As we roll into August, the battle for the No. 1 spot in the bareback riding continues to heat up. Three cowboys have shifted in and out of that spot while on the other end of the standings, the bubble has some veteran bareback riders hustling to keep their place.
No. 1 Keenan Hayes, $180,962
Hayes recently took over the No. 1 spot again and his two most recent successes are wins in his home state at the Larimer County Fair and Rodeo and the Yuma County Fair and Rodeo. The higher of the two scores came in at 89 points aboard Tango of Beutler and Son Rodeo. He has won a check on his last six rides.
No. 2 Rocker Steiner, $156,053
Steiner’s fought his way back to the top and spent recent time at No. 1 this summer. He too has three wins already in August. Also in Colorado, Steiner rode Kirsten Vold Rodeo Company’s Café Risque for 90 points to cash in $6,000 at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo.
No. 3 Leighton Berry, $145,349
Berry is still capitalizing and staying consistent. His 87-point ride on Harper and Morgan Rodeo’s Sippin Firewater landed him in the Winner’s Circle at Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo (South Dakota) and he has followed it up by taking the lead at the Lea County PRCA Rodeo.
No. 4 RC Landingham, $141,899
Landingham is on a roll in what might be his best regular season. He split the Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo win with his own 87-point ride on Dakota Rodeo’s American Grafiti. Before that, he placed at the Daddy of ‘Em All and Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo.
No. 5 Dean Thompson, $141,225
Thompson’s wave of momentum has continued to grow. The Utah cowboy picked up a win at the Big Sky Pro Rodeo (Montana) after an 87 on Champagne Toast of Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics. After leaving Montana, he placed at the Dodge City Roundup (Kansas) and Mountain Valley Stampede (Utah).
No. 6 Cooper Cooke, $119,877
Following up a second-place finish at the Eagle County Fair and Rodeo (Idaho), Cooke hustled for a win at the War Bonnet Round Up (Idaho) to the tune of 88 points. The $3,000 ride came aboard Korkow Rodeo’s Tator Tot before he won again at the Jerome County Fair and Rodeo (Idaho) for another $2,700.
No. 7 Jacob Lees, $107,856
Lees matched up with C5 Rodeo’s legendary Virgil to win the Last Chance Stampede (Montana) with a whopping 90-point ride and this came after he cashed in on over $5,500 at Cheyenne Frontier Days. His most recent payday came in Texas with a third-place finish at the XIT Rodeo and Reunion.
No. 8 Cole Franks, $106,626
A successful trip to Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo put $3,000 in Franks’ pockets after after a third-place finish at Ogden Pioneer Days (Utah) and a huge win at California Rodeo Salinas. In California, Franks topped the Average at 171.5 points on two head.
No. 9 Garrett Shadbolt, $105,285
Shadbolt found himself the Silver Medalist at Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo before he won the First Performance at Cheyenne Frontier Days with an 85.5-point ride on United Pro Rodeo’s Big Apple, the same horse he won the 89th Annual Independence Day Rodeo on during Cowboy Christmas.
No. 10 Taylor Broussard, $100,317
The Louisiana veteran finished second at the NFR Open on July 13 to add over $10,000. He has since picked up a win at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo and cashed a check in Cheyenne.
No. 11 Tanner Aus, $97,140
Aus has been consistently cashing in this summer and that continues everywhere he goes. He has placed South Dakota, Iowa, and Texas recently, the highest marked ride of the three coming in at 85.5 points on Burch Rodeo’s Cinch on Fire at Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo.
No. 12 Richmond Champion, $95,292
Champion hit the gas pedal in July and has been cashing in ever since. He finished second at California Rodeo Salinas and sixth at the Fiesta Days Rodeo in Utah. While most recent win came at the Richland County Fair and Rodeo (Montana) with an 87.5-point ride. Since July 1, he is up 12 spots in the World Standings.
No. 13 Weston Timberman, $93,232
The No. 1 cowboy in the Resistol Rookie Race has stacked up the pay checks recently. This includes placing at the Last Chance Stampede, Dodge City Roundup, Big Sky Pro Rodeo, XIT Rodeo and Reunion, Jerome County Fair and Rodeo and the Northeast Montana Fair and Rodeo.
No. 14 Waylon Bourgeois, $87,745
Bourgeois is gunning for his first trip to the Thomas & Mack and he has picked up multiple checks that get him closer lately and he also cinched two wins. An 89.5 at Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo was worth $2,800 and he also currently leads the Lawton Rangers Rodeo (Oklahoma)
No. 15 Cole Reiner, $84,025
The four-time NFR cowboy is sitting on the bubble going into August. He recently finished third at the Deadwood Days of ’76 Rodeo with an 86-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Little Lunatic and followed it up with a second-place finish on Brookman Rodeo’s Lunatic Heaven at the Richland County Fair in Montana.
No. 16 Bradlee Miller, $79,571
Miller found his way to the pay window in his home state of Wyoming when he placed in the Average at the Central Wyoming Fair and PRCA Rodeo back on July 13. He followed it up by placing at the Silver State Stampede (Nevada) on July 16 and Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo on July 24.
No. 17 Nick Pelke, $77,881
Aboard Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo’s Black Mamba, Pelke scored an 86 to win it all at the Sheridan County Fair and Rodeo (Nebraska0. He then finished second at Iowa’s Championship Rodeo and fourth at the Carson Community PRCA Rodeo (Iowa)
No. 18 Orin Larsen, $76,283
Larsen has a lead foot down coming out of July. He picked up a win at the Central Montana PRCA Rodeo with a 90-point ride on J Bar J’s Fringe Jacket after placing in the Finals at the Daddy of ‘Em All. Since, he has made another $4,000 in the Midwest.
No. 19 Sam Petersen, $75,474
Petersen’s July added almost $23,000 to his earnings. His most recent payday came in his home state of Montana when he rode J Bar J’s Miss Delta for 85.5 points to win it all at the Northeast Montana Fair and Rodeo.
No. 20 Jess Pope, $73,014
Pope is another who recently has momentum swinging his way. He picked up the win in the Final Go-Round and the Average at the Dodge City Roundup where he added over $6,000 to his name. He followed it up with an 88-point ride on Hampton Pro Rodeo’s Barry’s Girl to win the XIT Rodeo and Reunion.
