PRORODEO Sports News - October 3, 2025

ROUGHSTOCK COWBOYS END SEASON WITH INAUGURAL DUEL AT THE DUNES CHAMPIONSHIPS By Zach Alvira T he PRORODEO road had one more stop before the end of the regular season on Sept. 30. The Duel at the Dunes, set on the sand dunes I’m blessed to be out here doing this,” Lees said. “Ready to get back at it.”

The three events were broken up into two sections for the long round, with the top three scores moving on to a showdown round. Lees made the most of his first ride on Cervi Champion ship Rodeo’s Colorado Cayenne with 86 points to win the long round. The No. 19 bareback rider in the world standings, Lees entered the Duel at the Dunes with the hope of ending his 2025 season with momentum heading into 2026. When he saw he drew Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Womanizer in the short round, a world champion NFR bucking horse, he knew his odds were good. “I knew that she had been there, done that and been Horse of the Year before,” Lees said. “I’ve actually been on her a long time ago and she gave me a pretty good stinger in my neck. But I was able to get her back a little bit.” Lees followed up his long-round ride of 86 points with an 88-point trip in the short round. He beat out Orin Larsen’s 87.5-point ride on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Wild Thang and Waylon Bourgeois’ 84-point ride on Cervi Champion

behind the Cervi Ranch and between the first and 18th holes at the new Rodeo Dunes Golf Club in Roggen, Colo., hosted 20 of the best roughstock cowboys in saddle bronc, bareback and bull riding to compete one last time. Many of the cowboys were comfortably in the Top 15 of the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings, meaning they had already punched their tickets to the Wrangler Nation al Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December. But there were still a few vying for a chance to ride at the Thomas & Mack Center, making the Duel at the Dunes a make-or-break event for cowboys on the bubble. The final standings audit will be watched closely by some, but bareback rider Jacob Lees, saddle bronc rider Weston Patterson and bull rider Hudson Bolton ended the season on a high note with a little more cash in their pockets and as the inaugural champions of the Duel at the Dunes. “I kind of struggled the last bit of the season and it cost me going to the NFR, but a new season starts (Oct. 1) and

Bareback rider Jacob Lees ended his 2025 season on a high note with the inaugural championship at the Duel at the Dunes. (PRCA photo by Mallory Beinborn)

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