ProRodeo Sports News 2023 Year-End Edition

JULY 29 – The matchup was explosive: one of the hottest bronc riders on the planet against one of ProRodeo’s best horses for all the marbles at one of the biggest events of the season, the Hardgrass Bronc Match in Pollockville, Alberta on July 29. When Ben Andersen leapt from his saddle after riding Calgary Stampede’s X-9 Xplosive Skies during the short go round, he likely landed back in Las Vegas for his second trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Andersen tied for the high marked ride of the season, scoring 94 points aboard the electric bucking horse. Andersen clinched the win and added $16,239 to a fabulous July run. AUG. 20 – All the pieces of the puzzle fit at the recent Xtreme Broncs Finals in Rapid City, S.D., on Aug. 20. Wyatt Casper, 27, won the event with a score of 181 points on two head at WW Grandstand Arena, earning $30,838. AUG. 30 – Bareback rider Trenten Montero, who qualified for the 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, passed away due to injuries he suffered during a ride on Aug. 10 at the Owyhee County Rodeo in Homedale, Idaho. He was 31. Following Montero’s 79-point ride on Macza Pro Rodeo’s Half Crow in Homedale, the horse rolled on top of him, resulting in multiple, serious injuries. Montero was hospitalized at Saint Alphonsus Trauma Center in Boise, Idaho. He was 24th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $58,300. death round at the Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash. He won the event and $13,888, which helped him to his first Wrangler NFR. SEPT. 12 – The Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale took place Sept. 11-12 in Pendleton, Ore. Stetson Wright won the event and the Xtreme Bulls Tour season title for the second year in a row and earned $29,093 at the event.’ SEPT. 24 – Tuf Cooper entered the last two weeks of the PRCA regular season on the outside looking in to qualify for the Wrangler NFR. The Decatur, Texas, cowboy did everything possible to secure his 15th NFR trip. He earned $10,602 during the weekend of Sept. 22-24, with his biggest payday of $3,196, coming after winning the Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo in San Bernardino, Calif. SEPT. 10 – Bareback rider Jayco Roper had a 91-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Agent Lynx during the final-four, sudden

AUGUST

Laura Storey photo

JUNE 4 – Six-time PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion Kaycee Feild, above, won the Darby (Mont.) Extreme Barebacks June 4. Feild, who also

JUNE

won the event in 2021, earned $13,361. JUNE 24 – Statler Wright drew Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Indian Burn in the finals of the Reno Rodeo, a horse he had never been on. He didn’t back down from the challenge, registering an 88.5-point ride to secure the average title with 252 points on three head, edging out Kade Bruno by half a point. It was his second win in a row at the Reno Rodeo. He pocketed $13,308 during that trip to the “Biggest Little City in the World”. year ProRodeo career. He flipped that script on its head in 2023. Harris cashed checks at six of the eight rodeos at which he competed, to not only break the timed-event and single-event records, but also the Cowboy Christmas overall earnings record with $40,561 earned from June 29-July 5. JULY 15 – Steer wrestler Luke Branquinho, a five-time PRCA World Champion, headlined a star-studded 2023 induction class for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colo. Branquinho was joined by two-time PRCA World Champion Saddle Bronc rider Cody Wright (2008 and 2010), World Champion Team Roper Doyle Gellerman (1981), pickup man Kenny Clabaugh, rodeo notables Butch Knowles and Tom Feller and standout bareback horse Nightjacket, rodeo committees from the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo and Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, N.J., and barrel racer Sherry (Combs) Johnson, the 1962 WPRA World Champion and WPRA notable Fay Ann Horton Leach. JULY 15 – Bull rider Trey Holston had an unforgettable NFR Open powered by RAM in Colorado Springs, Colo. Holston was the only cowboy to ride all four bulls, highlighted by an 89-point ride on JC Kitaif Pro Rodeo’s Rico Suave in the final-four showdown round. The weekend ended with Holston taking home $30,735 and the RAM Top Gun Award. JULY 16 – Bull rider Jared Parsonage was the top money earner at the lucrative Calgary Stampede taking home $68,233. JULY 24 – Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey was the top money earner at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, collecting an $18,202 payday. JULY JULY 5 – San Angelo, Texas, tie-down roper Ty Harris had never won more than $7,500 in a single year during Cowboy Christmas in his seven

SEPTEMBER

SEPT. 30 – Bareback rider Mason Clements, right, knew what was at stake. The Spanish Fork, Utah, cowboy was in 19th place in the PRCA | RAM World Standings and had plenty of ground to make up to get in the coveted Top 15 in the last weekend of the 2023 regular season. Clements delivered at the inaugural Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., Sept. 28-30. Clements won the rodeo with an 87.5-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Two Buck Chuck and earned his fourth NFR qualification.

Clay Guardipee photo

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2022

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