By Terry Blake
When the RFD-TV’s The American began in 2014, the goal was to give cowboys and cowgirls a chance to win one of the richest paydays in western sports. The American has been a great success over the past six years and crowned a new set of champions on March 6-7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In the bull riding, the semi-final rounds began with about 80 contestants who each rode one bull with the top ten coming back for the short round to face a second bull. The top six scores from the Semi-Finals would advance to The American at AT&T Stadium.
While the champions were crowned just a few short weeks ago, the journey for the majority of the contestants began almost a year ago as they competed in qualifier events across the country in an effort to punch their tickets to compete in The American Semi-Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. For those who compete in the Semi-Finals, the goal is to be one of the top spots who get to progress to the big show at AT&T Stadium with a chance to test their skills against the top rodeo athletes in the sport and a shot at a $1 Million payday.
The bull power was immense throughout the semi-finals with some of the top stock contractors in the country bringing their animal athletes to town. When the dust finally settled in the historic Cowtown Coliseum, the top six who were set to advance were 1. JC Mortensen, 2. Dalton Kasel, 3. Cooper Davis, 4. Koby Radley, 5. Laramie Mosely, 6. Marco Eguchi. Each of these competitors would be eligible for the $1 Million pot established just for the semi-finals qualifiers who are able to win their respective events in The American. When it kicked off on March 6, The American began with a long round where the six qualifiers plus the top ten bull riders from the 2020 PRCA World Standings would square off with their first bulls. The top eight from this round would advance to Sunday afternoon which would consist of a short round of eight contestants followed by a winner take all shootout round of the top four riders. The bulls which were selected for The American included many NFR and PBR World Finals caliber bulls. The cowboys, however, came ready to ride and were able to post seven qualified rides in the long round. Since eight cowboys were set to advance to the short round, Ky Hamilton was able to advance on time after he rode his first bull for 6.41 seconds. JC Mortensen led the pack at the conclusion of the semifinal rounds in Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Jake Link Photography, The American Rodeo / Rural Media Group.
Humps-Horns.com · 16 · April 2021
