PRORODEO Sports News - October 3, 2025

Bull rider Ky Hamilton matched all four bulls in Sioux Falls en route to the Cinch Playoffs The Governor’s Cup championship. (PRCA photo by Click Thompson)

Bareback rider Rocker Steiner celebrated with fans in Sioux Falls after his championship ride. (PRCA photo by Click Thompson)

KY HAMILTON WINS BULL RIDING AT CINCH PLAYOFFS THE GOVERNOR’S CUP PRESENTED BY TEXAS PRECIOUS METALS By Zach Alvira T he story all season has been the race for No. 1 in the Hamilton followed Tristen Hutchings in the semifinals, who secured the first 90-point ride of the rodeo on Stock yards ProRodeo’s Insurrection. It set up Hamilton for a 90.75-point ride on Dakota Rodeo’s Puckered Up to win the round. In the finals, Hamilton was the only bull rider with a

PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings between Stet son Wright and Wacey Schalla in the bull riding. Ky Hamilton has been quietly waiting in the wings, clos ing the gap rodeo after rodeo as the season came to an end. The 25-year-old Mackay, Queensland, cowboy cashed a check for over $18,100 at the North Dakota Roughrider Cup Sept. 21. He followed it up with a $49,867 payday in Sioux Falls, S.D., winning the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup presented by Texas Precious Metals bull riding title by covering all four bulls throughout the weekend of Sept. 26-28. “This last week, it’s been awesome in North and South Dakota,” Hamilton said. “I knew there was a lot of money on the line. If I did my job, I knew it would help me make up some of the ground I wanted to make up.” Hamilton carried over momentum from his win in Man dan to the first round of the Governor’s Cup Friday, Sept. 26. His first ride of 88.75 points on Harper & Morgan Rodeo’s Muscle Man elevated him to the top of the leader board with a round win. He returned for Round 2 with an 87.5-point ride on Dakota Rodeo’s Sneaky Situation to finish second in the aggregate and advance to the semifinal round. The Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup started with the 12 cowboys and cowgirls in each event. The field was then trimmed to eight for the third performance on Sept. 28, followed by the Final Four sudden-death championship round.

qualified ride, bringing an end to the Governor’s Cup with a 91.75-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Cookies & Crème, the same bull Clayton Sellars rode in 2024 to win the Gover nor’s Cup. “At the end of the day, you just try and ride bulls, no matter whatever else other guys have done,” Hamilton said. “I just took care of business (in Sioux Falls) and won as much as I could, and it will set me up well for the NFR.” The wins in Mandan and Sioux Falls come at a pivotal time for Hamilton. The season ended on Sept. 30, with only the Duel at the Dunes in Roggen, Colo., as the last rodeo for cowboys to earn paychecks toward the world standings. Nearly $60,000 in two weekends has Hamilton com fortably in third in the standings, but the gap between him, Wright and Schalla, who took over the No. 1 spot in Sioux Falls, has decreased. Deficit or not, Hamilton knows anything can happen in Las Vegas in December. He was crowned PRCA Bull Riding World Champion in 2023 in dramatic fashion. This year, he’s riding at a high level at the right time, building momentum every time he climbs on the back of a bull. Hamilton said he will take time off between Sioux Falls

8

PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS