ProRodeo Sports News - Feb. 7, 2020

Lockett won the San Angelo (Texas) Rodeo with Aaron Tsinigine, which qualified Lockett for RodeoHouston (Texas). Then, paired with Ty Blasingame, Lockett won in Houston. The two wins for Lockett were worth a collective $57,780 toward the world standings. “It’s hard to have a $50,000 month, but someone will do it at The American or do it at Houston,” Lockett said. “Those are good months for the rest of the year, but in the winter it’s one day or one weekend.” Saddle bronc rider Sterling Crawley is familiar with how turbulent the race for the Top 15 can be, having made six trips to the Wrangler NFR since winning the rookie title in 2011. “There are so many variables, when one chip falls differently it dang sure can have a butterfly effect,” the 28-year-old cowboy said. The 2019 season was smooth sailing for the Texas cowboy after launching from 50th to sixth in the world standings in mid-February. After winning the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas, it was just a matter of keeping with the pace. “It’s always been the rule of thumb that nothing is definite until Oct. 1,” Crawley said. “If you win the rodeos you named off (from the winter run), heck, three of them, you should have the NFR made by the guesstimates we take each year for what it’ll take.” Crawley entered the 2019Wrangler NFR ranked seventh in the world with $114,427. Although he was in the middle of the pack, he was $23,616 away from falling below the $90,811 cutoff for the Top 15. For tie-down ropers, the cutoff for the Top 15 in 2019 was $86,260. Caleb Smidt was way ahead of the pace to make the cutoff by mid- March with $61,875 earned thanks to winning The American for a $50,000 boost in the world standings. “I don’t get worked up about how much money I have before Reno (Nev.),” Smidt said. “I’ve had good winters and bad winters. Some years I show up to Reno with $15,000, so I don’t get too far into it and try to win what I can and get ready for the summer and go into it with a positive note.” Now 30, Smidt’s looking to recreate last year’s mindset, already ranking 20th in the 2020 world standings with a packed itinerary for the winter run. “There’s not a whole lot of rodeos, but all the ones you go to are big ones,” Smidt said. The key to success remains the same no matter what time of year ProRodeo events offer big payouts. “If you’re doing mental gymnastics over the outcome, you won’t perform your best,” Larsen said. “You need to realize you are doing it because you like to get on bucking horses and not because there’s a good payday at the end of it.” MAKING THE CUT

PRCA ProRodeo photos by Clay Guardipee Tie-down roper Caleb Schmidt, above, and saddle bronc rider Sterling Crawley, below, both qualified for the 2019 Wrangler NFR after big wins during the winter.

ProRodeo Sports News 2/7/2020

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