Riding the Bubble: Who Will be the Top 15 Barrel Racers and Breakaway Ropers?

As the Playoffs Series wrapped up over the weekend, we have our eye on some potential disruptors for the top 15 in the World Standings

Sarah Angelone / Jackie Jensen/For WPRA

With less than two weeks remaining in the professional rodeo season, the pressure is on for those who cannot yet consider themselves safely within the top 15 in the World Standings to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo.

After this weekend, the Playoffs Series has ended, so the field is set for the $1.3 million Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The top four athletes in each event from the Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup have already punched their ticket, and this week the top eight in the Playoffs Standings will punch theirs.

Breakaway Roping

In Puyallup, the top four breakaway ropers were Maddy Deerman, TiAda Gray, Taylor Munsell, and Jackie Crawford.

With Deerman, Munsell, and Crawford already qualified through the Cinch Playoffs, the next three cowgirls in line will roll into the top eight. That group will be Josie Conner, Martha Angelone, Kelsie Domer, Rickie Fanning, Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, Kendal Pierson, Rylee A George, and Bradi Good.

Conner, Crawford, Munsell, Martha Angelone, Boisjoli-Meged, Deerman, and Fanning are also the top seven in the World Standings, relatively safe for their National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifications.

For Pierson (12th in the World), George (14th), Good (16th), and Gray (18th), the money at the Governor's Cup could be the deciding factor in who makes the trip to Las Vegas in December.

Sarah Angelone currently holds the 15th position with $68,000. She and Joey Williams (17th) will not have the advantage of competing in the Cup and will need to pick up checks at other professional rodeos through September. Williams is roughly $6,000 behind Angelone.

Barrel Racing

The top four barrel racers in Puyallup at the Cinch Playoffs were Ashley Castleberry, Halyn Lide, Chelsea Moore, and Shelley Morgan. Morgan and Castleberry were also within the top eight of the Playoffs Standings, allowing two more cowgirls to move into those positions.

That top eight will be Hailey Kinsel, Emily Beisel, Kassie Mowry, Wenda Johnson, LaTricia Duke, Andrea Busby, Dona Kay Rule, and Jordon Briggs competing in The Governor's Cup. This offers Briggs a crucial opportunity to make up some much needed ground.

Kinsel, Mowry, Beisel, Castleberry, and Johnson are all within the top eight in the World Standings and appear safe in their qualifications. Lide and Rule are 9th and 10th with $112,000. Busby is in 12th with $105,000, while Morgan is 14th with over $100,939. Currently, the cutoff for 15th in the World is $100,618 for Duke.

Briggs sits 18th with $93,000 and Paige Jones is 16th with $97,000. Briggs and Duke will have a shot at huge payouts in The Governor's Cup, while Jones fell just short of qualifying and will have to continue to pull checks at other rodeos. Carlee Otero sits 13th in the World with $103,000 and was also just shy of making the Cup.

We will be watching these stories closely over the next two weeks, with the excitement peaking in Sioux Falls September 26-28 for The Governor's Cup.