ROAD TO THE NFR (PRCA RECAP

PRCA STEER WRESTLER TYLER WAGUESPACK

PRCA TIE-DOWN ROPER SHAD MAYFIELD

PRCA SADDLE BRONC & BULL RIDER STETSON WRIGHT

Photo: K. Miller

Photo: Phill Kitts The PRCA Season is in full swing, and our favorite cowboys and cowgirls are pulling out the big guns this year to earn the right to enter the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Dec. 1-10 for the 2022 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. With a record-setting payout of more than $10.9 million, it’s no wonder the competition is as fierce as ever. The top 15 rodeo athletes in bull riding, saddle bronc, bareback, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, steer roping, team roping, barrel racing, and breakaway roping will pull out all the stops to show they have what it takes to earn a World Champion title.

It’s been quite a year so far, and there’s still more to come. Here, we check in with the PRCA’s best athletes to catch up on who’s making waves during the 2022 rodeo season.

Photo: Phill Kitts

PRCA RECAP

ALL AROUND

It’s no surprise to see three-time all-around World Champion Stetson Wright at the top of the leaderboards again this season. As one of the best bull riders and saddle bronc riders, Wright has a superpower ability to hone in on what he wants and achieve his goals. With more than $332,022.89 in qualified all-around earnings for 2022, the 23-year-old recently broke the record for most money won all-around in a single season. He presently ranks first in bull riding and second in saddle bronc. Second-ranked Caleb Smidt would have to make an incredible showing throughout the rest of the season to catch up to Wright in the all-around standings, as Wright’s Photo: Rod Connor earnings are more than double Smidt’s.

Wright deserves every penny he’s earned this year, with 11 wins each in both bull riding and saddle bronc and 21 allaround event wins. Wright has cinched the win in saddle bronc at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, the Fort Herriman (Utah) PRCA Rodeo, and Days Of The Old West Rodeo (Delta, Utah). He’s led the way in bull riding at the Ute Mountain Round-Up (Cortez, Colo.), RodeoHouston, Rodeo Austin, and Caldwell Night Rodeo (Idaho), where he earned a 93-point ride on Domino (Powder River Rodeo).

Photo: Phill Kitts

SADDLE BRONC

In a season surprise, Sage Newman holds the number one spot in saddle bronc with $233,359.65 in season earnings, marking an excellent year after qualifying for his first NFR last year and finishing 11th overall in 2021. He’s significantly ahead of Stetson Wright, who has earned $163,565.30 in the sport this year. Two-time saddle bronc World Champion Ryder Wright must put in a little more work if he wants to catch up to his younger brother, as Ryder sits fourth in the standings with $147,833.40. He’s behind Brody Cress, who holds the third-place spot with $163,146.42.

But, as we’ve seen repeatedly, a few solid wins or a good run at the NFR can make or break an athlete’s season, so only time will tell if Newman can keep his lead and stay ahead of the competition.

Photo: Phill Kitts

BULL RIDING

Stetson Wright remains an unstoppable force in bull riding, commanding $252,451.70 in qualified earnings for the season. There’s more than $40,000 separating him and second-place Josh Frost, who won the NFR event and average titles in 2021 and ended the year as the reserve World Champion. But, it’s still anyone’s to take as a streak of bad luck for Wright, or a series of solid runs for Frost or thirdranked Jeff Askey, could change the dynamic. At 34 years old, Askey may be having one of the best years of his career, with eight wins and a co-champion title so far this season.

BAREBACK

In the bareback scene, all eyes are on Jeff Pope, who finished second in the standings in 2021 but won the 2021 NFR bareback event and the average. Pope, who holds $137,580.91 in season earnings, won the average in 2020, which was also his first-ever NFR qualification. However, he’s just a smidge ahead of both three-time World Champion Tim O’Connell, who holds the second-place spot, and two-time NFR qualifier Cole Reiner. Fortunately for both of them, a few thousand dollars isn’t a lot when there’s so much money at stake throughout the rest of the season and up through the NFR.

