ProRodeo Sports News 2023 Year-End Edition

RAM TOP GUN AWARD

Best Performer

BY DAGIN RENCK Special to ProRodeo Sports News K y Hamilton delivered a performance at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge that was a series of wows, captivating the rodeo world. The Australian dazzled inside the Thomas & Mack Center. It left fans in awe of his ease to reach the eight-second mark. Hamilton finished his trip to Las Vegas with a clean sweep, claiming the PRCA Bull Riding World Championship, the NFR average, and the RAM Top Gun Award. Over 10 rounds, the 23-year-old amassed $239,060 in earnings, not including ground money. He was honored to stand alone in a field littered with elite NFR competitors. “That’s pretty special,” Hamilton said about winning the Top Gun Award. “You are going against the best rodeo contestants in the world and to come out on top against those great cowboys and cowgirls, that’s a pretty special thing to do.” The Top Gun Award was created in Hamilton nabs RAM Top Gun Award as NFR top earner

Ky Hamilton won the RAM Top Gun Award at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo after earning $239,060 in Las Vegas, not including ground money. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Roseanna Sales

2010 and is given to the contestant who wins the most money at the Wrangler NFR in one event. Barrel racer Hailey Kinsel set the record for most money earned by a Top Gun earner at the 2020 Wrangler NFR at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, taking home $270,615. Hamilton becomes the third bull rider to win the award, the first since Chase Dougherty in 2018. It came as a byproduct of the cowboy’s narrow focus: winning a world title. “I didn’t even think about trying to win the Top Gun award. It didn’t even cross my mind before I got there,” said Hamilton. “I was just hell bent on winning a world title. When I got there, that’s all I cared about and that’s all I was thinking about. It goes to show that when you work hard at something and you put in the time and the effort, you get rewarded. Sometimes in more ways than one.” As the 2023 Top Gun winner, Hamilton received a $20,000 voucher for a RAM vehicle, a one-of-a-kind RAM Top Gun-branded firearm from Commemorative Firearms and a custom Top Gun buckle from Montana Silversmiths. He plans on cashing in, looking to buy a new RAM Truck. “I for sure plan on using (the RAM voucher) it. I need a new truck, so it will go to good use,” he said.

PAST RECIPIENTS 2010: Trevor Brazile, tie-down roping & team roping, $211,509

2011: Kaycee Feild, bareback riding, $179,327 2012: Mary Walker, barrel racing, $146,941 2013: Sherry Cervi, barrel racing, $155,899 2014: Sage Kimzey, bull riding, $175,466 2015: Steven Peebles, bareback riding, $234,054 2016: Tyler Waguespack, steer wrestling, $213,218 2017: Marcos Costa, tie-down roping, $195,519 2018: Chase Dougherty, bull riding, $209,058 2019: Clayton Biglow, bareback riding, $243,891

2020: Hailey Kinsel, barrel racer, $270,615 2021: Kaycee Feild, bareback rider, $231,564 2022: Zeke Thurston, saddle bronc rider, $256,078 * 2010 was the only year that money earned in multiple events counted toward the RAM Top Gun.

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

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