BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
The Summer Run is here and while Reno was the main story, there was still plenty going on across the country in ProRodeo.
- Bull rider JR Stratford is 8-of-10 in June. The 21-year-old has won five rodeos in that time, including all three he entered from June 12-16. So far in June, he has averaged 86.3 points and won $18,000. He is tied with Josh Frost for the most wins in ProRodeo this season with eight.
- World No. 1 tie-down roper Shad Mayfield leads the Average in Reno after a 7.5-second run in Round 2. Mayfield now has 17 runs in the 7s this season and looks poised to advance in the first Playoff Rodeo of 100 Rodeos in 100 Days as his aggregate time of 17.6 seconds on two has him sharing the lead with Michael Otero after the first weekend. A year ago, Mayfield won the Finals and the Average in Reno. If he is better than 8.2 seconds in the Finals, he will best his 25.8 on three from 2023.
- A rookie has won the bareback riding at Battle Born Broncs (Nevada) in each of the first three years. This year, Weston Timberman was 88 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics’ Mustard to win the event after Bradlee Miller won it 2023 and Rocker Steiner did in 2022. Timberman made $7,800 for his ride and currently ranks No. 15 in the World Standings.
- Two of three roughstock winners at the Crooked River Roundup (Oregon) are ranked No. 1 in the World. Derek Kolbaba, who primarily competes in the PBR, won the bull riding and the other two events went to PRCA leaders Keenan Hayes and Damian Brennan. Hayes, who now has seven wins overall and four in June, was 88.5 points on Mayhem of Big Stone Rodeo, while Brennan covered King Rodeo’s Gone Girl for 87. Both were paid more than $4,000.
- Barrel racer Hailey Kinsel got her first win of the sine January at the Strawberry Days Rodeo (Utah). The four-time World Champion picked up only three checks of more than $1,000 from February to May, but has four already in June. Her biggest was the most recent, $3,478 for her 17.23-second run over the weekend in Utah. She will likely move into the Top 10 in the WPRA World Standings once the money is tallied from this weekend.
- Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey has moved up 11 spots after winning PRCA Playoff Rodeos on consecutive weekends. Hanchey has won about a third of his money for the season in the last two weekends thanks to wins at the Crooked River Roundup and the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo (Utah), which combined to pay him more than $10,000. He has gone from No. 32 to No. 21 in the World, but could be trending even higher once the money from this past weekend’s Canadian rodeos is counted.
- Bull rider Maverick Smith moved up seven spots in the World Standings for his $17,000 win at the Reno Rodeo Xtreme Bulls. Smith got the first quintessential 100 Rodeos in 100 Days win. In just two bull rides, he went from No. 16 to No. 9 in the World and completely changed what is possible for him this season. Smith is just 20-years-old and now likely only needs another $50,000 over the summer to ensure an NFR qualification. If one thing is certain, he is going to go all out to do it. Since the beginning of the 2023 season, he has gotten on 183 bulls, including 73 already in 2024.
- Bareback rider R.C. Landingham won the first two performances in Reno to open up a 6.5-point lead in the Average. Landingham dominated out of the gate and not only leads the Average by a large margin, but is also in line for big paychecks in each of the first two rounds. He is No. 3 in Round 1 and leading Round 2 in the early going. He is No. 9 in the World.
- Bull rider Josh Frost won the Strawberry Days Rodeo with 91 points, giving him wins three consecutive weekends. In addition to his most recent win in his home state, Frost also won the Mackay Rodeo (Idaho) on June 15 and the San Juan Stampede (Utah) on June 8. He is tied with Stratford at eight wins this season. Since May 24, he has won more than $27,000.
- Bareback rider Rocker Steiner has won 8-of-18 rodeos he has entered this season. It started by claiming Fort Worth and San Antonio to start the season and has not slowed down. Over the weekend, he won the Strawberry Days Rodeo with 88.5 points, that gives him five wins in seven rodeos since June 5.
