Riley Duvall Wins $10,000 in Early Rounds of Justin Finale
PUYALLUP, Wash. – The last couple weeks haven’t been kind to steer wrestler Riley Duvall.
The 26-year-old from Checotah, Okla., watched his chances of qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo dip as he fell from 10th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings to 16th and outside the Top 15.
But Duvall knew if he could qualify through the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour for the Justin Finale at the Washington State Fair Pro Rodeo in Puyallup he would give himself an opportunity to gain ground and climb back inside the bubble.
Duvall did just that on Saturday. His 3.7-second run in the early afternoon won the first go-round, while his 4.2-second run in the evening perf landed him a tie for fifth place. Combined, Duvall won the average in 7.9 seconds on two, booking himself a place in Sunday’s eight-man semifinals, with the four-man finals immediately following.
“Today was a big sigh of relief,” Duvall laughed. “I need every penny I can get.”
Duvall, whose lone appearance at the Wrangler NFR came in 2016, won $10,540 for his efforts Saturday. As of Sept. 4, he had earned $63,269 for the season, about $2,600 from breaking back into the Top 15.
“I had something to prove to myself,” he said. “I wanted to gain some ground and catch back up. It’s just a good feeling right now.”
Duvall was riding Scooter, the reigning PRCA | AQHA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. And Duvall was quick to point to Scooter as a key reason for his success.
“Tyler Pearson and Kyle Irwin let me ride their great horse,” he said. “All my success is due to him. He saves me every time I ride him.”
With the Justin Finale paying out $500,000, Duvall knew fast times could give him a much-needed boost in the world standings.
“Coming into today, I was 16th,” Duvall said. “There is a lot of time left, but this is the biggest one left. I knew if I wanted to move way ahead I needed to do good here.”
The finals of the Justin Finale will air live on prorodeotv.com Sunday, Sept. 8, at 1 p.m. (PT). If Duvall can pull off the win in the semifinals and finals, he’ll be changing his plans and heading out of the Northwest a bit early.
“If I can win enough to cinch the Finals,” Duvall said, “I’ll be on the first flight to Oklahoma tomorrow night to go see my wife and little girl.”
Sunday’s Eight-Man Semifinals Qualifiers
Bareback Riding
1. Orin Larsen, 2. Richmond Champion, 3. Clayton Biglow, 4. Jake Brown, 5. Steven Dent, 6. Caleb Bennett, 7. Bill Tutor, 7. Kaycee Feild
Steer Wrestling
1. Riley Duvall, 2. Ty Erickson, 3. Curtis Cassidy, 4. Hunter Cure, 5. Rowdy Parrott, 6. Nick Guy, 7. Kyle Irwin, 8. Tyler Waguespack
Team Roping
1. Derrick Begay/Cory Petska, 2. Clay Smith/ Paul Eaves, 3. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4. Clay Tryan/Travis Graves, 5. Bubba Buckaloo/Tyler Worley, 6. Lane Ivy/Joe Mattern, 7. Kolton Schmidt/ Cole Davison, 8. J.B. James Jr/Cesar de la Cruz
Saddle Bronc Riding
1. Jacobs Crawley, 2. Ryder Wright, 3. Cort Scheer, 4. Zeke Thurston, 5. Joey Sonnier III, 6. Spencer Wright, 7. Wyatt Casper, 8. Rusty Wright
Tie-Down Roping
1. Tuf Cooper, 2. Shane Hanchey, 3. Tyson Durfey, 4. Adam Gray, 5. Kody Mahaffey, 6. Ryan Jarrett, 7. Scott Kormos, 8. Cooper Martin
Barrel Racing
1. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 2. Jimmie Smith, 3. Tammy Fischer, 4. Jessica Routier, 5. Darby Fox, 6. Leia Pluemer, 7. Kellie Collier, 8. Andrea Busby
Bull Riding
1. Braden Richardson, 2. J.W. Harris, 3. Roscoe Jarboe, 4. Chase Dougherty, 5. Jeff Askey, 6. Parker Breding, 7. TIm Bingham, 8. Dustin Boquet
For complete results and payout click here.
Courtesy of PRCA