BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Zeke Thurston finished 2019 as the World Champion and he’s returning to the NFR in 2020 with $50,523 to his name. He is No. 10 in the saddle bronc riding world standings.
In a year that he did not rodeo a ton because of COVID-19, Thurston made his mark by winning San Angelo and having a terrific Cowboy Christmas.
At San Angelo in February, Thurston exploded for 90 points on Attitude Dude in the First Round and 86 points on Gold Coast in the Championship Round, good enough for third place in the performance. His 176 points on two head was well-clear of second-place Allen Boore and Thurston won more than $4,000 at the rodeo.
ZEKE THURSTON WINS SAN ANGELO
Thurston then had quite possibly the best Independence Day run of any roughstock athlete.
He finished fifth in Prescott and second in Cody, and then dominated his swing through North Dakota, coming out victorious in both Mandan and Killdeer.
His rides in Mandan and Killdeer were 87 and 88 points respectively. He won close to $9,000 for those two wins and the four-rodeo swing won him a total of $14,509.
Thurston was not done in July, though.
In the first weekend of August, he claimed Go-Round victories in Dodge City, Kansas and Sentinel Butte, North Dakota. He won the whole rodeo at the latter with rides of 87 and 88.5 points and he would go on to win more than $13,000 in August.
In addition to his 2019 triumph, the Canadian cowboy also won the Gold Buckle in 2016. He has been to the Wrangler NFR six times and last year was his career-high in earnings with more than $347,000.
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