Pahrump’s Hardy, Mountz win bull riding in Boulder City

Going into the Boulder City rodeo the weekend before Thanksgiving, Pahrump boasted the state’s best bull riders at both the high school and the junior high school levels.

After that weekend, the competition is looking even further up at the Pahrump riders.

Tye Hardy and Brandon Mountz cruised to victories in bull riding at Boulder City, extending their leads in the statewide points race.

“It’s unheard of to have the number-one junior high school rider in the state and the number-one high school rider in the state on the same club,” Pahrump Valley High School rodeo director Buddy Krebs said.

Hardy was the only rider to score during the high school competition, netting a score of 77 on the second day for 10 points. For the season, Hardy, who competed in the national championships last season, now has 40 points for the year and is the only high school rider with any points at all.

Meanwhile, Mountz was the only junior high school rider to score on

both days in Boulder City. His score of 73 and 10 points edged C.J. Christian of Alamo on the first day, while he was the only one to score on the second day, with a score of 61 for 10 points.

Krebs said Mountz’s success is no surprise.

“His dad is a bull rider,” he said. “When he was younger he was getting on sheep and getting prepared for high school rodeo, and now he’s old enough to do it. He’s a natural.”

Mountz now has a strong lead in the season points race. His 79 points is 30 points better than second-place Brenden Webb of Washoe County. Elko County’s Timothy Toops (third, 46.50) and Zach Oros (fourth, 38.00) are next in the standings.

Moreover, Mountz is now 19th in the state in the overall standings with 97 points, combining his bull riding points with his 18 points in bareback steer riding, in which he is currently sixth in the state thanks to his second-place finish earlier this season at Spanish Springs.

He won in bull riding at that event and finished second in Elko.

On the girls’ side, senior Kyrstyn Peugh competed in barrel racing and had a solid performance. Her combined time of 36.845 seconds (18.451 on the first day, 18.394 on the second) ranked 12th for the weekend.

“She’s improving every time,” Krebs said. “That weekend was some of her fastest times, so she’s going to keep getting better from here on out.”

After a fall season of six rodeos, the school circuit takes a break until late Feb. 22-24 when Pahrump takes its turn to play host.

“It’s the first one after the break,” Krebs said. “So I’m expecting a big turnout for that.”

The rodeo will coincide with the Pahrump Hot Air Balloon Festival and also will be the weekend of a raffle to raise money to help send qualifying Pahrump kids to state and national competitions next summer. The club is raffling off an AK and a shotgun, with tickets selling for $10. Krebs said the best way to purchase raffle tickets is by going to the club’s Facebook page, Pahrump Valley Junior & High School Rodeo Club.

High school nationals this year again will be in Rock Springs, Wyoming, with the junior high school nationals scheduled for Huron, South Dakota.

“We’ve got more kids joining after the break, so it wouldn’t surprise me if we have more kids sneak in there and go to nationals,” Krebs said.

Contact Sports Editor Tom Rysinski at trysinski@pvtimes.com On Twitter:@PVTimesSports