BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Dustin Egusquiza has overtaken the No. 1 spot n the PRCA World Standings by making the most of every qualified run. Meanwhile, Jake Smith and Clay Smith are on the climb as 100 Rodeos in 100 Days begin.
Around the No. 15 spot, veterans Coleman Proctor, Luke Brown, and Chad Masters will have to fight their way off the bubble. Fortunately, their combined 36 NFR appearances give them the experience needed to reach Las Vegas.
No. 1 Dustin Egusquiza, $81,860
Egusquiza and his partner Levi Lord’s last nine runs have had two results - faster than 4.5 seconds or a no time. It’s not the most ideal strategy, but their five runs of 4.3, 3.7, 4.2, 4.0 and 4.5 since June 1 have won them five checks of $1,600 or more.
No. 2 J.C Yeahquo, $76,592
The RodeoHouston Champion has won three checks of $1,500 or more since June, including two last weekend at the Earl Anderson Memorial Rodeo (Colorado) and Evergreen Rodeo (Colorado), where he finished first and second respectively with his partner Buddy Hawkins.
No. 3 Clint Summers, $66,571
Summers has held strong at No. 3 despite not competing since winning the San Angelo Cinch Chute Out on April 20.
No. 4 Jake Smith, $59,847
One of the hottest headers in the World, Clay has won four checks of $1,800 or more since June 6. That includes two wins, a 4.2 at the Pony Express Rodeo (Utah) and a 5.3 at the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show.
No. 5 Andrew Ward, $56,544
Ward and partner Kollin VonAhn finished Top 5 at two rodeos the first weekend of June with a 4.2 at Rodeo Celina (Texas) and a 4.6 at the Hugo Pro Rodeo (Oklahoma). Ward has finished Top 5 in the PRCA World Standings each of the last two seasons.
No. 6 Derrick Begay, $51,657
Begay’s last check came at the Guymon Pioneer Days on May 5, but he has only competed at one rodeo since then.
No. 7 Kaleb Driggers, $50,263
After finishing No. 7 a year ago, the two-time World Champion finds himself in the same spot in 2024. He has yet to win a check in June after winning just over $4,000 in May with a win at the PPLCA PRCA Rodeo (Texas) and the Liberty Hill Pro Rodeo (Texas).
No. 8 Clay Smith, $49,028
Smith has won more than more than 10,000 combined the last two weekends. That included a win at the Mackay Rodeo, $3,200 at the Woodward Elks Rodeo (Oklahoma) and $2,900 at the Sisters Rodeo (Oregon).
No. 9 Brenten Hall, $44,971
Hall has only competed at two rodeos since May and won checks at both of them. He and Kaden Profili were 5.2 for fourth at the Woodward Elks Rodeo and 5.8 for eighth at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo (Texas).
No. 10 Tyler Wade, $43,626
After winning no money in May, the reigning World Champion returned to form with a third place finish at the Coleman PRCA Rodeo (Texas) and a win at the Mesquite Championship Rodeo (Texas).
No. 11 Jake Clay, $43,254
Clay has won checks of more than $1,000 at four of his last five rodeos since May 24, that includes wins at the Will Rogers Stampede (Oklahoma), Woodward Elks Rodeo and Ute Mountain Roundup (Colorado). Clay also leads the PRCA All-Around World Standings.
No. 12 Marcus Theriot, $37,388
The Mississippi native has made the NFR in the tie-down roping and is looking for his first in team roping. He is still in the Top 15 despite just three events and one check since March 17.
No. 13 Cody Snow, $37,268
Snow has won three checks since May 15 and they have all been between $2,200 and $2,400. Last year, he finished 18th to snap a streak of seven straight NFRs.
No. 14 Coleman Proctor, $35,259
Proctor and partner Logan Medlin are coming off a weekend where they won $3,500 with matching sixth place finishes at the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo (Utah) and the Buffalo Bill Rodeo (Nebraska).
No. 15 Luke Brown, $35,070
The 14-time NFR qualifier has won more than $2,000 at PRCA Playoff Series Rodes on consecutive weekends with fourth place finishes at the Woodward Elks Rodeo and Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo.
No. 16 Chad Masters, $34,518
Just ahead of Brown, Masters is the most decorated header currently in the Top 20 with 15 NFR qualifications. From June 5-9, he won $8,500 with a third place finish at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo and second place finishes in Sisters and Livermore, California.
No. 17 Brady Tryan, $32,219
Tryan primarily ropes in Canada in the summer and has competed in just one PRCA rodeo in May and June. He is the reigning CPRA Team Roping Heading Champion.
No. 18 Cory Kidd, $32,092
Kidd went to four Texas rodeos from June 5-8 and won checks at three of them, including a win with a 4.4-second run to win $3,300 at the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo (Texas).
No. 19 Cash Duty, $31,437
Duty has not won a check since he and Clay Green won the Springville Sierra Rodeo (California) on April 28.
No. 20 Lightning Aguilera, $30,480
Aguilera started June off by winning the Hugo Pro Rodeo (Oklahoma) with a 4.1-second run on the first day of the month.
Standings via ProRodeo.com are accurate as of Thursday, June 20 at 5 PM ET.
