ProRodeo Sports News | 2020 Year-End Edition | Dec.18, 2020

Winning $8,740 in Rapid City granted him a spot at the Wrangler NFR and pushed him into the $2 million club for total career earnings. Jacob Talley was like a stealth bomber, slipping under the radar in the first two rounds but then coming out on top at the Tour Finale. The Louisiana cowboy didn’t place in the first two rounds, but he entered the semifinals sixth in the average. “When you’re with the best guys, the main thing is horsepower,” Talley said, referring to his mount, Baby, SamDixon’s 10-year-old American Quarter Horse. “She’s the right kind of horse for any setup.” Talley won the semifinals with a 3.7-second run and the finals in 3.6 seconds to take home $8,801, moving from third to second in the world standings. TALLYING HORSEPOWER

Going into Rapid City, Wright was 18th in the world standings in saddle bronc riding, but he jumped five spots to 13th after earning $7,974 at the Tour Finale. “It all hung on today for me, and from where I was sitting it was either go down spurring or come out on top, so I told my dad (Cody) I would spur regardless of what happens,” Wright said. Only two saddle bronc riders covered their ride in the finals, andWright edged Shorty Garrett with a 90-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Lunatic FromHell. In 2019, then-rookie Wright won the Tour Finale when he set the Puyallup, Wash., saddle bronc riding record with a 93.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Yesterday’s Delivery. The 2020 Tour Finale had the same ending for the 21-year-old. “I feel like I just won a go-round at the NFR,” Wright said. “And heading into the NFR I don’t care if I’m starting out in 15th or first place, but first is where I want to end – at the end of the rodeo I will be No. 1.”

FINALE WINNERS BAREBACK RIDING Jess Pope, Waverly, Kan. STEER WRESTLING Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La. TEAM ROPING Riley Minor/Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash. SADDLE BRONC RIDING Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah TIE-DOWN ROPING Tyson Durfey, Brock, Texas BARREL RACING Ryann Pedone, Sunset, Texas BULL RIDING Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas

NO MINOR FEAT

For the first time in about a decade, Washington state brothers Riley and Brady Minor didn’t qualify for the NFR in team roping, but finishing the 2020 season with a $9,788 check at the Tour Finale softened the blow. “It’ll hurt not to make the Finals, but it’s no guarantee when roping against the best guys,” Riley said in September. “With COVID, it was hard to make the ground up, and a lot of good guys didn’t make the Finals.” The Minors have competed at the NFR together 10 times (2008-09, 2011 and 2013-19). Brady also qualified in 2006 when Riley started his rookie year halfway through the season. “With the best 24 guys there it can be awfully tough, but the main goal is to make it back to the top-eight round since that’s where the most money is at,” Riley said. “But in our situation, we didn’t have a chance to make the Finals (NFR), so we were trying to win as much money as we could.” Their Rapid City efforts pushed Riley and Brady from 27th to 23rd in the world standings for team roping heading and heeling, respectively. MORE THAN HE COULD ASK FOR Winning the Justin Boots Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash., helped bull rider Jeff Askey make his NFR debut in 2016. Although the name has changed and COVID-19 pushed the event to a new location, the Pennsylvania-born cowboy used the Tour Finale to help secure his spot in the Finals. The top eight scores on one head were the deciding factor for advancing at the Tour Finale. Askey’s 80.5-point ride in the first round was the sixth highest, but that’s all he needed to enter the semifinals. He placed third in the semifinals with an 87.5-point ride and was the only bull rider to make a qualified ride in the finals with an 82-point trip on Dakota Rodeo’s Sitting Bull. Askey picked up $10,934 in Rapid City, which pushed him from 10th to sixth in the world standings. STETSON DOUBLING UP Winning the Tour Finale’s saddle bronc riding for the second year in a row by a half point was a life-changing event for Stetson Wright.

Jacob Talley acknowledges the crowd after taking top honors in steer wrestling at the Tour Finale. Jackie Jensen photo

ProRodeo Sports News 12/18/2020

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