We are at the halfway mark of the 2023 NFR and the Gold Buckle races are heating up. Here are your storylines as we head into Round 5 of the NFR.
Ky Hamilton takes over the No. 1 spot in the Bull Riding World Standings with Round 4 win. Sage Kimzey was in line to make over $90,000 after being the only Bull Rider to make the bell through 13 riders. Ky Hamilton changed that quickly with a round-winning 89-point ride. Not only did he win the round, but after ground money his season earnings jumped to over $400,000. He now leads the Bull Riding World standings and is dominating in the average. He is the only cowboy to go 4-4 to start the NFR. Creek Young sits in second in the average with just two bulls ridden.
Team Ropers Jake Long and Clint Summers are now No. 1 in the Team Roping standings after winning their third round of the rodeo. Summers and Long have won three of the first four rounds at the NFR and join Ky Hamilton as the only athletes to have earned over $100,000 already. The two took last night’s round with a time of 3.7 seconds. With the win, both are atop the Team Roping standings on their respective side.
Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi joins elite company with second-place finish. Brittany has earned more than any Barrel Racer this NFR and with her second-place finish last night, she now joins Hailey Kinsel, Lisa Lockhart, and Sherry Cervi as the only barrel racers to eclipse the $1 million mark at the NFR. She now leads the WPRA standings by $162,000.
Saddle Bronc Riding now has six athletes over $200,000, the most of any event. With Tanner Butner’s second-place finish, he has now earned over $200,000 on the season making him the sixth Saddle Bronc Rider to do so. Sage Newman currently leads the Saddle Bronc World Standings with $298,370 earned this season.
Expect Fireworks tonight in Roughstock with the TV pen. There has yet to be a 90-point ride at the 2023 NFR, but that is likely to change with the TV pen due up. Some of the top stock set to buck tonight are Agent Lynx, Virgil, Gun Fire, Stevie Knicks, and Night Crawler in Bareback Riding. In Saddle Bronc Riding Wild Cherry, Xena Warrior, Womanizer, Xplosive Skies, and Dandy Delight will be bucking.
Round 4 Arena Records:
Bareback Riding: 93 Points, Clayton Biglow-2018
Saddle Bronc Riding: 93 Points, Jesse Kruse-2009, Jesse Wright-2012
Bull Riding: 94. Points, Stetson Wright-2021
Steer Wrestling: 3.0 Seconds, Steve Douhon-1986
Team Roping: 3.6 Seconds, Garrett Tonozzi & Kinney Harrell-2006, JoJo LeMond & Cory Petska-2010, Clay Smith Jade Corkill-2020
Tie-Down Roping: 6.7 Seconds, Caleb Smidt-2016
Barrel Racing: 13.43 Seconds, Emily Beisel-2021
