Until last night, young gun Levi Gray hadn’t won a paycheck at the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver, despite having 2 successful bull rides under his belt.
They may not have resulted in payouts, but his two preliminary rides were extremely important, elevating his overall score high enough to advance him to Saturday’s semifinals — where the 20-year-old from Dairy, Oregon, shined. Gray was one of eight bull riders to perform Saturday night, and one of just three who were able to last eight seconds.
And Gray ended up at the top of the leaderboard, scoring 91 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Rumpshaker, a score that earned him $3,047, as well as a spot in the finals.
Today he’s up against Trey Benton III, Brody Yeary, Matt Palmer, Sage Kimzey, Dillon Tyner, and Coy Pollmeier in the finals, all vying for the 2020 bull riding championship title.