ProRodeo Sports News - August 19, 2022

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK

Hailey Rae photo

Tie-down roper Riley Webb is trying to cap off his rookie season by qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Wrangler NFR push now in full swing for cowboys

N ew Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson now seemingly ends every interview with ‘Let’s Ride!’ Corny yes. But it is appropriate especially for PRCA cowboys. There’s just more than a month left in the 2022 PRCA regular season and contestants need to ‘Let it Ride’ as they make one final push to make the covetedWrangler National Finals Rodeo by the regular season’s end on Sept. 30. Cowboys are trying to best utilize their rodeo counts – except bull riders who can go to unlimited rodeos – and cash as many checks as possible. Now, more than ever, every run or ride counts. Consider last year, bareback rider Zach Hibler made the Wrangler NFR by finishing in the No. 15 spot in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings by a mere $683 over No. 16 Wyatt Denny. Steer wrestler Curtis Cassidy qualified in the No. 15 spot with just $184 more than No. 16 Chance Howard. No. 15 team roping header Quinn Kelser edged out No. 16 Riley Minor by $525. Team roping heeler Joseph Harrison eked past No. 16 Paul Eaves by $1,232. Saddle bronc rider Spencer Wright entered last year’s

$10,000 stipends for making the NFR.

So, it’s obvious to why contestants crisscross the country in late August and the month of September traveling from the West Coast to Cumberland, Maine, for example, to earn dollars that may be the difference in qualifying for the NFR or not. The big difference maker in contestants earning trips to Vegas or not will come at the inaugural Cinch Playoffs Sept. 8-11 at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, which will have a $1 million payout. The Cinch Playoffs, like the NFR Open powered by RAM in July in Colorado Springs, Colo., will have some winners walk away with $25,000 or more. That kind of payday could swing the NFR gate wide open for a cowboy. Remember the two most common goals for PRCA contestants is to No. 1 make the NFR and No. 2 capture a gold buckle. Those are accomplishments no one can ever take away. That’s why cowboys work tirelessly at their craft. The blood. The sweat. The tears. They are all worth it

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News . He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

to cowboys or they wouldn’t travel thousands and thousands and thousands of miles a year fromOct. 1 to Sept. 30 to chase gold buckle dreams. Gold buckle dreams aren’t words in a country song. They are a way of life. In the coming weeks, more stories will unfold, and dreams will be realized. Now is the time for fans to sit back and see how things will shake out and the fields are shaped for the 2022 Wrangler NFR Dec. 1-10 in Vegas.

NFR at theThomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas in the No. 15 position, beating out K’s Thompson by only $89. No. 15 tie-down roper John Douch made his NFR debut by having $658 more than Andrew Burks. Not only do cowboys who qualify for the Wrangler NFR earn the right to put it on their respective résumés for life, but they also each receive

ProRodeo Sports News 8/19/2022

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