ProRodeo Sports News - December 16, 2022

CINCH PLAYOFFS

Saddle bronc rider Layton Green won the final four round at the Cinch Playoffs with an 87.5-point trip on Calgary Stampede’s Zoaria Hills. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Rod Connor

Mentality Matters

Layton Green captures Cinch Playoffs title

BY TANNER BARTH T he final weeks of the ProRodeo regular season have been kind to saddle bronc rider Layton Green over the years. He dipped into the well again Sept. 11, at the Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash. For the second straight season, the Millarville, Alberta native walked out of the final rodeo of the NFR Playoff Series presented by PendletonWhisky with a championship. “I really like these formats, I seem to always have luck at these events,” said Green, a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “The Tour Finals treated me really good last year. I always look forward to coming out here and competing and it’s just a great event.” Green captured the title with an 87.5-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Zoaria Hills in the four-man finals, two and a half points better than Kole Ashbacher in the No. 2 spot. It’s a horse he said he was familiar with but had never climbed on him until his latest trip to the lower 48 states. “I have never been on that horse before,” he said. “He bucks really hard, he’s not the easiest horse in the world to ride. There’s some stuff to him to that makes it tricky, but if you do your job, he’ll give you a chance to win first just

about every time.” Over the course of four rides at the Cinch Playoffs, Green placed in the top four of each round, which included winning the second performance with an 88-point ride on Korkow Rodeo’s Onion Ring. The windfall punched his ticket to his third trip to Las Vegas. He said staying positive was key for his success this season. “I really just focused on staying positive throughout the season and drew some really good horses early on in the year,” Green said. “I went through a spell for a while where things weren’t going my way. “But you just have to try to keep bettering yourself every horse that you get on. If you do that the cream always rises to the top. So, that’s the mindset I’ve carried with me throughout the season.” He said it’s key when you have good rides that you look back on those instead of pondering on the latter. “It’s huge and it’s a hard thing to do. "It’s pretty easy to get down and want to go to changing your stuff when you aren’t feeling good,” he said. “You have to sit back and remember the good ones. You have to work at the basics and when you get one that bucks you have to know it’s going to go well.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/16/2022

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