PRCA Standings Shuffle: 28 Move Up in Top 15
By Matt Naber
The summer run is in full swing as cowboys competed at 35 ProRodeo events across North America worth a collective $1.9 million, July 8-14. With so much money on the table, 28 cowboys saw their position improve within the Top 15 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Five of last week’s competitions presented six-figure payouts: the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper ($269,090); the Sheridan WYO Rodeo ($254,839); the Rooftop Rodeo in Estes Park, Colo., ($173,061); the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colo., ($165,479); and the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo in Vernal, Utah, ($121,992).
In addition to prize money, cowboys picked up valuable ProRodeo Tour points in Casper, Colorado Springs, Sheridan and Vernal.
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 world standings during the summer run establishes a solid base and builds a cowboy’s confidence as the summer run picks up pace.
Nobody knows this better than bareback rider Trenten Montero. The cowboy from Winnemucca, Nev., launched nine spots in the world standings, from 21st to 12th, thanks to winning $11,104 in Colorado Springs, largely because of his 88.5-point ride on Vold Rodeo’s Karate Hottie in the Gold Buckle Round. He also picked up $1,963 for placing second at the Ute Stampede in Nephi, Utah, July 13.
Montero, 27, is a multi-event cowboy who has won nearly a quarter of a million dollars in bareback riding and bull riding since his rookie year in 2011. In recent years he’s climbed the ranks from 99th in the world for bareback riding in 2016 to 37th in 2017 and then 24th in 2018.
With some of the biggest checks on the line in the coming weeks, big jumps are sure to happen again.
The following cowboys also moved up within the Top 15 last week.
Eight Spots
• Billie Jack Saebens moved from 23rd to 15th in team roping heeling.
Seven Spots
• Adam Gray moved from 18th to 11th in tie-down roping.
Six Spots
• J.D. Struxness moved from 17th to 11th in steer wrestling.
• J.J. Elshere moved from 18th to 12th in saddle bronc riding.
Four Spots
• Chad Masters moved from 12th to eighth in team roping heading.
• Steven Dent moved from 13th to ninth in bareback riding.
• Rocky Patterson moved from 16th to 12th in steer roping.
• Logan Patterson moved from 17th to 13th in bareback riding.
Three Spots
• Chris Glover moved from ninth to sixth in steer roping.
• Joseph Harrison moved from 11th to eighth in team roping heeling.
• Bubba Buckaloo moved from 17th to 14th in team roping heading.
Two Spots
• Trevor Kastner moved from fourth to second in bull riding.
• Riley Duvall moved from eighth to sixth in steer wrestling.
• Cody Lee moved from 12th to 10th in steer roping.
• Tyler Wade moved from 13th to 11th in team roping heading.
• Trey Kimzey moved from 13th to 11th in bull riding.
• Daylon Swearingen moved from 17th to 15th in bull riding.
One Spot
• Caleb Smidt moved from second to first in tie-down roping.
• Trevor Brazile moved from second to first in steer roping.
• Riley Minor moved from fourth to third in team roping heading.
• Kaleb Driggers moved from seventh to sixth in team roping heading.
• Taylor Santos moved from seventh to sixth in tie-down roping.
• Haven Meged moved from ninth to eighth in tie-down roping.
• Jeff Askey moved from ninth to eighth in bull riding.
• Bradley Harter moved from 11th to 10th in saddle bronc riding.
• Caleb Anderson moved from 13th to 12th in team roping heeling.
• Colt Gordon moved from 14th to 13th in saddle bronc riding.
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 cowboys climbed the standings to No. 16.
• Steer wrestler Jacob Edler moved from 27th and is $991 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Tie-down roper Cody McCartney moved from 21st and is $1,577 away from breaking into the Top 15.
Check back with ProRodeo.com next week to see who the leaders are in the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Courtesy of PRCA