ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 4, 2020

Wright adds Xtreme Broncs Finale to career wins Easy Ryder BY TRACY RENCK W inning has followed Ryder Wright into his PRCA career. The Beaver, Utah, saddle bronc rider has won more than $1 million since getting his PRCA card in 2016, highlighted by his 2017 world championship. And the winning hasn’t stopped. Wright won the second annual Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale title in Rapid City, S.D., Aug. 27. “This is an event you want to show up at and show out at

because of the money and the guys here,” saidWright, 22. “These are the top guys you’re trying to beat in the standings. This feels awesome. It’s great to have a bronc riding event that pays like this.” Wright won the two-head average with 177.5 points, edging Brody Cress by a half point. Cress split the 2019 Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale championship a year ago withWade Sundell. Wright earned $16,923 for his performance. “This is great,” Wright said. “They always bring good horses to this event. It’s not just one stock contractor. It’s a few stock contractors who bring up all their best stock. It makes for some good watching. Most of these horses are NFR horses. I welcome the challenge an event like this presents.” The top 12 saddle bronc riders in the world standings and the top 12 in the Xtreme Broncs standings qualified for the finale. The win was part of a fruitful two days for Wright. A day earlier, he won the Golden Spike PRCA Bronc Riding Classic in Tremonton, Utah, with a 90.5-point ride on Big Bend Rodeo’s Major Cover, earning $4,089. “This was a good couple of days for sure,” Wright said. Wright was second in the 2020 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $100,973 as of Sept. 1. Wright put his Rapid City win in motion with an 86-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & PhenomGenetics’ Outlaw Tunes in the first round. “That was an awesome horse,” Wright said. “I’ve seen that horse the past couple of years and wanted to get on him since the first time I saw him. The horse was as good as I imagined. I had a lot of confidence (after winning in Tremonton). It’s important to have confidence in yourself and your equipment. “I love competing in this (Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale).” The top eight after the first round advanced to the finals. Wright topped all comers with his 91.5-point trip – the top score of the event – on Sutton Rodeos’ South Point, a perennial NFR selection. Wright picked the standout horse’s name from a bucket during the draw before the finals. Wright’s ride was a half point off the event record. Wade Sundell had a 92-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Lunatic FromHell in the final round of the 2019 inaugural event. “That was the first time I’ve been on that horse,” Wright said. “That horse was super flashy. It’s the type of horse that all bronc riders like. I was happy to draw her and to get on her.

Clay Guaripee photo Ryder Wright holds up the buckle after winning the two- head average at the Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale, Aug. 27.

She was better than I thought she was going to be. That horse is honest as the day is long. If you do your part, you know you’re going to win some money.” Wright celebrated his win by getting in the rig for an all- night drive with his younger brother Stetson, the reigning all- around world champion, to Tremonton for the rodeo. “This year hasn’t been too bad,” Wright said about the impact COVID-19 has had on him. “The time home has been nice, but I like to be rodeoing and making money because we don’t get paid unless we are out here riding.” Wright and his wife, Cheyenne, have a daughter, Bexley, 3. “I’ve enjoyed the time I spent at home,” Wright said. “I would never normally have this much time at home.” $25,911 The amount of money Brody Cress has earned the last two years at the Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale. Cress earned $12,315 when he split the 2019 title with Wade Sun- dell and $13,596 as runner-up in 2020.

Alaina Stangle photo

ProRodeo Sports News 9/4/2020

ProRodeo.com

33