PRCA Bareback Riding Standings Update: Rookies Spread Throughout Top 15, None Better than Keenan Hayes

Bareback Riding features the usual suspects of stars throughout the top 15, but this year they are joined by a handful of impressive rookies. None have been more impressive than Rookie Keenan Hayes, who in his first year rodeoing full-time, holds a $50,000 lead over Leighton Berry who sits in second place.

Here is a look at some of the top Bareback Riders and how their seasons have gone thus far.

No. 1 Keenan Hayes, $202,713

It will go down as a record-breaking season for Rookie Keenan Hayes. He is comfortably in first place in the PRCA World Standings with $202,713 earned on the season and is the only cowboy to crack $150,000 in Bareback Riding as of August 10. Since August began, Hayes has already earned three checks of over $2,900. The first of the month came at the Big Sky Pro Rodeo where he took the win after an 86-point ride on Pick Up Sticks. The win earned him $3,500 toward the standings. The weekend was not close to done for Hayes, however. He would then head to the Richland County Fair and Rodeo and go 85 points for a second-place finish and another $3,000 visit to the pay window. His final big check of the weekend came at the War Bonnet Round Up where he got the win and another $3,000 check with an 86.5-point ride.

Hayes is well on his way to his first-career NFR. The only question is how much will he earn in the regular season, which comes to an end at the end of September. Hayes has a great chance to break Clint Cannon’s PRCA Regular Season earnings record of $235,504 which was set back in 2009.

No. 3 Kade Sonnier, $137,656

If not for Keenan Hayes, we would be talking a lot more about Kade Sonnier, who is having an incredible Rookie season in his own right. Sonnier is currently No. 3 in the PRCA World Standings and is within striking distance of second place.

Over the last couple of weeks, Sonnier has cashed four checks of $1,800 or more. Two of those checks came at California Rodeo Salinas. One in the first round where he went 84.5 points to place second which earned him $4,614. His second check came courtesy of the average where he placed second and earned an additional $4,000. To start August, Sonnier placed third at the Big Sky Rodeo with an 83-point ride to earn just under $2,000. His most recent big payday came at the Mountain Valley Stampede where he got the win after going 87.5 points to win another $3,350.

No. 12 Jess Pope, $84,241

The 2022 World Champion is not where he thought he would be heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Pope is sitting at No. 12 in the World, but heading in the right direction after a stretch of great riding. Pope’s making a push to the top 10 thanks to a great stretch to end July. The stretch began in Ogden at the Pioneer Days Rodeo where he placed third and won over $5,000. Pope followed that up with a fourth-place finish in Salinas and then three consecutive wins at Deadwood, the Aulick Industries Challenge, and Iowa’s Champion Rodeo. The three wins alone earned Pope over $12,000.