Jolly Ranch/S&L Cattle Dominate; The return of Clay Ashurst | The WRCA Blog

A couple weekends ago, I had the sincere pleasure of competing in the Ride for the Brand Ranch Rodeo in Colorado Springs. Our team had some ups and downs—but I don’t think even on our best day we could have stood up to the performance put up by the Jolly Ranch/S&L Cattle team. Jesse Jolly, Dustin Bowling, Nick Peterson, Kyle Spitz, and Phy Lord put on a clinic. They won three events and were second in two more.

I talked with Dustin Bowling for a minute after the rodeo to offer my congratulations and he simply said it was about time. The two-time world champions can be such a dangerous team but hadn’t been all season. At Colorado Springs, though, it all came together for them and their dominance was something I’ve never witnessed at a WRCA-sanctioned ranch rodeo.

As notable as that was, the best moment from the weekend was the return of Clay Ashurst. Just over a year ago, Ashurst sustained a head/neck injury while picking up broncs at an open ranch rodeo. In fact, he nearly died. A year ago at Colorado Springs, no one was thinking about him ever riding again; the prayers were just for his life. Fast forward a year, and he’s horseback. And not just riding with the team in the grand entry—he roped their cow in the wild cow milking, necked a yearling in the stray gathering, and played his role in all the other events. During competition, he wore a helmet with a straw hat brim taped to it, but otherwise, you wouldn’t know there was anything off about him. Cognitively, he seemed all there, too. He asked one of my teammates about a horse he used to ride at the rodeos two years ago.

It was so good to see him back in the arena, doing so well. Once again, his team—Four-Three Cattle/FX Bar—is one to look out for.