PRCA Standings Shuffle: 38 Move Up in Top 15
By Matt Naber
The end of July’s mad dash for cash created one of the biggest shakeups within the Top 15 for the entire season. With $2.66 million up for grabs across 36 ProRodeo competitions, 38 cowboys saw their position improve within the Top 15 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings.
Five of the competitions ending during the week of July 22-28 presented six-figure payouts: Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days ($904,613), Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Rodeo ($289,543), Deadwood (S.D.) Days of ’76 Rodeo ($215,669), Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days ($209,578) and Chief Joseph Days ($111,967) in Joseph, Ore.
In addition to prize money, cowboys picked up valuable ProRodeo Tour points in Ogden, Spanish Fork, Cheyenne and Deadwood.
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 during the summer run.
Nobody knows this better than steer roper Trey Sheets, who jumped 32 spots last week from 45th to 13th thanks to winning $19,903 at Cheyenne Frontier Days, his hometown rodeo. Not only was Cheyenne his first ProRodeo win of the 2019 season, it was his first win of his ProRodeo career, which started in 2013.
“It’s unbelievable,” Sheets said. “I’ve been second at a lot of rodeos and never won one, and for it to be Cheyenne is unbelievable.”
The 28-year-old cowboy from the Cowboy State had his best season in 2016, when he won $12,346. He’s more than doubled that amount in 2019 and is changing his plans to pursue his first qualification to the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping.
“I’m looking through the books now and will try to make the Finals and will try to figure it all out and how I can get everywhere,” Sheets said. “I wasn’t planning on rodeoing at all but I’m shifting gears. I train horses for a living, but I will put that on the back burner and focus on roping and try to go win some more.”
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.
10 Spots
• Shad Mayfield moved from 24th to 14th in tie-down roping.
Eight Spots
• Dustin Egusquiza moved from 22nd to 14th in team roping heading.
Six Spots
• Cole Patterson moved from 15th to ninth in steer roping.
• Matt Reeves moved from 20th to 14th in steer wrestling.
Five Spots
• Brady Garten moved from 14th to 11th in steer roping.
Four Spots
• J.D. Struxness moved from 12th to eighth in steer wrestling.
• Brenten Hall moved from 16th to 12th in team roping heading.
• Chase Tryan moved from 16th to 12th in team roping heeling.
• Levi Lord moved from 19th to 15th in team roping heeling.
Three Spots
• Jacobs Crawley moved from seventh to fourth in saddle bronc riding.
• Tony Reina moved from ninth to sixth in steer roping.
• Rocky Patterson moved from 11th to eighth in steer roping.
• Kolby Wanchuk moved from 18th to 15th in saddle bronc riding.
Two Spots
• Stetson Wright moved from third to first in bull riding.
• J. Tom Fisher moved from fifth to third in steer roping.
• Wyatt Denny moved from 16th to 14th in bareback riding.
One Spot
• Vin Fisher Jr. moved from second to first in steer roping.
• Clayton Biglow moved from third to second in bareback riding.
• Scott Guenthner moved from third to second in steer wrestling.
• Jake Long moved from fifth to fourth in team roping heeling.
• Shane Hanchey moved from fifth to fourth in tie-down roping.
• Clayton Sellars moved from fifth to fourth in bull riding.
• Riley Duvall moved from seventh to sixth in steer wrestling.
• Chad Masters moved from eighth to seventh in team roping heading.
• Joseph Harrison moved from eighth to seventh in team roping heeling.
• Jake Watson moved from eight to seventh in saddle bronc riding.
• Garrett Hale moved from eighth to seventh in steer roping.
• Garrett Smith moved from ninth to eighth in bull riding.
• Travis Graves moved from 10th to ninth in team roping heeling.
• Bradley Harter moved from 10th to ninth in saddle bronc riding.
• Tanner Aus moved from 11th to 10th in bareback riding.
• Tanner Brunner moved from 11th to 10th in steer wrestling.
• Jake Cooper moved from 11th to 10th in team roping heading.
• Caleb Anderson moved from 11th to 10th in team roping heeling.
• Josh Frost moved from 12th to 11th in bull riding.
• Tyler Milligan moved from 13th to 12th in tie-down roping.
• Landon McClaugherty moved from 16th to 15th in steer 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 cowboys climbed the standings to No. 16.
• Team roping heeler Trey Yates moved from 26th and is $1,421 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Saddle bronc rider Cort Scheer moved from 23rd and is $2,066 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett moved from 18th and is $600 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Steer roper Trenton Johnson moved from 22nd and is $705 away from breaking into the Top 15.
• Bull rider Trevor Reiste moved from 18th and is $2,467 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