ProRodeo Sports News - July 22, 2022

NFR OPEN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

Santos on the move with NFR Open win Brian Gauck photo Taylor Santos would not be denied of his national championship at this year’s NFR Open. He took home a total $14,501 with the win.

Last season, Taylor Santos accomplished a lifelong goal of his to qualify for both the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in the tie-down roping and the National Finals Steer Roping. He checked another box off his bucket list at this year’s NFR Open powered by RAM and that was winning a national championship. The Creston, Calif. cowboy punched his ticket to the finals with the fastest run of the rodeo in the semis with a 7.9-second time. He was the third man out in the four-man short round and made it count. Santos clocked an 8.6-second time to edge out Sy Felton by 1.1 seconds for the win. He knew the calf provided an opportunity to be fast if he managed put together a clean run. “I was just trying to make a good run on that calf, and they had tied him in eight (seconds) last night, so I knew he’d be a good chance,” said Santos, 27. “I just tried to make the best run I could, and it worked out in my favor.”

As of July 19, he is sitting 15th in the PRCA | RAMWorld standings in tie-down roping and is 13th in steer roping after earning $14,501 at the NFR Open. He said while it can be a grind at times it actually helps his roping competing in both. Saturday night in Colorado Springs was a perfect example of that. “I steer roped in Cheyenne this morning ( July 16), then drove down here to rope,” he said. “I placed in the first round there and it gave me momentum to come down here and I was excited to come rope for more money. I love to do both events and think they go hand in hand.” He hopes the NFR Open win will start the ball rolling in the right direction with a key stretch of rodeo on the horizon. “It gives me a ton of momentum,” Santos said. “I think before this week started, I was about $10,000 out (of the Top 15), so just to get your name close there to where it becomes more of a level playing field with momentum for the rest of the summer.”

ProRodeo Sports News 7/22/2022

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