Lovington Pays Out in Excess of $360,500 to National Finals Seeking Contenders

With a payout in excess of $350,000, competitors made great strides in the World Standings by winning in Lovington, New Mexico.

Wenda Johnson 2024 NFR / Hillary Maybery for SI rodeo

The truth is the standings are changing almost every day and the moves being made could be life-changing for some cowboys and cowgirls. This is the time when it all comes together or quite literally all falls apart. August and September are the hardest months of rodeo for the men and women trying to make a trip to the National Finals Rodeo.

Lovington, New Mexico is a must stop rodeo in August. Held August 7 through 10, the Lea County PRCA Rodeo has substantial added money and payouts that can bolster a person's chances to be in the top 15.

Weston Timberman, a rookie cowboy from Columbus, Mont. rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo's Secret's Out for 89.5 points and the win. Only second to his win in San Antonio, Texas for the average, this is the biggest one ride payday of Timberman's year. The lifetime of preparation and eight seconds worth of work netted the man $8,425.

Timberman is currently ranked number 10 in the World Standings for the bareback riding and is running away with the Resistol Rookie title for 2024.

After making four trips to the WNFR, Clayton Hass is fighting for his chance at a fifth. He currently sits at number 18 in the World Standings and needs to make these last few days of the season count.

Lovington was no exception to that rule and the Weatherford, Texas man certainly did his job. He won round one with a 3.4-second run for $3,052 and then followed that with a second go round time of 4.2 that was just out of the money.

Adding the two runs together and Hass was the champion in the average with his 7.6 total time on two steers. That effort was good enough for another paycheck of $4,577.

Jacob Talley is holding down the number 15 spot in the standings with $62,921 won. Hass has $59,695 as of the last release of standings. The small difference can be made up in one run, but guaranteed every one of these guys is giving it their all to maintain their position in the top 15.

In the team roping competition, it was the Bray brothers who would top the field. Ranked at numbers 25 and 26 in the World Standings, don't count these two out on showing up in the final tally of top 15.

Wyatt and Paden Bray were 5.6-seconds on their first steer which was a little too long for money. They came back to stop the clock at 4.3-seconds in round two which was good enough for the fifth place $1,400 check along with making them the average champions which garnered another $4,392 each.

Add in the knowledge of the Bray brothers picking up checks at Missoula and Bozeman, Mont. and it is clear these two are on a mission.

Another man who appears to be on a mission is saddle bronc rider, Brody Cress. After getting bucked off at his hometown rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyo. Cress found a fire inside that so far has not been quenched.

Dodge City, Kans., Castle Rock, Colo., Sentinel Butte, N.D., Hermiston, Ore., Lovington, N.M. and Coalville, Utah make up the stops since the 28-year-old man dusted himself off in Cheyenne. At every single one of these rodeos, Cress has left with a check.

In Lovington the Wyoming man bested Pete Carr Pro Rodeo's Dirty Jacket for an 89-point score and a $8,235 paycheck. Cress is currently ranked number seven in the World Standings with $146,061 won and has certainly secured his trip to Las Vegas - now to work on a World title.

The man on the hot seat in the tie-down roping right now is Trevor Hale. He currently holds down number 15, but would certainly like to move up and take some pressure off. He put together two solid runs in Lovington working toward that goal.

Round one found him throwing his hands in the air at 9.7 seconds which was good enough to split the seventh place check with fellow roper Marcos Costa.

In round two, Hale sped things up by finishing his tie in 8.8 seconds and gathered the third place finish. In total, his 18.5 second two head time was almost a full second faster than the closest competitor. For his speedy work, Hale earned $4,948.

The 22-year-old Perryton, Texas man will have to keep up his winning ways if he intends to back in the box under the bright lights in the big city.

Well-known barrel racer, Wenda Johnson barely edged out the competition to earn the title. She finished her run in 17.50 seconds just ahead of Sadie Wolaver-Troyer who stopped the clock at 17.51. Johnson got to deposit $7,977 while the one one-hundredth of a second difference gave Wolaver-Troyer a check for $6,382.

The last update of the WPRA standings was several days ago and likely does not include this money but Johnson is a clear qualifier already for the 2024 NFR. She is ranked number seven with $105,678 in earnings.

Another rookie took charge in the bull riding competition. Wacey Schalla scored 89.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo's Armed Conflict. With only four qualified rides for the entire rodeo, Schalla was paid generously for his effort.

Adding $9,823 to his rookie and world standings, the 18-year-old cowboy from Arapaho, Okla., gives him season earnings in total of $183,135 between the bareback and bull riding events. Schalla is ranked number eight in the bull riding and 28 in the bareback riding World Standings.

His impressive year has also landed him number two in the World All-Around Standings following behind Shad Mayfield who has $211,559 on the season so far.

The stories are being told but the endings are certainly still being written out on the rodeo road. Stay tuned for all the coverage and action leading up to the final cutoff day, September 30, to see who will have their dreams come true.