Saddle Bronc Rider Isaac Diaz 64 Cents Shy of 15th
While every dollar counts in the race for the Top 15 and a qualification for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, in some cases every penny counts just as much. In the Aug. 4 PRCA | RAM World Standings, saddle bronc rider Isaac Diaz had climbed from 17th to 16th but was 64 cents away from breaking into the Top 15 with an unofficial total of $26,773.19.
Fortunately for Diaz, there are still two months left in the season and plenty of opportunities to win 64 cents.
“The 15 guys in front of me might win 65 cents,” Diaz laughed, joking that maybe the secretaries made a mistake.
While Diaz’s situation might be rare, it isn’t an anomaly. In 2005, steer roper Scott Snedecor won the world title by a margin of $1.67 over Guy Allen with $69,382.
Diaz, a six-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, was $1,025 short of breaking into the Top 15 at the end of the 2019 season with $89,786.
“I just can’t get away from it,” Diaz said.
It was anything but smooth sailing for Diaz last season. He missed a large portion of the 2019 summer run after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia injury.
Diaz, a 33-year-old Florida native turned Texas cowboy, carried that motivation into the 2020 season by picking up $2,557 at the NILE ProRodeo in Billings, Mont., in October. He added $3,827 at Rodeo Rapid City (S.D.) in February and $2,500 at RodeoHouston in March.
Diaz had plenty to celebrate on the Fourth of July when he collected $3,164 at the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede and split the win at the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo in Oakley City, Utah, for $2,922.
“Every rodeo is the toughest I’ve ever seen since everyone is at all of them and trying to make every dollar count,” Diaz said.
Diaz, who made the NFR in 2007, 2009, 2012-13, 2015 and 2018 and has earned more than $1.2 million since his rookie year in 2006, knows what it takes to make the Finals.
“It’s going to come down to the wire,” Diaz said. “I think it’ll be 64 cents separating some people. In the timed events it’s always really tight and dollar for dollar, but usually ours (roughstock) is more spread out, but I think it’ll be tight in every event.”
Diaz is also 11th in the PRCA Xtreme Broncs Standings and looking forward to the Xtreme Broncs Finale. In the meantime, he’ll have opportunities to regain those 64 cents.
“People need to quit throwing change in the wishing well and send it to me,” Diaz laughed.
Courtesy of PRCA