ProRodeo Sports News - April 26, 2024

MANAGER’S MESSAGE TRACY RENCK

Tracy Renck is the Manager of Communications and Media. He previously served three years as the editor of the ProRodeo Sports News, and before that he spent seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism

with the last decade-plus consumed by ProRodeo.

Ric Andersen photo The champions from the San Angelo (Texas) Cinch-Out, left to right, bareback rider Keenan Hayes, steer wrestler Stephen Culling, tie-down roper John Douch, saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright, team ropers Jake Long and Clint Summers, barrel racer Jackie Ganter and bull rider Hayes Weight show off the crystals they received for winning. Culling won via a tiebreaker over Ty Erickson.

San Angelo Rodeo, Chute-Out full of excitement R odeo is a huge part of the community of San Angelo, Texas. The first San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo took place in1932. The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo has grown by leaps and bounds over the years – especially in the last several years. It has gone from being one of the top 25 paying PRCA rodeos to inside the top 10. The contestants were not only appreciative of the payout but also the knowledgeable fans at Foster Communications Coliseum, which consistently had sell-out crowds of 5,000-plus spectators. “It’s awesome here in (San) Angelo, it is kind of a smaller little dome, and they love rodeo, and they know rodeo,” said Newman, a three-time NFR qualifier in 2021-23. “It’s electrifying out in that arena it is like a mini NFR.”

In 2023, the San Angelo Rodeo had a total payout of $699,710 – making it the eighth-highest paying regular season PRCA rodeo. The 2024 San Angelo Rodeo paid out essentially the same amount and as such it can be a gamechanger in a cowboy’s season. Take bareback rider Cooper Cooke. The young Idaho cowboy swept the competition to earn $17,070, which pushed him into first in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. With some quick math, all the San Angelo Rodeo winners won at least $8,000. The remaining list of champs consisted of co-champion steer wrestlers Matt Reeves ($10,154) and Cole Walker ($16,547); team ropers Shay Dixon Carroll/Jace Helton ($9,692 each); saddle bronc riders Sage Newman ($12,966) and Tanner Butner ($8,110); tie-down roper Dylan Hancock ($12,472); breakaway roper Brooke Eddy ($9,908) barrel racer Wenda Johnson ($20,983) and bull rider Scott Wells ($12,217). Paydays like these push contestants closer to coveted Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bids – and at the very least give contestants funds to keep going down the PRCA trail to continue to chase their gold buckle dreams.

The PRCA rodeo festivities concluded in San Angelo on April 20 with the Cinch-Chute – and that was essentially a mini NFR. Two of the Chute-Out winners were reigning PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion Keenan Hayes and two-time PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion Ryder Wright. The Chute-Out champs earned $7,500 each – except for co-champion steer wrestlers Stephen Culling and Ty Erickson, who pocketed $5,250 each and bull rider Hayes Weight, who collected a $12,500 check as he was the only cowboy to ride for eight seconds in the three-man finals. Of course, there was another sell-out crowd for the Cinch Chute-Out and celebrity/professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin, a true-blue Texas phenomenon, was even sitting in the stands taking in the action. From a personal standpoint, covering both the rodeo and the Cinch Chute-Out was a treat. The San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo Association and rodeo manager Josh “Hambone” Hilton deserve high praise and I can’t wait for a return visit.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/26/2024

ProRodeo.com

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