ProRodeo Sports News - April 17, 2020

DIRECTOR’S CUT SCOTT KANIEWSKI

Tourney has fans voting on favorite cowboys I f you haven’t heard, we at ProRodeo Sports News and ProRodeo.com have unveiled a digital rodeo tournament to help our fans have a little fun during this time of uncertainty. The PRCA Digital Rodeo Tournament (DRT) And don’t worry, if you are receiving the printed edition of ProRodeo Sports News the first week of May, you still have time to get involved. Just head over to ProRodeo.com. We’re releasing events in stages. During the first week, bareback riding and steer

presented by The Cowboy Channel takes the top 16 competitors in the 2020 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings in each event – bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding – and pits them in head-to-head matchups similar to what happens in the NCAA Tournament in men’s and women’s basketball. The competitors are seeded according to their spot in the world standings. The cowboy or cowgirl in the top spot in the standings will open the tournament against the No. 16 competitor. For example, in bareback riding, TimO’Connell is seeded No. 1 because he leads the standings, and he’ll go up against Logan Patterson, 16th in the standings. No, these guys aren’t going to meet up somewhere and climb on a bucker and see what happens. That wouldn’t be right in this time of social distancing. This is where rodeo fans come into play. It’s going to be up to you to decide who advances to the next round, who advances to the semifinals and the finals, and ultimately, who you crown the champion of the DRT. Fans and competitors alike can now vote daily at ProRodeo.com.

wrestling were open for voting for the first round. The following week will be saddle bronc riding and tie-down roping, followed by team roping (headers vs. headers and heelers vs. heelers), then barrel racing and bull riding. After that, it’s on to the quarterfinals. The goal here is to have fun. And we want to hear from you. Feel free to screenshot your ballots and share them with us on our social media platforms. We want to see who you’re voting for. And so do your favorite cowboys. Find them on social networks and let them know you voted for them. With cowboys waiting for the go-head to get back on the rodeo trail, they’re spending plenty of time on social media (like so many of us). Hopefully, by the time the DRT is over, we’ll be back to real-life rodeo. Until then, hopefully this helps us have a fun distraction as we get through these challenging times and keeps us semi-occupied until real ProRodeo is back on the real dirt. #StayHomeStayCowboyStrong

Scott Kaniewski is the Media Director at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He previously served more than two years as the editor of ProRodeo Sports News. He has nearly two decades of experience in sports journalism, with the last few being consumed by ProRodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/17/2020

ProRodeo.com

6