The end of the season is nearing and there is still plenty to be determined in on the head side of the team roping. Kaleb Driggers is the man at the top with a $10,000 lead, but the real action comes on the bubble, where several athletes and big names are within striking distance of the all-important No. 15 spot.
No. 1 Kaleb Driggers, $137,386
Kaleb Driggers and his partner Junior Nogueira are putting together another great season. They had a strong showing at the Cheyenne Frontier Days where they placed third and took home over $12,000 in total. Since Cheyenne, the pair have earned two checks over $1,000.
No. 2 Dustin Egusquiza, $127,242
Dustin Egusquiza is $10,000 back of the No. 1 spot and has closed ground since the start of August. To open the month, Egusquiza and his partner Levi Lord took home the Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo title with a 4.2-second run to make over $3,600. The pair followed that up with two more wins, the first at the Larimer County Rodeo (Colorado) and the second at the Jerome County Rodeo (Idaho) on Aug. 6 and 7. Those two wins earned them over $5,000 total.
No. 3 J.C. Yeahquo, $118,937
J.C Yeahquo has been on a cold streak, but remains in the Top 3 in the World Standings. The last big payday Yeahquo earned came at the Sheridan County Fair and Rodeo (Nebraska), where he got the win to earn just over $2,250.
No. 4 Tyler Wade, $104,520
Tyler Wade has already taken two rodeos in August, the first came at the Mountain Valley Stampede (Utah). Wade and his partner Wesley Thorp stopped the clock at 3.8 seconds to take home over $5,000. The second win of the month came at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo (Colorado) where they were 3.7 seconds to win another $5,400. Wade is up three spots in just the last week.
No. 5 Coleman Proctor, $104,018
Coleman Proctor and his partner Logan Medlin are back in Top top 5 and are within striking distance of the top spot. In August, the pair have only cashed one check, coming courtesy of a fourth-place finish at the Lawton Rangers Rodeo (Oklahoma).
No. 6 Jake Smith, $101,936
Smith has visited the pay window once in August after a 4.3-second fifth-place finish at the Mountain Valley Stampede. The finish made him and his partner Douglas Rich just over $3,000. The pair picked up their biggest win of the summer in Salt Lake City on July 24 with a 4.4-second run in the Finals.
No. 7 Derrick Begay, $92,377
Derrick Begay has set himself up nicely for an 11th career NFR appearance. While he remains in the Top 10, he has been on a cold spell, failing to cash a check over $1,000 since mid-July.
No. 8 Clint Summers, $86,633
Clint Summers opened the month of August with a win at the XIT Rodeo in Dalhart, Texas. Summers stopped the clock at 5.4 seconds to get the win and earn just under $2,500. He and partner Jake Long also won more than $2,000 at Iowa’s Championship Rodeo the same weekend.
No. 9 Andrew Ward, $80,687
Since Cowboy Christmas, Andrew Ward has just one check over $1,000. The payday came at the Lawton Rangers Rodeo where he and Kollin VonAhn won Round with with a 4.1-second run to earn $1,700.
No. 10 Brenten Hall, $77,320
Brenten Hall is struggling of late, only submitting a qualified run on one of his eight attempts in August. His last payday came on Aug. 3 where he placed eighth at Iowa’s Championship Rodeo to earn over $1,200.
No. 11 Cody Snow, $76,653
Cody Snow has put together a great start to the month with four checks over $1,900. The first came at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo (Idaho) after a third-place finish, which earned him $3,200. His next check came at the War Bonnet Round Up (Idaho) after a fourth-place finish to earn another $2,300. Next came the Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo where he placed third with a 4.6-second time to earn another $2,700. Altogether, it moved him up four spots in the World Standings.
No. 12 Jake Clay, $75,071
Jake Clay got a nice payday at Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo where he got the win with a 4.2-second run to earn $3,600. He and partner Trey Yates also pulled in about $4,000 in Cheyenne to close July.
No. 13 Jr. Dees, $74,117
Jr. Dees has three big paydays in August. The first came thanks to a second-place finish at the Mountain Valley Stampede where he was 4.0 seconds. The win earned him over $4,600. Dees then went to the War Bonnet Round Up with a second-place finish to make $3,000. His final big payday of the month came courtesy of a second-place finish at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo to make another $4,500.
No. 14 Erich Rogers, $73,940
Erich Rogers is making a push for another NFR appearance and his start to August should go a long ways in making that a reality. Rogers placed fifth at the Mountain Valley Stampede to make $3,000. Next, he placed second at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo to make another $3,700. Finally, he placed third at Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo to make $2,700.
No. 15 Riley Minor, $72,954
Riley Minor’s last payday came at the Big Sky Pro Rodeo where he took the average and made over $3,500 in total.
No. 16 Lightning Aguilera, $72,307
Lightning Aguilera is outside the Top 15 by less than $1,000 thanks to a nice payday at the Larimer County Rodeo. He placed second with a 3.6-second run to earn $2,800 and crawl closer to the final NFR spot.
No. 17 Dawson Graham, $71,918
Dawson Graham needed a big start to the month, and that’s exactly what he got. Graham took the title at the Famous Preston Night Rodeo to make $4,235 and close the gap between him and the right side of the bubble.
No. 18 Luke Brown, $71,353
Luke Brown has one payday in August which came at the Lawton Rangers Rodeo. Brown stopped the clock at 4.7 seconds to finish third in Round 1 and make over $1,200.
No. 19 Nelson Wyatt, $67,969
Wyatt’s best payday of the month came at the War Bonnet Round Up where he placed fifth and made $2,100.
No. 20 Clay Smith, $65,022
Smith’s last payday came at the War Bonnet Round Up where he placed second to earn just under $3,000.
