Ann Scott and Fallin For Fame Sweep California Circuit
By Julie Mankin
After a long season of rodeoing across the country and finishing 18th in the WPRA world standings, Ann Scott appreciated a rodeo just 40 minutes down the road.
At the California Circuit Finals Rodeo in Lancaster on Oct. 17- 18, Scott won the average title for the second straight year aboard her home-raised 9-old gelding Fallin For Fame (“Buzz”).
“I’ve been gone from home quite a while,” said Scott, a part-time stuntwoman from Canyon Country. “It was nice to go home every night after the rodeo and let my horse rest in his own stall and I could be in my own bed.”
Scott clocked a 17.9 in the first round, but it was good enough for third behind Erin Ricotti’s smoking 17.4. Scott placed third again on her second run of 17.7 and wrapped up the rodeo with a third- round-winning 17.5 to claim $4,046 total and the average title by four-tenths over Sheena Robbins.
“The ground was pretty deep in the first round,” Scott said. “The arena sits on a car racetrack and has a lot of clay in it, so it was a little sticky; my horse pulled a shoe at third. But by Saturday night they watered it more and I was first out, which was really helpful.”
Scott had been trying hard to make her first Wrangler NFR just over a couple of weeks earlier, and almost got it done. After hitting a barrel at Omaha, she had driven 25 hours straight to California for the last few rodeos of the season, placing at Bakersfield, Poway and Kingman (Ariz.) but hitting a barrel at San Bernardino. She finished with nearly $70,000 earned – just $2,297 out of a first NFR berth.
“My goal had been to go to some big rodeos and experience life on the road, and I got to do that,” she said. “My other goal was to win the California Circuit, but being out on the road I felt like I was missing some California rodeos. I was about $3,000 behind Linda Vick and didn’t think I’d be able to catch her.”
Vick, always tough at the Finals, uncharacteristically hit a barrel in the first round, which opened the door for someone else to steal the year-end championship.
“When I won the third round, the announcer said I’d won the aver- age and that it would be a tight race for the year-end between Linda and Sheena,” said Scott. “I thought I was too far behind. When our circuit director found me in the parking lot with that big buckle and Jo Mora artwork for me, saying I’d won the year-end, I argued with her and thought she was confused.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she added. “It was so nice to be close to home and have so many family members and friends there for that. I also have to thank Johnny Zamrzla, the guy who puts on our circuit finals. He really saved it in California and it becomes bigger and bigger every year. We had a beautiful awards ceremony Saturday night. It was really fun.”
Scott’s horse was named the 2014 California Circuit Horse of the Year. Joining her at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo in March in Kissimmee, Fla., will be Sheena Robbins of Fresno, who was runner-up in the year-end standings.
The national finals’ venue is more than 2,500 miles away for Scott and Robbins, but they’ll likely be in Texas already in March. Rodeo- Houston is scheduled for March 3-22, and the RNCFR will be held March 25-28, so that could turn a 40-hour trip into just 15 hours. “I’m really excited to be qualified for Houston and San Antonio in 2015,” said Scott. “And winning the Cinch Shoot-Out at Colorado
Springs qualified me for the American Semi-Finals, so I’m excited to go to all those. Then I’ll come home and go to the California spring rodeos and see how it’s going from there. I think hopefully next season will be easier. Not knowing where I was going this year was difficult. I’d never even heard of most of the towns and I’d get there and not know where the stalls were or where the arena was located, so it will be nice to know more this year. In the meantime, I’ll give Buzz a rest and spend time with my colts at some jackpots.”
California Circuit Finals
Oct. 17-18, 2014, Lancaster, CA
Average on three:
1 Fallin For Fame, Ann Scott, 53.14, $1,734
05 ch. g. Dash Ta Fame-Immunity, Merridoc
2 Bar D Mr Dual Olena, Sheena Robbins, 53.54, $1,301
01 b. g. Boon Freckles-Miss Dual Dreamer, Manster 3 Rachel Dice, 53.57, $867
4 Erin Ricotti, 53.79, $434
First round:
1 Royal Star Commander, Erin Ricotti, 17.41, $1,156
07 sor. g. Ar Star-Go Royal Scarlett, Royal Go Go 2 Sheena Robbins, 17.76, $867
3 Ann Scott, 17.90, $578
4 Karla Sanchez, 17.94, $289
Second round:
1 Tivitosatthegogobar, Rachel Dice, 17.60, $1,156
07 sor. m. Tivitos Sugar Bar-Red Oak Doll, Flips Red Oak 2 Rachel Primm, 17.66, $867
3 Ann Scott, 17.71, $578
4 Jolee Lautaret-Jordan, 17.72, $289
third round:
1 Fallin For Fame, Ann Scott, 17.53, $1,156
2 Rachel Primm, 17.57, $867
3 Linda Vick, 17.74, $578
4 Sheena Robbins, 17.87, $289
