Watts Wins Saddle Bronc Title at North American Championship

The young Saddle Bronc rider placed in each round and had the best average of any rider in the event.

Trey Watts came out the winner on average in the Saddle Bronc event at the North American Rodeo, which wrapped up on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.

For Watts, it was his first event of the 2024 season and he won two of the three rounds in the event. He claimed the second round with an 81.5-point ride on Bonafide, and then shared the victory in the third round with an 81-point ride on Back Page.

That, combined with his 78-point ride on Malibu Mama in the first round, left him with a three-round score of 240.5 points.

The Palmyra, Mo., product just joined PRCA in 2023 and finished that season with $17,835 in winnings. He won on eight rides in 2023, with the last victory coming at the Barron County Pro Rodeo in Rice Lake, Wis., in September.

Byron Gilliland finished second in average with 233 points and won the first round with a 79.5-point ride on Unforgetable. Gilliland finished in the Top 4 in each round.

Cauy Masters finished third in the average with 227 points, while Tegan Smith was fourth with 225 points.

Dylan Hancock shared the third-round victory with Watts with an 81-point ride on Colorado Kool-aid.

North American Championship Rodeo

Louisville, Ky., Nov. 9-11

First round: 1. Byron Gilliland, 79.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo's Unforgetable, $2,459; 2. (tie) John Allen, Dylan Hancock and Weston Pierschbacher, 79, $1,229 each. Second round: 1. Trey Watts, 81.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo's Bonafide, $2,459; 2. (tie) Byron Gilliland, Cauy Masters and Weston Pierschbacher, 78, $1,229 each. Third round: 1. (tie) Dylan Hancock, on Championship Pro Rodeo's Colorado Kool-aid, and Trey Watts, on Dakota Rodeo's Back Page, 81 points, $2,151 each; 3. John Allen, 77.5, $1,229; 4. (tie) Byron Gilliland, Cauy Masters and Tegan Smith, 76, $205 each. Average: 1. Trey Watts, 240.5 points on three head, $3,688; 2. Byron Gilliland, 233.5, $2,766; 3. Cauy Masters, 227, $1,844; 4. Tegan Smith, 225, $922.