KIT RUDD AND ROBBIE SALZBRENNER CLAIM RANCH SORTING TITLE.
BY LARRI JO STARKEY, COPY EDITOR
After the round pens went up in the Amarillo National Center, home to the 2008 Bayer Select World Championship Show, teams started going in and then coming out with no score. Tough cattle kept slipping through the gap ahead of their numbered turns. One team on palominos was finally able to put the cattle through in the right order. Kit Rudd, riding LPS Crystal Rebel, and Robbie Salzbrenner, riding Ms King Forty Two, sorted 14 cows in 150 seconds through two rounds of competition. It was the first world championship for the longtime penners.
Q: Tell us about your run.
Robbie: It was a good one. We ended up winning, so that really made it nice. It was scary there for a little bit, but it worked out great. Me and Kit have been penning together for a little over a year now. Kit: We’ve been penning around each other for eight years. We just started riding together about a year ago. We’ve obviously been very successful.
Q: Did you have a game plan going into this?
Kit: Yes, ma’am. To win. That was our game plan. To go in, do what we do best and win. And we did it Thursday night. We came in first in the first go-round. We came back and put it away. We did just what we planned on, and we’re very proud of our horses.
Kit Rudd of Amarillo, Texas, waves his hat as he and partner Robbie Salzbrenner of White Deer, Texas, clinch their world championship.
Q: They look matched.
Kit: When you got two good-looking guys like us, you’ve got to have two good-looking horses. Robbie: That was just a coincidence.
Q: A lot of guys came from a long way away to compete. You guys kinda kept it close to home.
Kit: Yes, ma’am, we tried to. I’m from Amarillo. Robbie’s from White Deer, just a few miles away.
Q: Robbie, you won second also.
Robbie: Yes, with another really good partner.
Q: How was that?
Robbie: It was surprising. I thought we had third, but I’ll take second.
Q: How were the cattle today?
Kit: They were a little rough. Robbie: I liked them. Kit: It played to our advantage. They blew everybody else out. They were tough Thursday, too. Robbie: The tougher cattle keep everybody honest, not just ramming and jamming. The type of cattle they have here are good. You’ve got to ride on them but you’ve got to take your time and take care of it also.
Q: Are you going to be back next year to defend your championship?
Kit: Yes, ma’am, we plan on coming back and winning it again. Robbie: I like his confidence. Kit: We started out with a confident attitude at the first of the year in our first ride; we’ve carried it throughout the year and it’s done us well. We’re really proud.
Q: How does it feel to be world champion?
Kit: Haven’t even come close to getting our arms wrapped around it yet. Robbie: Nope. Kit: Never won anything like this in my life. I’m so excited I can barely stand here.
Horse name: Ms King Forty Two Pedigree: 2002 palomino mare by Cow Bo Country x Dukes Summer Gold by Sir Duke Gibbs Exhibitor: Robert Salzbrenner, White Deer, Texas Owner: Robert Salzbrenner, White Deer, Texas
Total class entries: 196 entries/93 teams
World Champion Prizes: Custom-designed gold-tone trophy, Montana Silversmiths buckle, neck wreath, gold medallion, Cripple Creek-logo jacket, world champion patch, Tex Tan product
