No plan pays off for Cornwell

Jack Cornwell isn’t much for planning.

Short- or long-range.

After working the family stockyard in Glasgow, he leaves the weekend fun up to his brothers.

“My brothers, Jake (Newton) and Charlie (Cornwell) do the entering,” said their 20-year-old brother. “They tell me what to do and when we’re going to leave. I just get in the pickup”

“And they do most of the driving,” he finished with soft chuckle.

Letting others map his Mountain Health Co-Op Tour schedule this summer has worked out pretty well for the timed-event competitor.

Cornwell is second in the Northern Rodeo Association all-around cowboy standings, fourth for tie-down roping and ninth in steer wrestling. He has also won money in team roping.

“It’s been a good year,” acknowledged Cornwell. “I don’t really have a game plan for the season. I just go hard at it every time.”

If the season ended today, he would be one of four cowboys to qualify in two events for the NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders. Ryder Gaasch of Dillon, Billings’ Casey Collins and Mitch Detton of Great Falls are the others. Molly Salmond of Choteau would be a two-event qualifier for the all-around cowgirl race.

“It’s especially been a good year in the calf roping. I’m not a calf roper,” Cornwell said.

Riding Baby Cash, his 10-year-old sorrel gelding, Cornwell has earned four tie-down roping checks, including wins at Opheim, Plentywood and Scobey.

“He’s not the biggest horse, he’s really small for a calf horse,” said the owner. But he never takes a shot away from you.”

His brother Charlie rode Baby Cash at the Montana high school finals.

Charlie Cornwell returns the favor by serving as his brother’s hazer in steer wrestling. The elder Cornwell rides Beer Money, a 17-year-old bay.

“I rode him my senior year of high school and the college rodeos,” said Cornwell, who will be entering his sophomore season at Oklahoma Panhandle State in Goodwell, Oklahoma. “Beer Money runs hard. He charges right up the back of them and gives you a good shot.”

Beer Money carried Cornwell to a bulldogging win at Plentywood. The annual Sheridan Saddle Club Rodeo was an arena of fun day for the Cornwell family.

Cornwell swept the steer wrestling and tie-down roping titles while brother JP placed third in tie-down roping and fourth in team roping with brother Charlie.

The family took $2,488 back home.

“The big reason I came home from college this summer was so I could rodeo with my brothers,” Cornwell said. “It was fun, I’m not going to lie. It was a pretty good ride home.”

While rolling through the summer, Cornwell does have one definitive goal on his schedule.

“I’ve got to defend my wild cow milking title at Twin Bridges with Ryder Gaasch,” he said. “We call each other to make sure we can get together. We’ve won it the last two years. If I can’t get Ryder, maybe I’ll call Cash Trexler to rope a cow for us.”

Trexler leads the Mountain Health Co-Op Tour tie-down roping standings. Gaasch is the all-around cowboy and steer wrestling standings leader.

Cornwell competed at the NRA Finals in 2022 and would not mind a return trip. He trails Trexler by just $604 in the tie-down roping standings and is less than $1,000 out of the top four in steer wrestling.

“Oh, I definitely would come back,” he said of making the 20-hour, 1338-mile drive trip from Goodwell to Kalispell in late October. “I don’t want to miss it.”

Up next

After a weekend off, the Mountain Health Co-Op Tour returns in earnest for the stretch run of the regular season with rodeos in Twin Bridges, Darby, Deer Lodge and Livingston.

There are only 10 rodeos remaining for competitors to qualify for the NRA Finals and be eligible for Tito’s Challenge, a $1,000 bonus awarded by Tito’s Handmade Vodka to the high money winner at the Finals.

The Madison County Fair in Twin Bridges is Aug. 15-16 with performances at 7 p.m. each night.

The Wild West Rodeo in Darby goes 7 p.m. each night on Aug. 16-17, while the Tri-County Fair rodeo in Deer Lodge is the same days. Deer Lodge will go at 8 p.m. on Aug. 16 and 7 p.m. on Aug. 17.

The frenetic run concludes with Calamity’s Classic Rodeo in Livingston, Aug. 17 and 18. They Aug. 17 performance is 7 p.m. and the Aug. 18 show begins at 5 p.m.

The top 10 in each event qualify for the NRA Finals presented by nuWest Builders, Oct. 24-26 at Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell.