It was going to take more than a passing summer shower to dampen the spirits of competitors and rodeo fans that filled the arena Thursday night for the second round of action at Kueckelhan Ranch Rodeo.  Those that waited out the rain were treated to another night of exciting riding and roping, as well as a concert by David Ball.

The inherent thrills and danger make bull riding one of the highlights of any rodeo and fans got their money's worth Thursday evening. 

Cory Colvin, a cowboy out of Dayline, Louisiana, scored a 79 with a solid ride, but Rocky Johnson, the man they call the Dallas cowboy, is still in first place after notching an 81 on opening night.

And, speaking of thrills and danger, for the second night in a row the Cowgirl Chicks won over the crowd with their riding skills.  

It requires amazing strength and balance on the part of the Cowgirl Chicks to make these riding tricks look easy and it also requires a well-trained animal.  Hours of practice and sweat come down to a heart-racing run around the arena that is over in a matter of seconds, but the cheers of an appreciative crowd make it all worthwhile.

There were also a lot of country music fans in the crowd to welcome David Ball to Fannin County.  Ball and his polished band gave a concert from a bandstand that was actually a flatbed trailer in the center of the arena. 

All of the band's songs were well received, but "Thinking Problem" drew the loudest round of applause.

Bonham cowboy Jarod Haughton also earned a nice hand from the crowd with an eight second, no-holds-barred flying tackle in the steer wrestling competition. 

Haughton is in first place going into Friday night.

Matt Crumpler took over the top spot in bareback after the judges awarded the Stephenville, Texas cowboy a 78 after his ride Thursday night.  Josh Hudson of Kaufman, Texas holds down second place with a 75 on opening night.

Dooley Parson, a native of Union City, Oklahoma, worked his way into second place in saddle bronc with a 72 Thursday evening.   Cauga, Texas cowboy Wilsey McMahon remains in first place after registering a 76 Wednesday night.

Josh Fisher leads the tie-down calf roping with an 8.2, followed by Colt Carter (9.0), Johnny Emmons (9.2), and Budge Herbert (9.3).

The top spot in team roping still goes to Shane Phillips and Martin Lucero (4.83), but Terry Cox and J.W. Beck move into second place with a 5.35.  Shawn Lyday and J.W. Beck are currently third (5.49), while Joel Buch and Martin Lucero find themselves in fourth place with a time of 5.70.

Paige Armstrong is the new leader in barrel racing after clocking a 17.187 Thursday evening and Amber Batchelos, a cowgirl out of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, raced into second place with a 17.229.  Bailey Catalina (17.247) is currently running third, Susan Smith is in the fourth spot (17.337) and Tana Renick (17.399) has the fifth best time so far.

But look for the action to heat up as the Kueckelhan Ranch Rodeo heads into the final two nights of competion where 349 athletes battle to see who will ride out of Fannin County with just under $35,000 in prize money.