BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
It didn’t take long for Australian bullrider Ky Hamilton to take the PRCA by storm.
The 20-year-old ran away with the Resistol Rookie of the Year award in 2020 and perhaps more impressively, he is No. 2 in the world standings, less than $3,000 behind six-time reigning champion Sage Kimzey.
Early on in the season, Hamilton’s riding made it clear he was going to be near the No. 1 spot in the standings all season.
By the time he rode Eyebrows for 90 points in the finals in Tucson on Feb. 23, he had already won close to $15,000 in 2020 thanks to stellar performances in Fort Worth and at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeos in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.
KY HAMILTON’S 90-POINT RIDE IN TUSCON
He added one more win before the COVID-19 break too, taking home first at the Xtreme Bulls event in Grand Island on March 14. His triumph came from an 89-point ride on the back of Drop the Hammer and he left Nebraska with $3,637.
It didn’t take long for the Aussie to get going again after the break either. In his return to rodeoing, he finished third at the Liberty National Xtreme Bulls to win $3,276.
In the summer stretch, Hamilton won Kansas’ Largest Night Rodeo, the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo, the Salmon Stampede PRCA Rodeo and the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo
The win in Spanish Fork earned him is biggest check of the year for a single ride, which was more than $8,000.
KY HAMILTON - 87 POINTS TO WIN PRETTY PRAIRIE, KANSAS
Hamilton was marked 85 points or better 18 times in 2020. This year will be his first Wrangler NFR appearance and he looks to be the first cowboy not named Sage Kimzey to win a bull riding Gold Buckle since JW Harris in 2013.
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