On the Buckin' Bubble: Rough Stock Cowboys Battle to Make the Top 15

In the bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding, several cowboys will be making their final push to qualify for the NFR and could cause last minute upsets to the standings.

Keenan Hayes / Fernandon Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

Bareback Riding

The top four cowboys from the Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup were Jess Pope (currently 11th in the World), Garrett Shadbolt (9th), Bradlee Miller (17th), and RC Landingham (4th), earning their trips to the $1.3 million Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Pope, Miller, and Landingham ended the Playoffs Standings in the top eight and Shadbolt was 10th. This means that Cole Reiner (12th in the World), Jacek Frost (25th), and Waylon Bourgeois (18th) will move up to those positions and compete in The Governor's Cup.

Also in that top eight will be Keenan Hayes (1st in the World Standings), Dean Thompson (3rd), Rocker Steiner (6th), Cole Franks (8th), and Jacob Lees (14th).

The Bareback Riding is one of the tightest races, with less than $10,000 separating positions 10-16 as of September 17 per the PRCA website.

Miller is less than $6,000 from the number 15 spot, so his chance to compete in The Governor's Cup will be crucial to making up that ground. Bourgeois is 18th with $104,000, so he needs to make up about $13,000 to move to 15th, but the Cup would give him a huge chance to do exactly that.

Tanner Aus sits 13th with $122,000 and Richmond Champion 15th with $118,000. Orin Larsen is 16th by just $2,000. All three cowboys fell short of qualifying for Sioux Falls, so their NFR bids will come down to a battle for checks at the remaining rodeos.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Ryder Wright, Lefty Holman, Kolby Wanchuk, and Damian Brennan took the top four spots in Puyallup to earn their qualification to Sioux Falls. All four were in the top ten of the Playoffs Standings as well, meaning four more cowboys rolled into those spots to fill The Governor's Cup.

That group of eight will be Kade Bruno, Brody Cress, Wyatt Casper, Zeke Thurston, Ryder Sanford, Statler Wright, Logan Cook, and Zachary Dallas. Bruno, Cress, Casper, Thurston, and Statler Wright all sit within the top ten in the World Standings. Dallas is currently 12th.

Logan Hay is currently 15th with $120,000 and Brody Wells in 14th has $122,000 earned. Ben Andersen with $125,000 sits 13th and as this trio did not qualify for The Governor's Cup, they will have to rely on pulling checks at the other remaining rodeos.

Sanford is currently 16th and just $5,000 behind 15th. Cook is hot on his heels in 17th and $16,000 short of 15th.

Although the monetary spreads between placings are wider in the Saddle Bronc Riding, there is still a lot of money on the table to shake things up for the top fifteen. Another huge opportunity will be the limited entry rodeo September 20-22 in Mandan, North Dakota, with $480,000 added.

Bull Riding

In Puyallup, the top four cowboys were Trevor Reiste, Jace Trosclair, Jeter Lawrence, and Jate Frost. Reiste, Trosclair, and Lawrence are all in the top nine in the World Standings, with Frost 26th.

From the Playoffs Standings, Hayes Weight, TJ Gray, Wacey Schalla, Cooper James, Tristen Hutchings, Fulton Rutland, Rawley Johnson, and Clayton Sellars will join them in Sioux Falls. Sellars, Johnson, and Rutland were initially outside of the top eight and able to move into those positions.

Weight, Gray, Schalla, and Sellars are all in the top six in the World Standings. James and Hutchings sit 11th and 12th, separated by $2,000. Rutland is currently 27th and $20,000 short of 15th. Johnson is 30th and $38,000 from 15th.

Trey Kimzey, Jake Gardner, and Dustin Boquet currently wrap up the top 15, but none of the three qualified for the Cup. Positions 15-20 are tight right now, with Boquet holding 15th at $114,000.

JR Stratford and Jordan Spears are separated by $100 at $112,392 and $112,235. Luke Mast in 18th has $110,00 and Tyler Bingham only $300 behind him in 19th. All of these cowboys will be relying on those other large payouts through September in attempts to solidify their qualifications.