Mountain States Circuit Becomes Home to Top 50 for a Few Weeks

It's full-time rodeo action in the Mountain States Circuit. For a few weeks a year, the states of Colorado and Wyoming play host to the best of the best in professional rodeo.

Scotty Knapp / Robin Zielinski / Sun-News

Following the top cowboys and cowgirls around the United States, you will definitely find them in the Moutain States Circuit boundaries in July and early August. Colorado and Wyoming are host to some of the best rodeos in the country during this time.

From the NFR Open held in Colorado Springs, Colo. to Casper and Sheridan, Wyo. the rodeos are one a day for a while in the beautiful rocky mountain region.

Casper and Sheridan, Wyo. are both stops that are on cowboys and cowgirls lists during this busy time. Here we will highlight the winners at each.

Bareback Riding

Sheridan Wyo. and Sankey Pro Rodeo were good to R.C. Landingham who is on a roll lately in the bareback riding. The Hat Creek, Cali. man rode Bronc Riding Nat for 88 points and a $6,557.

Jacek Frost, who is currently ranked number 24 in the standings, came to town making a bid for his first NFR qualification. He certainly helped his goals by winning the Central Wyoming Fair & Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. He scored an 86-point ride on Western Edge App from Generations Pro Rodeo in the finals to give him a total of 172.5 in the average. The win earned the cowboy $3,392.

Steer Wrestling

Kodi Jang, originally from Townsville, Queensland, Australia was the top dog in the steer wrestling event in Sheridan. He threw two steers in a total of 8.1-seconds to earn the title and a check for $4,167.

Talon Roseland from Marshalltown, Iowa took the win at Casper. He threw three steers in 12.9 seconds earning him the well-paying average championship check of $5,071.

Team Roping

The Bray brothers, Paden and Wyatt took top honors in the team roping event when they roped two steers in a total of 10.8 seconds. Being the fast team on the arena floor in Sherian earned them each $4,818 checks.

Familiar names, Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp came home with top honors from Casper by roping their steer in the finals in a mere 5.1 seconds giving them a total of 15.6 seconds and the championship. For the average, each cowboy received $5,192.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Zachary Dallas scored an incredible 91.5-points on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics' The Black Tie in Sheridan for the win. Gathering $6,430 helped Dallas move up in the World Standings to number 10.

Damian Brenna from Australia is looking to make his second appearance at the Wrangler National Finals. He showed up the competition in Casper by scoring 167 points on two horses. The champion's check was $3,283 for winning the average.

Tie-Down Roping

Luke Potter from Maple City, Kansas broke into the top 15 after winning $4,929 for tying two calves in a total of 17.4 seconds in Sheridan.

Current World Champion Riley Webb was the champion in Casper by tying his last calf in 8.7 seconds for the win in the short round and a check of $1,421. He also won the average and earned $6,186.

Barrel Racing

Four-time Wrangler National Finals qualifier Shelley Morgan was the fastest barrel racer in Sheridan when she stopped the clock in 17.29 seconds. The super fast run earned Morgan $8,516 toward her World Standings.

Fan favorite, Dona Kay Rule, who has been to the NFR three times, was crowned the champion in Casper. At 66-years-old, the cowgirl from Minco, Okla. is still just as tough as anyone out on the road. She made two beautiful runs in 34.21 seconds total to earn the average title and a check for $5.504.

Bull Riding

Lukasey Morris didn't mess around with Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics' bull Risky Business. Together the two athetes put together a ride for 89 points and the championship. Morris added $7,664 to his bank account for the ride.

Scottie Knapp was the best bull rider in Casper by staying on top of two bulls for a total of 170 points. For his 16 seconds of work, Knapp deposited $3,410.