ProRodeo Sports News - August 23, 2019

David Seymore photo Team ropers Kaleb Driggers, right, and Junior Noguiera won the average with a 16.3-second time on three head at the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup Rodeo. Driggers and Noguiera each earned $8,283.

Driggers and Nogueira set the tone in Dodge City by starting off with two 5.0-second runs. “We made two good runs on the first two,” said Nogueira, 28. “We had quite a bit of a lead (going into the finals). We knew what we had to do (in the finals), and we had a good steer and made a sharp, clean run.” Driggers and Nogueira stopped the clock in 6.3 seconds in the finals to win the average by four-tenths of a second over Chad Masters and Joseph Harrison. “We’ve never had a really good winter, and this feels the same ,” Nogueira said. “We had some bad luck here and there. I think now the horses are working great and I have a good feeling. We know we have to have a good (regular season), but to be a world champion we know we have to have a great Finals.” The last three years Driggers and Noguiera have been solid at the Wrangler NFR. They earned $107,942 in 2016, $120,494 in 2017 and $157,513 in 2018. They’ve finished as reserve world champions each year. Nogueira did capture the all-around world championship in 2016 and made PRCA history by becoming the first Brazilian to don a gold buckle.

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“We are just thinking about doing the best we can every single time,” Noguiera said. “Once you make the Finals, everybody has a chance to win a lot of money and win the gold buckle.”

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Rusty Wright......182 pts. on 2 2. Ryder Wright....................179 3. Tegan Smith..................... 175

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Adam Gray....... 29.4 sec. on 3 2. Colt Papy........................ 30.7 3. Chance Oftedahl. ............ 31.1

STEER ROPING 1. Tuf Cooper....... 38.4 sec. on 3 2. Shay Good.......................39.1 3. Trevor Brazile.................. 45.5

BULL RIDING 1. Koby Radley. ..173.5 pts. on 2 2. Jesse Petri........................168 3. Garrett Tribble............ 87 on 1

Complete results/Page 66

ProRodeo Sports News 8/23/2019

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