BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
The Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup brought together 24 of the PRCA’s best in every single event and that made for what looked like an NFR preview in a lot of events with just three weeks left in the regular season.
Jess Pope’s Vegas dreams are alive and well. After a record-setting 92.5-point ride in Puyallup, the three-time NFR Average Champion put the rest of the bareback riding world on notice. Meanwhile, Ryder Wright and Damian Brennan are this weekend’s hottest saddle bronc riders, and Shad Mayfield set a new tie-down roping record with 17 runs of 7.5 Seconds or Faster.
- Bareback rider Jess Pope is up five spots since Aug. 1 and now sits No. 15 in the World after an arena record 92.5 points in the Finals in Puyallup. That 92.5-point ride on Disco Party was the third time Pope had a 92 as the first number in a ride, but the first time that extra half point was there. The highest marked ride of his career won him $13,000 of the $16,000+ he brought in total in Puyallup. Pope only recently cracked the Top 20, but the three-time NFR Average Champion refused to let his Vegas dreams die. He won Ellensburg last weekend and then won even bigger in the Evergreen State this past weekend. Add those together with his wins in Caldwell and Dodge City, and Pope has won four PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos since Aug. 4. He is No. 15 right now, but will likely move higher once the World Standings go official after Puyallup.
- Saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright has won five rodeos since Aug. 7, all of them coming with score of 86 points or more. Wright is still No. 7 in the World Standings, but is within $30,000 of World No. 1 Damian Brennan in a stacked Top 8. Wright split the first place payday in Puyallup with Lefty Holman with 89 points on Flying Carma in the Finals. It capped a rodeo in which he also had rides of 84, 88 and 87 points. Wright has averaged 84.5 points since Aug. 7.
- After a 7.4 to win Puyallup, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield now has 17 runs the of 7.5 Seconds or Faster, breaking Riley Webb’s PRCA record of 16 set a year ago. No one’s top-end speed has matched that of Shad Mayfield for years. Mayfield not only has the record-setting 17 runs in 2024, but also had 14 in 2022 and 12 in 2021, making him the only cowboy to ever have three years in double figures. Over the last four seasons, Mayfield has 51 runs of 7.5 Seconds or Faster, the next closest is Haven Meged with 30.
- Bull riders ranked No. 2-4 in the World Standings all stay hot. Josh Frost is ranked No. 1 and has three straight Reserve World Titles, meanwhile, the three bull riders right behind in the World Standings - TJ Gray, Hayes Weight and Jace Trosclair - have combined for just one NFR between the three of them. The inexperience has not shown down the stretch for that trio. Last week, Gray won the Lewiston Xtreme Bulls (Idaho), Weight won the Lewiston Roundup, and Trosclair took second in Puyallup.
- Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin both move up to No. 4 in the PRCA World Standings after terrific showing in Puyallup. They each earned $19,900, the most of any winner in Puyallup. Proctor started the weekend the No. 7 header while Medlin was the No. 8 heeler. The pair turned in four straight runs between 4.4 and 4.9 seconds to win the rodeo. They now have seven runs in the 4s in the last 7 days after having one such run the previous 28 days. They are nearly a lock to make their fourth straight NFR since becoming partners.
- Saddle bronc rider Damian Brennan is No. 1 again amid a streak of 14 straight rides of 82 points or better. Brennan has wrestled the top spot back from Kade Bruno in what has been a terrific back and forth battle. In Puyallup, Brennan made the Finals and all four of his rides were marked 86 points or better. It has been a great run for Brennan of late in Washington because he also finished second in Walla Walla, second in the Long Round in Ellensburg and third in the Average in Kennewick.
- Every ride in the bareback riding and saddle bronc riding Finals in Puyallup was marked 87 points or better. Not only did Pope have 92.5 in the bareback riding, but Garrett Shadbolt had 91 big ones of his own. While in the saddle bronc riding, all four finalists were in the Top 11 in the World Standings and they did not dissappoint. The stock and the caliber of cowboy both looked a lot like Las Vegas and you can expect the same at the Governor’s Cup.
