JD Struxness was sitting No. 4 in the world coming into Ellensburg and he left sitting No. 2 after winning the championship title.
It is a three head average for timed events and Struxness ended with a time of 12.7 seconds on those three head. He tied for fourth in Round 1 with a 4.2 and won Round 2 with a time of 3.8 seconds making him one of the top cowboys coming back in the Short Round. He knew exactly what he had to do and he did just that when the clock stopped at 4.7 seconds.
Struxness’ last trip to the National Finals Rodeo was in 2019 and this year, he is heading back to Las Vegas and he attributes part of his success to his phenominal horse power.
“This year I was able to get on Curtis Cassidy’s horse, Tyson, and that’s been a huge game changer for me. It’s been a good year on him and we just keep going,” Struxness said.
With Ellensburg Rodeo adding close to $10,000 to his season earnings, Struxness continues to set himself up for a possible Gold Buckle this December.