Berry goes back-to-back with RodeoHouston wins
Mar. 21—HOUSTON — Repeating history was a great thing for bareback rider Leighton Berry.
For the second year in a row, Berry won the lucrative RodeoHouston title.
The Weatherford cowboy's latest victory came March 17 when he won the four-man Championship Shootout with a 91.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede's Agent Lynx at NRG Stadium.
"To win this rodeo once is a dream come true and to win it twice in back-to-back years, I'm at a loss for words," said Berry, 25. "This rodeo always starts out rough for me. This year, just like last year, I barely squeezed through my set. I drew a great horse in the semifinals and drew well in the 10 and four-man (Sunday). I feel like I'm riding better than I ever have. When you get those good horses underneath of you, you have to capitalize.
"At a big rodeo stage like this you really have to do something special. I just want to thank the Lord for putting me in this position and putting those horses underneath of me and giving me the strength and confidence. I'm on top of the world right now and it feels great."
Berry earned a $50,000 check for his final ride and left town with $53,750.
"That was my third time on (Agent Lynx), the last time was Round 10 (at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo)," Berry said. "I was 88.5 on that ride and I didn't think I rode him quite as good as I should have. We both didn't quite have a day like we had today. That horse really tried hard and showed its stuff. We have been talking about him in the locker room that the horse keeps getting better. He's been in the four-man at the top rodeos in the world the last four or five years and now he's becoming that No. 1 horse.
"I know I'm going for a gold buckle, and I know that horse is going for a halter and hopefully we both end up there at the end of the year."
Berry has qualified for the Wrangler NFR three times in 2020, 2022 and 2023. He finished a career-best third in the PRCA — RAM World Standings in 2022. and he's well aware of what a $50,0000 payday means to him in the standings in 2024.
"When I nodded my head today in the four-man I only had three grand coming in," Berry said. "To put $50,000 on top of that is obviously a game-changer. I can't thank the people who put on this rodeo enough for giving us opportunities like this."
