ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 3, 2021

DIRECTOR’S CUT SCOTT KANIEWSKI September push will send cowboys to Thomas & Mack T he ProRodeo season has set up September for a final month like no other. This isn’t last year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo race. But that’s been evident for the last several months. As predicted, the races to this point have been tight and RUSH TO RICHES See Page 48 of this edition to read about competitors racing to make the Wrangler

National Finals Rodeo over the final month of the season. We’ve broken down races in all events to give fans a feel for the competitive nature of this season’s race to Vegas.

competitive. With so many rodeos happening every weekend, cowboys have been spread across the country, allowing for more money to be won at more rodeos, spreading the wealth. Cowboys throughout the association are quick to point out that with not everyone at the same rodeo like they were last year because of limited options due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the playing field has been spread out. That has led to races for the final few spots in all events being incredibly close. When this edition goes online, there will be 27 days left in the 2021 regular season. With more than 100 events scheduled over the last 30 days, the money is plentiful. Among the seven events at the NFR, only one event has a greater differential of $4,000 between 15th and 17th in the standings. That race is in bull riding, where one rider can clean up an entire event’s payout to take a huge jump in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. The closest race is in team roping heeling, where $828 separates 15th and 17th. And Nos. 16 and 17 shouldn’t just have their eyes on No. 15, they should be shooting for top 13, at least. The difference between 17th and 13th is $2,002. That’s one rodeo, and at some bigger rodeos, that’s not even first-place money. A third- or fourth-place finish could jump a cowboy multiple spots. Those big rodeos are out there, too. The ProRodeo Tour

Scott Kaniewski is the Media Director at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He previously served more than two years as the editor of ProRodeo Sports News. He has nearly two decades of experience in sports journalism, with the last few being consumed by ProRodeo.

presented by PendletonWhisky boasts seven events still to happen, including Filer, Idaho, Ellensburg, Wash., andWalla Walla, Wash., all concluding over Labor Day weekend. Puyallup, Wash., and Pendleton, Ore., are still on the docket too. The coup de grâce comes on the season’s final weekend when the Top 24 cowboys in the ProRodeo Tour presented by PendletonWhisky convene in Salinas, Calif. There, they’ll be competing for a share of $1 million and a chance to make significant strides in trying to qualify for the Wrangler NFR. After the Finals’ one-year detour to Arlington, Texas, last year, the NFR is back on schedule to return to theThomas & Mack Center. The cowboys are eager to get there. The ones who’ve never been to Las Vegas – including those who made their first NFR appearance in Arlington – want to experience the feel of the crowd all but sitting on top of them as they hit the arena floor. And the veterans looking to make another trip to their favorite rodeo are anxious to return.

ProRodeo Sports News 9/3/2021

ProRodeo.com

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