STEER WRESTLING

Three-time World Champion Tyler Waguespack leads the pack once again in steer wrestling with $121,429.79 in earnings after wins at the San Angelo (Texas) Cinch Chute-Out, the Fiesta Days Rodeo (Spanish Fork, Utah), and the Snake River Stampede (Nampa, Idaho). At the 2021 NFR, he was the event runner-up, which netted him $213,248 to earn him the 2021 World Champion title. Clearly, he brought that energy into the 2022 season, where he sits more than $10,000 ahead of second-ranked Will Lummus. Still, should Lummus or third-place Stetson Jorgensen have a Waguespack-like run at the NFR, either of them could easily dethrone this season’s front-runner to earn that World Champion title.

Photo: Clay Guardipee

TIE-DOWN ROPING

There are plenty of familiar faces in the top ten ranked tie-down ropers this year, including 2013 World Champion Shane Hanchey, 2019 World Champion Haven Meged, and three-time World Champion and 2017 all-around World Champion Tuf Cooper, just to name a few. But, the star of the show this year is 2020 World Champion Shad Mayfield, who’s having a heck of a year with ten event wins under his belt so far and $162,211.75 in earnings. It would be exhilarating to see Mayfield return to claim the World Champion title after finishing only 7th in the standings last year.

Photo: Phill Kitts

STEER ROPING

At the ripe age of 47, Scott Snedecor shows no signs of slowing down. He’s qualified for the National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) 20 times, and 2022 will likely be his 21st qualification. With $71,117.01 in qualified money this season, the four-time World Champion is out for yet another win after placing second in the world standings in both 2020 and 2021. Last year, he placed second to Cole Patterson, who is also vying for that number one spot as he sits third ranked in the sport. A few big wins could push him over the edge, as Patterson trails Snedecor by less than $5,000. He’ll also have to beat nine-time NFSR qualifier Jess Tierney, who sits in second place in the rankings. The final showdown takes place at the NFSR, which will be held from Nov. 4-5 at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.

Photo: Phill Kitts

Photo: Phill Kitts

TEAM ROPING

2021’s World Champion team roping header Kaleb Driggers stands at the top of the rankings with $192,113.29 for the season. His partner, Junior Nogueira, is also at the top of the rankings for heelers with the same amount of earnings, proving that the two remain the elite team roping duo they’ve been for the past few years. Second place for headers is Clay Tyran, who reunited with previous partner Jade Corkill after a run with Jake Long. Corkill is presently ranked fourth for heelers, while Long is second. Between Corkill and Long in third place is Buddy Hawkins, matched with Andrew Ward, who’s currently third in the rankings for headers. But there’s plenty more team roping action to come this season, and all eyes are on Tryan and Corkill to see if their pairing will be enough to surpass the dynamic duo of Driggers and Nogueira.

Photo: Brian Gauk

BARREL RACING

Jordan Briggs is having a heck of a year in the barrel racing scene, with $$175,875.84 in earnings. Though plenty of mainstays such as Donna Kay Rule, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, and Hailey Kinsel are within the top ten in the standings, they’ll have their work cut out for them in the coming months leading up to the NFR if they want to surpass Briggs’s whirlwind season. And, it looks like rookie Bayleigh Choate is well on her way to qualifying for the NFR, too, as she’s currently ranked tenth, above other well-known racers such as Ivy Seabens and Jessica Routier.

BREAKAWAY

Martha Angelone has a commanding lead in breakaway roping, $95,992.98 in earnings and more than $30,000 ahead of second-place Erin Johnson. However, the women of breakaway won’t let Angelone take it without a fight. There’s still more than enough time for ropers like Lari Dee Guy, Taylor Hanchey, and Shelby Boisjoli to even out the score, stealing the number one spot from Angelone. The Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping will take place at South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nov. 2930, as a precursor to the NFR at Thomas & Mack. The event features the top 15 women of breakaway coming together to compete for a $250,000 prize pool. That’s what’s happening in the PRCA. Wherever you are and whatever you’re planning, we hope to see you in December at the biggest rodeo event of the year.