Jamie Howlett Continues Hot Streak at Super Series Finish
FORT WORTH, Texas – Bareback rider Jamie Howlett is picking up his hot streak exactly where he left off two-and-a-half months ago before the COVID-19 pandemic put all ProRodeo competition on pause.
Mere hours before the world of professional sports came to a halt, the Australian cowboy won Rodeo Grand Island (Neb.) March 14. Seventy-six days later, on May 29 he was back in the winner’s circle at the Super Series Finish at the Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards, thanks in part to the foundation he’d laid at the bracket competition that began in Houston in March.
On Friday, Howlett won the third round of Bracket 3 with an 85.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo Company’s Painted Smoke, a horse he’d seen Logan Patterson ride for 84.25 points at The American Semi-Finals in early March.
“I guess you could say it is a hot streak,” Howlett laughed. “It’s great to be back competing again, I’ve been biting at the bit for the last two months, trying to stay mentally prepared and wanted to keep the streak going and hoped it’d pick up where it left off.”
The only way to catch the Super Series Finish, presented in part by the hit-TV show “Yellowstone,” is by tuning in at home. Saturday and Sunday performances will be on The Cowboy Channel and on the PRCA on the Cowboy Channel Plus App at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. (ET) with feature commentary from “Yellowstone” Executive Producer Taylor Sheridan. Repeat airings are scheduled for midnight.
“It’s really weird (having an empty stadium), but you have (announcer) Bob Tallman lighting a fire in you,” Howlett said. “The only difference was there’s no crowd cheering after the ride, but the mentality is the same. The crowds give you goosebumps, but they’re not here so all you’ve got to do is get your mind right for it (riding). It will be great being on TV and getting the world to see rodeo.”
In March, Howlett set the pace by tying for second in the first round with 83 points and then winning the second round with 86 points on Calgary Stampede’s X Rated Dancer. Those rides combined with Friday’s Round 3 win are worth a $7,500 boost in the PRCA | RAM World Standings where he was already ranked fifth with $35,528.
“Knowing how this year is going, every dollar you earn is like gold,” the 29-year-old cowboy said.
Howlett was excited to be on Painted Smoke.
“I was stoked to have him by my name, and he was phenomenal tonight,” Howlett said. “I’m always good with a mid- 80-point ride since you’re almost always in the money with that.”
Howlett has climbed the ranks since his rookie year in 2015, ranking 74th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings and then jumping to 44th in 2017, 28th in 2018 and 24th in 2019.
The rising star was undeterred being the last man out in Fort Worth with four-time world champion Kaycee Feild (2011-14) as the man to beat on Friday.
“It builds a fire in me to see them ride before me,” Howlett said. “I’m a competitive man and they are too, and they’re all great riders.”
Looking ahead, Howlett plans to compete at as many rodeos as possible.
“I’ll just keep entering whatever comes up,” Howlett said. “I just love riding bareback horses.”
Check with ProRodeo.com for more coverage of the Super Series Finish, and to see other winners, check out the complete results at bit.ly/SuperSeriesFinishResults.
Courtesy of PRCA