Standings Shuffle: 14 Move Up in Top 15

Unlike the weather, the ProRodeo action in March came in like a lion and never stopped roaring. The final week of March featured a half-million-dollar rodeo in Rodeo Austin (Texas) along with plenty of ProRodeo Tour points up for grabs there and at the High Desert Stampede in Redmond, Ore.

In addition to those rodeos, bronc riders had a shot at picking up some cash at the MSU-Northern PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs Challenge in Havre, Mont.

With so much money on the table and opportunities to win big March 22-28, 14 cowboys saw their positions improve within the Top 15.

Cowboys know it’s easier to maintain a position at the top than it is to play catch-up when trying to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Every dollar counts, and making the Top 15 in the PRCA | RAM World Standings early establishes a solid base and builds a cowboy’s confidence as the season picks up pace.

Nobody knows this better than bareback rider Caleb Bennett as he jumped seven spots from 18th to 11th last week thanks to winning $13,316 at Rodeo Austin. It was Bennett’s second consecutive Rodeo Austin title, and both times were on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Nutrena’s Black Kat. In 2018, he scored 87 points on Black Kat, while this year he scored 87.5 points.

Bennett also picked up $778 by tying for fifth in Havre this week.

With the Clark County Fair & Rodeo in Logandale, Nev., and the Oakdale (Calif.) Saddle Club Rodeo on the horizon, big jumps like Bennett’s are sure to happen again.

Other cowboys to move up within the Top 15 were:

Six Spots

• Wesley Thorp moved from 14th to eighth in team roping heeling.

Five Spots

• Cody Snow moved from 14th to ninth in team roping heading.

Four Spots

• Scott Guenthner moved from eighth to fourth in steer wrestling.
• Sterling Crawley moved from 11th to seventh in saddle bronc riding.

Three Spots

• Bill Tutor moved from 13th to 10th in bareback riding.
• Lon Danley moved from 13th to 10th in bull riding.
• Cody DeMoss moved from 16th to 13th in saddle bronc riding.
• Chase Dougherty moved from 17th to 14th in bull riding.

Two Spots

• Rusty Wright moved from 10th to eighth in saddle bronc riding.
• Josh Frost moved from 14th to 12th in bull riding.

One Spot

• Zeke Thurston moved from third to second in saddle bronc riding.
• Caleb Smidt moved from third to second in tie-down roping.
• Ryan Jarrett moved from 15th to 14th in tie-down roping.

Cowboys on the bubble for a spot in the Top 15 can find themselves a few dollars short of qualifying for the Wrangler NFR. The following cowboy climbed the standings to No. 16.

• Steer wrestler Tanner Brunner moved from 19th and is $439 away from breaking into the Top 15.

Check back with prorodeo.com next week to see who the new leaders are in the world standings.

Courtesy of PRCA