ProRodeo Sports News - July 27, 2018

R OUND THE SHORT

BY THE NUMBERS

The collective payout of the last three Wrangler ProRodeo Tour rodeos – Nampa, Idaho; Salinas, Calif.; and Spanish Fork, Utah. Fourteen of the 22 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour rodeos are com- pleted. The Wrangler Tour con- sists of 22 of the PRCA’s biggest rodeos and culminates with the Justin Finale in Puyallup, Wash., Sept. 6-9. The amount of money earned by four-time reigning Bull Riding World Champion Sage Kimzey in 2018 to place him atop the July 25 PRCA | RAM World Standings. Kimzey’s total is $48 less than what Cody Teel had ($201,978) to win the 2012 bull riding world title. Kimzey set the PRCA record for most money won in a single year in bull riding in 2017 with his $436,479, which included ground money. The combined money earned by reigning Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion Ryder Wright at Wrangler Tour rodeos in Nampa, Salinas and Spanish Fork. That trio of performances vaulted Wright from ninth to sixth place in the July 25 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $80,766.

Steer wrestler Dakota Eldridge, a five-time qualifier for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (2013-17), will miss the remainder of the 2018 season after suffering a left knee injury July 17 at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days. “I injured my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament) and lateral meniscus,” said Eldridge, 26. “I’m going to have surgery. There’s just no way a brace will hold it together with everything torn. The doctor said if it was just an ACL I would be able to brace up and tape up and get by, but where I tore everything else in there a brace just wouldn’t work.” Eldridge is hoping to have surgery on the knee the first week of August. He won the Wrangler NFR average in 2015 and 2017. He finished second in the world standings in 2015 and third in the world in 2017. “As soon as I can after the surgery, I’m going to start going to the gym and get in better shape than I ever have been,” Eldridge said. The Elko, Nev., cowboy was ninth in the July 25 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $52,984. “Injuries are part of it and are expected as a steer wrestler, but forever I thought I was invincible,” Eldridge said. “This is a big bummer. I felt like I was more prepared this year, and I really felt like I had a great chance to win the world. But, everything happens for a reason, and maybe God had a different plan for me the rest of the summer.” Eldridge is hoping to return to competition in January at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. Though Eldridge will miss the season, bareback rider Mason Clements will only be sidelined a couple of weeks. Clements, who was fourth in the latest world standings with $81,321, also suffered a left knee injury, hurting it July 19 at a non-sanctioned PRCA rodeo. According to Clements, he has a meniscus tear and some cartilage that needs to be cleaned out. Clements had arthroscopic surgery July 26 in Salt Lake City. Clements is planning on returning to action for the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour’s Farm-City Pro Rodeo in Hermiston, Ore., Aug. 8-11. “When it hit, and everything happened, it felt really similar to the last two times I’ve torn my ACL, but after the MRI and further review with the doctor, this is going to be a quick-and-easy deal,” Clements said. “This is a blessing in disguise. Now, I can relax and pump the brakes and get stronger, hungry and come back better than I was.” Clements made his Wrangler NFR debut last season, finishing 10th in the world standings with $166,486. Whitaker wins two steer wrestling checks in Iron River Kyle Whitaker made PRCA history at the Upper Peninsula Championship Rodeo, July 13-14, in Iron River, Mich. Whitaker became the first cowboy to win money twice in the same event at the same rodeo because of the PRCA’s new secondary entry policy. Whitaker placed twice in the steer wrestling – winning in 4.0 seconds and tying for fourth place in 5.1 seconds. For his performance, Whitaker earned $1,259. “For me it was a good deal because I was going all the way up there anyway,” Whitaker said. “I had a green horse and that was the first weekend I hauled him to any rodeos in the bulldogging. So for me, it was a no-brainer, I can get two rodeo runs on my horse at the same place. I also think it is good for the rodeos from their perspective.” Whitaker said the horse he was riding was Fridge, 9, a horse he has had since the end of May. Whitaker has won the PRCA Linderman Award a record nine times, including the last three in a row. Injuries Hit Hard Eldridge out for season; Clements to have knee scoped

407 NUMBER OF PRCA-SANCTIONED RODEOS HELD SO FAR IN 2018

ProRodeo Sports News 7/27/2018

ProRodeo.com

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