ProRodeo Sports News - June 25, 2021

incomplete. I have always put the big rodeos that are Tour rodeos at the top of my list.” Durfey knows how big a boost the ProRodeo Tour and Tour Finale can be. Last season, he won the Tour Finale in Rapid City, S.D., Sept. 26, to earn $8,740. That secured his 14th NFR qualification in the No. 12 position. “Right now, the ProRodeo Tour is probably more important than ever,” said Durfey, who is outside the top 50 in the world standings. “It puts an even- bigger emphasis of doing well at rodeos like Reno and Cheyenne or Salinas to get that huge bump because it takes a huge bump like that to make the NFR. I really think the way to the Finals is through the big rodeos, and it is great to get to the Tour Finale because of the timing of that rodeo late in the (regular season).” The Top 24 competitors in each event in the ProRodeo Tour Standings

advance to the Tour Finale and will compete for their share of prize money at the high-dollar rodeo. The Tour Finale at California Rodeo Salinas will crown the ProRodeo Tour champions. Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey, the 2013 PRCA World Champion, knows all too well the importance of every dollar earned. In 2020, he finished third in the world standings by $2,408. “At the end of the day, this is what we are doing it for is for more money,” said Hanchey, who leads the world standings. “Anytime we go to a Tour rodeo and it pays better than it did last year, that’s where we are wanting the direction of rodeo to be headed. “Every year one of my goals is to be at the Tour Finale. I wasn’t there last year at Rapid City, (S.D.) and I lost the world title by less than $3,000. I want to be at the Tour Finale and to be there at the end because that’s where the big money gets given away.” The Finale’s significant payout, which will be a

TUNE IN TO THE TOUR

The Tour Finale will air on The Cowboy Channel and will stream on the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus App. For more information, visit cowboychannelplus.com. 56 The number of rodeos on the ProRodeo Tour – not counting the Tour Finale – which includes upcoming rodeos like the Calgary Stampede, Cheyenne Frontier Days and the Pendleton Round-Up. $11 MILLION By the time the ProRodeo Tour Finale concludes in Salinas, Calif., Sept. 26, the ProRodeo Tour will have paid out approximately $11 million.

Bill Lawless photo

Bull rider Sage Kimzey competes at the 2019 Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up, which he won. He will try and pick up valuable ProRodeo Tour points and earnings in Pendleton again in September.

record amount, will play a pivotal role in determining the Top 15 in the world standings to catapult athletes into the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “The Tour rodeos are on my priority list for the year,” bull rider Josh Frost said. “All the Tour rodeos are good rodeos, and it’s a bonus that we get to have a Tour Finale with a bunch of money added. The guy trying to make the NFR or win the world dang sure wants to be in Salinas that last weekend of the season.” Frost made his NFR debut in 2019 and finished 18th in the world standings last season. “I want to win all the big rodeos, and there are only a couple that are still on the list for me to win, Salinas being one of them,” Kimzey said. “So is Cheyenne, and I have two really big opportunities this year. With the Tour Finale paying so much, a guy dang sure wants to go to all the Tour rodeos and do well. There is a direct correlation of how a guy does at Tour rodeos and where they are sitting in the world standings. I’m sitting where I am in the world, and the Tour rodeos are a big part of that.”

Kent Soule photo Tie-down roper Tyson Durfey warms up before the 2018 St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo. Durfey is making a push for his 15th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and ProRodeo Tour stops are a key part of his plan.

ProRodeo Sports News 6/25/2021

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