ProRodeo Sports News - Oct.4, 2019

In the Sept. 23 standings, Mayfield was 15th with $83,644. John Douch was No. 16 – $3,077 behind Mayfield. Mayfield left nothing to chance, placing in seven of his final nine rodeos, including earning $2,465 by winning the 50th Annual Cowboy Capital of the World PRCA Rodeo in Stephenville, Texas, Sept. 29. Mayfield won an additional $4,242 over the weekend by placing third at the Omaha (Neb.) River City Rodeo and third at the Sheriff ’s PRCA Rodeo in San Bernardino, Calif. Mayfield’s performance in the final stretch pushed him to 13th unofficially in the Sept. 30 world standings with $90,421. “It’s still soaking in that I made the NFR,” said Mayfield, 18. “The past couple of weeks were good. It’s just a good feeling knowing that the regular season is over and that my goal was achieved. I proved I could do it when I needed to the most. I just tried to get checks at all the rodeos I went to, and they all added up. You don’t have to win first, but if you get a check that helps a lot.” Mayfield, of Clovis, N.M., is following in the footsteps of his father, Sylvester, who qualified for the NFR in 1985 and 1987, where he was 15th and 10th, respectively, in the final world standings. “It feels good to do what my dad did,” Shad said. “He has been with me throughout my whole season this year, and I think it was really big for him to see me make it. Most of the guys (who qualified for the Wrangler NFR) are older than me and have more experience, but I’m ready to see how I can do against them. I’m not scared of any of them.”

Sept. 30 world standings with $108,160, the most money earned by the 15th qualifying bull rider for the Wrangler NFR. The previous high to get into the Finals was $94,396, earned by Trevor Kastner in 2018. “It’s awesome to make the NFR,” said Kimzey, 20. “It’s a dream come true. Everybody wants to be behind those yellow bucking chutes and be on that kind of stage. I’m truly blessed to get to go there. The whole last month was pretty awful for me. I showed up in New Braunfels and I had never ridden that bull. I didn’t know what to expect. It was a relief when I made the whistle. I thanked the Lord.” Trey’s brother Sage, the reigning five-time PRCA world champion and regular-season standings leader with $245,455, offered him advice before he climbed onWhamma Jamma. “He told me to clear my head and go do my job and treat it like just another bull,” Trey said. “The money it took to make the NFR this year is hats off to all the bull riders in the PRCA right now. The bull riding talent is at a whole other level. I saw my brother catch success, and I’ve always wanted to be at the NFR with him. I can’t wait for Round 1 in Vegas and hear the roar from the crowd.” MAYFIELD TAKES DIFFERENT PATH Unlike Trey Kimzey, rookie tie-down roper Shad Mayfield wasn’t trying to move into the Top 15 in the world standings the final week. He was trying to hold on.

Mattt Cohen photo Rookie tie-down roper Shad Mayfield competes during the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo. Mayfield placed in seven of the final nine rodeos he competed in to secure a spot in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

ProRodeo Sports News 10/4/2019

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