Richmond Champion Holds Strong at Tour Finale
RAPID CITY, S.D. – He’s got the name, and he’s determined to win the title that goes with it.
After his performance Sept. 23, bareback rider Richmond Champion took the lead in the average at the 2020 Gold Buckle Beer ProRodeo Tour Finale in Rapid City, S.D., while searching for his first world championship.
Champion knows the importance of the Tour Finale, having won it in 2018.
“The Tour Finale is very significant,” Champion said. “Usually it’s in Puyallup (Wash.) right before Pendleton (Ore.), and we all look forward to it since it’s the end of the season, and the guys heading to the NFR want to build momentum and the guys on the bubble are wanting to get in. There’s always a lot of energy at the Tour Finale, and I look forward to it since I like the format and it’s the last big jump of the season toward becoming a world champion.”
Fans can catch the action of the Gold Buckle Beer ProRodeo Tour Finale live on The Cowboy Channel and the PRCA on Cowboy Channel Plus app at 9:30 p.m. (ET), Sept. 24-26.
Champion is ninth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $62,451 separating him and leading bareback rider Tim O’Connell, but that lead can disappear at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which will be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Dec. 3-12.
In Rapid City, Champion is sitting in fourth in the first round after an 85-point ride on Three Hills Rodeo’s Big Show. In the second round Wednesday, Champion’s 86.5-point ride on Brookman Rodeo’s Continental Drift has him in second in the round and atop the average with 171.5 points on two head.
“I had a personal vendetta against her (Continental Drift) after being 82 points on her in Red Lodge (Mont.) a few years ago,” Champion said.
The next two nights will feature the other 12 cowboys in each event who qualified for the Tour Finale. The semifinals and finals are Saturday.
“I love this format,” Champion said. “We’ll have a bunch of good guys in the next group, and I just want to be in the discussion.”
Champion is a five-time qualifier for the NFR (2014, 2016-19) with more than $1.1 million in career earnings since his rookie year in 2012. The Texas cowboy placed third in the average at the 2019 NFR to finish fourth in the world.
The Tour Finale isn’t the final chapter of the 2020 regular season for Champion. He’s set to compete at the Cinch Gold Buckle Knockout on the Cervi Ranch in Stoneham, Colo., Sept. 30. The Knockout is a new event that will give the tail of the regular season a twist, as the top 20 bareback riders and top 20 saddle bronc riders in the world standings will have one last chance to earn a spot at the Wrangler NFR while possibly knocking out someone else.
“I’m going to finish strong and keep doing what I’ve been doing and hopefully move up closer to the top at the Finals and get there during the 10 (NFR) rounds,” Champion said. “You want to get into that range of being able to make it up in one round.”
For nightly coverage of the Gold Buckle Beer ProRodeo Tour Finale, visit ProRodeo.com through Sept. 26.
Other first-round event leaders are steer wrestler Rowdy Parrott (7.8 seconds on two head); team ropers Kolton Schmidt/Hunter Koch (10.4 seconds on two head); saddle bronc rider Brody Cress (176.5 points on two head); tie-down roper Westyn Hughes (16.1 seconds on two head); barrel racer Brittney Barnett (32.42 seconds on two runs); and bull rider Stetson Wright (87 points on one head).
Courtesy of PRCA