BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
It was a Riggin’ Rally that featured nine rides marked 87.5 points or higher, but 18-year-old Rocker Steiner ultimately stole the show.
Riding C5 Rodeo’s Virgil, the rookie was marked 95 points, the highest score in PRCA Bareback Riding history.
“I was really scared, but I knew something great was about to happen,” Steiner said. “There is no way to describe (the moment)....I knew it was going to be a big score when I sat up and double grabbed, but I didn’t think that big.”
Steiner took home $10,000 for the win and will get a big boost in his quest for an NFR berth as a rookie. He entered the event No. 15 in the World Standings.
While Steiner got much of the shine, there were two other 90 point rides in the clean-slate Championship Round. Tim O’Connell and Ty Taypotat, who came in as one of six qualifiers, were both marked 92 points and each earned close to $5,000. It was O’Connell’s highest marked ride of the season and Taypotat’s highest of his career.
STEINER’S RIDE
FULL RESULTS
Section 1: 1. Jess Pope, 88.5 points on Brookman Rodeo’s Joe Dirt, $1,400; 2. Tilden Hooper, 86, 1,050; 3. Seth Hardwick, 81, $700; no other qualified rides.
Section 3: 1. (tie) R.C. Landingham, on C5 Rodeo’s Sesame Street, Cole Reiner, on Legends’ Oakridge and Bronc Marriott, on Sankey’s Wise General, 87.5 points, $1,050 each; 4. Trenton Montero, 85.5, $350.
Finals: 1. Rocker Steiner, 95 points on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil, $10,000; 2. (tie) Tim O’Connell and Ty Taypotat, 92, $4,886 each; 4. R.C. Landingham, 87.5, $2,724; 5. Jess Pope, 86, $1,583; 6. Cole Reiner, 84.5, $1,142.
O’CONNELL’S RIDE
TAYPOTAT’S RIDE