, 79, $628; 4. Jermiah Diffee, 75, $314. Second round: 1. Heith DeMoss, 84 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Amarillo, $1,255; 2. Justin Browning, 82, $941; 3. Curtis Garton, 77, $628; 4. (tie) Jim Burnette and James Savoie, 71, $157 each. Third round: 1. Justin Caylor, 83 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Hay Wire, $1,255; 2. Jermiah Diffee, 80, $941; 3. (tie) Curtis Garton and Cody DeMoss, 79, $471 each. Average: 1. Justin Browning, 226 points on three head, $1,883; 2. Curtis Garton, 225, $1,412; 3. Jermiah Diffee, 223, $941; 4. Jim Burnette, 222, $471.
Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Justin Thigpen, 8.5 seconds, $1,255; 2. Shane Hanchey, 9.1, $941; 3. Brad Hartt, 9.3, $628; 4. Ben Mayworth, 9.4, $314. Second round: 1. Will Lane, 7.7 seconds, $1,255; 2. Jeremy Landry, 8.4, $941; 3. Seth Rodriguez, 8.8, $628; 4. Justin Thigpen, 9.3, $314. Third round: 1. Blake Huckabee, 7.3 seconds, $1,255; 2. Derrick Taylor, 7.8, $941; 3. Justin Thigpen, 8.7, $628; 4. Brad Hartt, 8.8, $314. Average: 1. Justin Thigpen, 26.5 seconds on three head, $1,883; 2. Jeremy Landry, 28.0, $1,412; 3. Mitch Rinehart, 29.9, $941; 4. Brad Hartt, 30.5, $471.
Barrel racing: First round: 1. Tammy Bruso, 15.43 seconds, $1,255; 2. Jana Jarreau, 15.50, $941; 3. Jewels DeNapoli, 15.54, $628; 4. Wendy Reed, 15.56, $314. Second round: 1. Shellie Reinbott, 15.61 seconds, $1,255; 2. Jewels DeNapoli, 15.65, $941; 3. Tammy Bruso, 15.67, $628; 4. Angel Miller, 15.72, $314. Third round: 1. Wendy Culberson, 15.46 seconds, $1,255; 2. Wendy Reed, 15.56, $941; 3. Jewels DeNapoli, 15.57, $628; 4. Jana Jarreau, 15.62, $314. Average: 1. Jewels DeNapoli, 46.76 seconds on three runs, $1,883; 2. Jana Jarreau, 46.90, $1,412; 3. Tammy Bruso, 46.91, $941; 4. Wendy Reed, 47.01, $471.
Bull riding: First round: 1. Friday Wright II, 77 points on Silver Spurs Club’s Red Dawg, $1,255; 2. Jason Beck, 60, $941; no other qualified rides. Second round: 1. Spencer Slaughter III, 86 points on Four L Rodeo Company’s Nightmare, $1,255; 2. Jason Beck, 84, $941; 3. Friday Wright II, 82, $628; 4. Brandon Hendrix, 75, $314. Third round: 1. (tie) Brandon Hendrix on Five Star Rodeo’s Poco Loco and Justin Koon on Silver Spurs Club’s Angel Eyes, $1,098 each; 3. Friday Wright II, 84, $628; 4. Cody Rhoda, 79, $314. Average: 1. Friday Wright II, 243 points on three head, $1,883; 2. Brandon Hendrix, 161 points on two head, $1,412; 3. Cody Rhoda, 151, $941; 4. Jason Beck, 144, $471.
Total payoff: $112,965. Stock contractor: Various. Rodeo secretary:. Officials:. Timers:. Announcer:. Specialty act:. Clowns/bullfighters:. Barrelman:. Flankmen: Chute bosses:. Pickup men:.

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