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Houston' Horton trails Leyva at US Gymnastics finals

ST. PAUL, Minn. — In search of his third consecutive USA Gymnastics national title, two-time Olympic medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston scored five-hundredths of a point higher Wednesday night than he did on the first night of last year's event.

The measuring stick for the 2011 championships has changed .

While Horton faltered on pommel horse, his traditional nemesis, Danell Leyva of Miami was rock solid across the board and spectacular on high bar to take a 2.1-point lead over Horton entering Friday's finals at the Excel Energy Center .

Leyva scored 92.5 points, fueled in large part by his score of 16.2 on high bar, the event on which Horton won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics. Horton scored 90.4, in large part because of a disastrous 12.7 score on pommel horse after coming off the apparatus less than 10 seconds into his routine.

Entering the event, Horton, who is suffering from an inflamed shoulder that required an MRI exam Wednesday, had hoped to score in the high 14s on horse. Even a score in the 13s, were he usually scores, would have had him in closer hailing distance to Leyva.

A score of 12.7, he said, was unacceptable.

"I jumped up there like a little scaredy cat and totally botched the routine," Horton said. "I've been doing that routine really well in practice, and I thought I would do well tonight. I should have scored two points higher, and that's the difference."

USA Gymnastics awards bonus points for difficulty and execution on the national level that the International Gymnastics Federation does not recognize for international competition, so Leyva's eye-catching 92.5 score would have been a few tenths lower had he been performing Wednesday in Tokyo, site of the 2011 world championships, rather than the Twin Cities.

Road to Vegas runs through Rancho Mission Viejo | Horse Back ...

“We’re just going to try to finish this year as strong as we can,” Mitchell said, “and then gather some horses up to practice hard for the NFR. I like roping fast, so it should fit my style, but you never know. Some guys you think will do well there can have trouble. I’m looking forward to it. I have been for a long time.” Whitney shared first place in the long go with Cody Rostockyj by riding Blue Light Special for 88 points. He then finished third to Proctor’s 90-point effort on Growney Brothers’ War Dog in the final by getting 88.5 points of affirmation from Kish’s Yes Man, a bull that had recently bucked off three-time World Champion J.W. Harris in Canby, Ore. The other champions at the $140,106 rodeo in Bremerton were steer wrestler Dru Melvin (7.9 seconds on two head), team ropers Ty Blasingame and York Gill (9.5 seconds on two head), saddle bronc rider Sam Spreadborough (88 points), tie-down ropers Jake Hannum and Tuf Cooper (17.0 seconds each on two head), bull rider Shawn Proctor (90 points) and barrel racers Cassie Moseley and Sydni Blanchard (17.28 seconds each). • How dominant is Shane Proctor right now? Of the five events he entered over the Aug. 26-28 weekend, Proctor won two (San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and Kennewick, Wash.) and finished second in two others (Bremerton, Wash., Xtreme Bulls and Lynden, Wash.). He made five qualified rides, averaging 88.5 points, with a season-high-equaling 93-pointer in San Juan Capistrano on Flying U Rodeo’s Bring It. His weekend money total of $21,177 was the highest of any ProRodeo contestant in any event. In an odd side note, Shawn Proctor (no relation) had a 90-point ride to win the Kitsap County Fair & Stampede in Bremerton – the only rodeo in which Shane Proctor failed to have a qualified ride. • Bull riders Chandler Bownds and Cody Teel finished 1-2 in the Golden Spike Rodeo in Tremonton, Utah, the same order you’ll find them in the PRCA rookie standings.

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