BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Last week was San Antonio-themed and this week, the Monday Notebook (and the PRCA) traveled 200 miles east to Houston, which is where all of this week’s notes will come from.
- Bull rider Ky Hamilton is the only cowboy to sweep at RodeoHouston so far. Ky Hamilton was the only one in Super Series II to ride all three and did so with three rides of 83.5 points or better. Since a stretch where he was bucked off seven straight, he is 6-for-8. Hamilton won $9,000 toward the PRCA World Standings in Super Series II.
- The three bareback riding round winners in Super Series I have combined for 23 NFR appearances. Clayton Biglow took Round 1 with 88, Biglow and Richie Champion split Round 2 with 86 and Tim O’Connell claimed Round 3 with 86.5 points. Biglow and Champion have each made the NFR seven times, while O’Connelll has made nine trips. For context, the four cowboys that advanced out of Super Series II have combined for seven trips.
- RodeoHouston’s breakaway roping payout nearly doubled in 2023. The event was introduced to the rodeo in 2022 and had a purse of $133,500 in its inaugural year, which was won by Erin Johnson. This year, the purse is $227,480. The increase is due to the fact that breakaway ropers only competed in one Go-Round in each Super Series rather than the standard three of other events.
- Statler Wright, not Stetson Wright moved on in saddle bronc riding in Super Series II. Stetson Wright proved he is human by winning just $500 for a one fourth place finish over three rounds. Statler, on the other hand, won a round and brought in $3,250 to advance along with Tanner butner, Chase Brooks and Ben Andersen.
- Bareback rider Cole Reiner has made 14 straight rides of 81 points or more. Reiner won 2-of-3 rounds in Super Series II and for the season, he is 18-for-18 and averaging 84.6 points per ride. On 11 total rides in Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston, he has pulled a check on eight of them.
- Steer wrestler Jesse Brown is up to No. 2 in the PRCA World Standings. Brown, like Reiner, won 2-of-3 in Super Series II and he also has the two fastest times of the rodeo so far with a 4.6 and 4.7. Brown, who was the San Antonio Champion, has risen all the way to No. 2 after being outside the Top 20 as recently as Feb. 15.
- There has yet to be a 90-point ride at RodeoHouston. The highest scores in the roughstock events are 89 from Cole Reiner in bareback riding, 87.5 by Tanner Butner and Ben Andersen in saddle bronc riding and 88.5 by JB Mauney and Chance Schott in bull riding. Last year, there were also no 90-point rides through the first six performances.
