ProRodeo Sports News - August 7, 2020

WRANGLER NFR QUALIFYING

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey competes during the 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Hanchey, the 2013 world champion, is eyeing his 11th consecutive trip to the Wrangler NFR.

Past world champs weigh in on what it will take money-wise to get to Finals NUMBER? What’s the

BY TRACY RENCK T he year 2020 will never be forgotten in the history of the world and more specifically in the PRCA. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the definition of normal. Rodeos were halted in mid-March and resumed in some capacity the third week of May. The craziness and uncertainty of the schedule have veteran cowboys trying to figure out what it’s going to take to be in the Top 15 in the PRCA

| RAMWorld Standings and qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, scheduled for Dec. 3-12 in Las Vegas. The PRCA regular season ends Sept. 30. “I think it is going to take $57,500 to get a bull rider into the Top 15 and go to the NFR,” said six-time reigning PRCAWorld Champion Bull Rider Sage Kimzey. “We don’t really know what all is left at this point, and it is going to be a lot harder for guys to win this year because all the top guys are going to the same rodeos.” Kimzey is first in the Aug. 4 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $78,908. “I think the momentum deal is the biggest deal that has affected me,” said Kimzey, 26. “My body is used to getting on a lot of bulls all the time

and that’s how it has been ever since I was 18. It took me a long time to get back in the swing of things and get back in bull rider shape. It doesn’t matter how good your health and general fitness, there’s only so much you can train to mimic the strain that your body takes from bull riding. I’m just now getting back to the point where I feel like I’m riding like I’m capable of.” Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey, the 2013 world champion and 10- time NFR qualifier, also crunched some numbers. “I think $45,000 is kind of the number everybody is shooting for to make the NFR,” said Hanchey, who finished second in the 2019 world standings. “It could be a little less or a little more, and we will know a lot

ProRodeo Sports News 8/7/2020

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