BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
As the season gets longer, it feels like more tie-down ropers have made themselves Gold Buckle contenders. First, it was all about Shad Mayfield, then after Cowboy Christmas, Ty Harris entered the picture.
Now, it’s Haven Meged, the 2019 World Champion’s time to show another title could be his. On Aug. 1, Meged was $55,000 behind Mayfield and $41,000 behind Harris and has cut those totals down to $15,000 and $4,000 respectively.
1. Shad Mayfield, $218,811
Mayfield made a pair of nice checks the last two weekends of August at Washington rodeos. He won $3,069 for a Round 2 win at the Horse Heaven Roundup in Kennewick and added another $3,752 in Walla Walla. This is the third straight year Mayfield has cleared $200,000 in the regular season, he is the only tie-down roper ever to do so.
2. Ty Harris, $207,376
Harris has won five checks since Aug. 13 and four of them have been worth more than $2,000. He didn’t register any wins in August, but finished second at the Canby Rodeo (Oregon).
3. Haven Meged, $203,219
Meged has won about $60,000 since Aug. 1. His month included wins at the Kitsap Stampede (Washington), Horse Heaven Roundup, and Canby Rodeo in addition to round wins at the Caldwell Night Rodeo (Idaho) and Ellensburg Rodeo.
4. Riley Webb, $184,660
The reigning World Champion had a strong Labor Day Weekend by winning the Iron County Fair and Rodeo (Utah) and two rounds in Ellensburg, where he was ultimatley third in the Average. In total, those two rodeos paid him $12,360.
5. John Douch, $150,037
Douch had a strong middle of August by winning more than $16,000 between Aug. 13 and 25 between six different rodeos.
6. Marty Yates, $147,600
Yates had two good stretches in August, the first one from Aug. 7-10, he won more than $8,000 between the Lea County PRCA Rodeo (New Mexico) and Cache County Fair and Rodeo (Utah). From Aug. 20-25, he won more than $16,000 for a win a the Horse Heaven Roundup, second place finish at the Gem State Stampede (Idaho) and third place finish at the Kitsap Stampede.
7. Shane Hanchey, $130,200
Hanchey won a check in all three rounds of the Horse Heaven Roundup, which concluded on Aug. 24. The weekend prior, he won $4,500 for second at the Moses Lake Roundup Rodeo (Washington). The Top 7 in the PRCA World Standings remains unchanged from Aug. 1 and Hanchey is in position for his 15th straight NFR.
8. Kincade Henry, $119,307
Henry has moved up two spots in the last three weeks by winning more than $2,000 at the Ellensburg Rodeo, Walla Walla Frontier Days, Kitsap Stampede, Moses Lake Roundup, and Caldwell Night Rodeo. Henry ranks second in PRCA Playoff Series Points.
9. Tuf Cooper, $117,534
Cooper finished second at the Golden Spike Rodeo (Utah) on Aug. 24 to win $4,766, his biggest check of August. Cooper also won seven checks in the first 10 days of August.
10. Joel Harris, $104,733
Harris’ biggest win of late was the Farm-City Pro Rodeo n Aug. 10, which paid him more than $8,000 and restabilized his Top 10 position. This past weekend, he won money in Ellensburg, Walla Walla and the Iron County Fair and Rodeo. He is the only cowboy in the Top 10 without an NFR appearance.
11. Dylan Hancock, $103,955
Hancock is only 20 and may be feeling the pressure coming down the stretch for his first NFR, he hasn’t won a check since Aug. 17
12. Zack Jongbloed, $101,488
Zack Jongbloed has made almost $50,000 since Aug. 1 and moved up 15 spots in the World Standings in that time. Over Labor Day Weekend, he won $15,288 across a trio of rodeos.
13. Cole Clemons, $99,441
Clemons won $5,252 for first place at the Moses Lake Roundup on Aug. 17 and since then he has added $10,000 more to his season earnings. Clemons leads the Resistol Rookie Standings as well.
14. Quade Hiatt, $91,157
After a lackluster August, Hiatt rebounded the first weekend in September with a second place finish in Walla Walla and at the Lake County Round-Up in Oregon. It was his highest paying weekend since mid-July and brought him from No. 18 to No. 14.
15. Hunter Herrin, $88,924
Herrin won Ellensburg for the third time in his career and rose from 17th to 15th in the PRCA World Standings. He is looking for his 14th career NFR qualification.
16. Marcos Costa, $88,040
Costa was rock solid all August, placing at multiple rodeos every single weekend. Some of the noteworthy finishes included a win at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo (Idaho), a third place finish in the Average at the Lea County PRCA Rodeo and a fourth place finish at the Gem State Stampede. He has moved up four spots since Aug. 1.
17. Bryce Derrer, $85,760
The second ranked rookie has won five checks of more than $1,000 at five different rodeos since Aug. 21.
18. Macon Murphy, $85,426
Murphy won $2,400+ at three different rodeos from Aug. 15-17 and more recently, he won the Meagher County Labor Day Rodeo (Montana) on Sept. 2.
19. Brushton Minton, $83,665
Minton won five checks of $3,000 or more in August and also won $5,157 for his victory at the Colorado State Fair and Rodeo on Aug. 26. He has moved up two spots in the last three weeks.
20. Beau Cooper, $81,175
Since winning the Omak Stampede (Washington) on Aug. 11, Cooper has had good showings at the Caldwell Night Rodeo and Golden Spike Rodeo
