ProRodeo Sports News - April 28, 2023

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS

Pruitt continues to climb with win Comeback CINCH CHUTE-OUT

BY TANNER BARTH R iley Pruitt is no stranger to adversity. He suffered an MCL injury last September that required a four-month absence from the sport. Since his return in mid-January, he has set the ProRodeo world on fire. He claimed the title in San Antonio on Feb. 25, and followed that up with another strong performance at the San Angelo (Texas) Cinch Chute-Out in April. Pruitt advanced out of the first round with a blistering 7.4-second run. The top three contestants in the long round qualified for the Chute-Out. The Gering, Neb., tie-down roper was the last man out and knew he had to be at least 7.6 seconds. He delivered a 7.5-second run to secure the title. “I had a really good calf, this is a big win right here,” said Pruitt, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier (2016, 2019). “The $7,500 helps a lot, especially with us headed to California shortly. There’s not very many of these winter rodeos where a guy can win that much, but this is one of them. I’m glad it worked out for me.” The win has moved Pruitt inside the top 10 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings, a place he’s been on more than one occasion in his 13-year ProRodeo career. He believes horsepower can make all the difference in the world, and it’s showing with his most recent run of success. “Horsepower is important, I mean it’s huge in this sport,” he said. “If you don’t have a good horse, you’re on vacation basically. I know my horse Caddy will hit the barrier, run, and let me catch them every single time. From then on, I’m on my own and that’s how I like it.” Pruitt feels like things are starting to click this season but knows there’s more work to be done if he wants to rope in the Thomas & Mack Center this December for the first time in four years. “I feel like I’m roping pretty good right now, but I haven’t been going enough to keep the momentum going,” Pruitt said. “It’s hard when you have a couple weeks off in between rodeos. Regardless, I’m excited to rodeo this year, I really am. My horse has been good, and I feel like I’m roping good. I just need to keep drawing good and hopefully I can keep getting paid along the way.” He said carrying his spring success over into the summer will be key. “It’s going to take a couple more big wins for me to get back to Vegas this year,” he said. “I will need to get on a heater at the end of the summer and early fall. I just need to keep entering and drawing good.”

TOP SCORES

BAREBACK RIDING 1. Keenan Hayes ........................ 88 pts. 2. Jayco Roper .............................. 87.5 3. Taylor Broussard .......................... 87 STEER WRESTLING 1. Dalton Massey ...................... 3.3 sec. 2. Jacob Talley ................................. 3.4 3. Stockton Graves .......................... 4.0 TEAM ROPING 1. D. Egusquiza/L. Lord ............ 4.0 sec. 2. B. Saebens/J. Clay ....................... NT (Tie) W. Thorp/C. Snow ................ NT SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Stetson Wright ...................... 91 pts. 2. Kade Bruno ................................ 89.5 3. Sage Newman .............................. NS TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Riley Pruitt ............................ 7.5 sec. 2. Michael Otero .............................. 7.7 3. Riley Webb .................................. 8.8 BARREL RACING 1. Lindsay Sears ................... 13.80 sec. 2. Jordon Briggs .......................... 14.43 3. Sherry Cervi ............................. 19.48 BULL RIDING 1. Jeff Askey .............................. 88 pts. 2. Stetson Wright ............................ NS (Tie) Jack Gilmore ....................... NS

Complete results/Page 48

“There’s not very many of these winter rodeos where a guy can win that much, but this is one of them. I’m glad it worked out for me.” – RILEY PRUITT

Ric Andersen photo

Tie-down roper Riley Pruitt is on quite the roll. Pruitt captured his latest win at the San Angelo Cinch Chute-Out, where he pocketed $7,500.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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