There are several young athletes inside the Top 15 of the PRCA Bareback World Standings, including the top 3, with 20-year-old rookie Keenan Hayes topping the standings and 19-year-old reigning Resistol Rookie of the Year Rocker Steiner right on his heels.
Here is a look at the Top 20 as we continue through the Texas Swing.
No. 1 Keenan Hayes, $47,986
20-year-old Keenan Hayes has been electric in 2023 and is coming off a second-place finish at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo where he went 90.5 points in the Finals. Hayes has also recently won the Brighton Field Days and Rodeo and the Silver Spurs Rodeo.
No. 2 Rocker Steiner, $47,417
Rocker is just a few dollars behind Hayes and has been just as exciting. The lightning rod of a Bareback rider most recently won La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros with an 88-point ride. His season has been highlighted by a win at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo where he had back-to-back 90-point rides to get the win.
No. 3 Kade Sonnier, $35,242
Kade Sonnier has put together a great start to the 2023 calendar year, reflected in his No. 3 position in the World Standings. His best showing of the year was at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo where he placed second after an 89-point ride in the finals on Stevie Knicks. He also won the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo with an 87-point ride early in the year.
No. 4 Jacob Lees $34,371
Lees made a nice jump in the standings in February thanks to a big win at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo. Lees opened the rodeo with a win in the first round thanks to an 87-point ride and followed that up with an 88-point ride in the finals on Tarnished Silver. Lees also finished in third place at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo after an 89-point ride on Night Crawler.
No. 5 Garrett Shadbolt, $31,948
Shadbolt is off to a great start in his quest for a third straight NFR qualification. Shadbolt’s season is highlighted by a win at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo where he went 89.5 points in the Finals. Shadbolt’s next biggest win came before the new year at the Bucking Battle in Bismark where he took home a check of over $6,000.
No. 6 Dean Thompson, $31,871
Thompson had a big win to start 2023 at the New Year’s Eve Buck and Ball where he went 89 points in the Finals to win the rodeo and take home over $5,000 total. Thompson also took a round at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo which earned him $5,500.
No. 7 Leighton Berry, $31,511
Berry made a big jump in the standings last weekend with his win at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Berry won the Wild Card Round with an 88.5-point ride and took the Finals with a 93-point ride on Gunfire in the Finals for the win.
No. 8 Taylor Broussard, $29,425
Broussard is looking to get back to the NFR after missing it in 2022. His biggest win came at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo where he took Round 3 of his bracket with an 87-point ride on Zulu Warrior.
No. 9 Jayco Roper, $28,083
Roper had his best stretch before the start of the new year with back-to-back checks of over $4,000. His first came at the Chase Hawks Rough Stock Rodeo where he went 84.5 points and finished in third. He followed that up with a round win at the New Year’s Eve Buck and Ball to earn another $4,750.
No. 10 Kaycee Feild, $25,270
Feild is looking to get back to the top of the mountain after winning a Gold Buckle in 2020 and 2021 but placing second in 2022 behind Jess Pope. Feild had a strong showing at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo where he had rides of 88 points, 93 points, and two rides of 89 points. In total, Feild won over $14,000.
No. 11 Chad Rutherford, $24,299
Rutherford has been great in 2023 highlighted by three straight rides of 88 points or more at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo including an 89-point ride in the Finals to earn him second place.
No. 12 Luke Thrash, $22,170
Thrash had his strongest stretch in November after winning all three rounds at the Southeaster Circuit Finals which earned him over $7,000.
No. 13 Clayton Biglow, $20,605
Biglow’s best ride came in the opening round of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo where he went 90 points to win the round and earn over $3,255.
No. 14 Sam Petersen, $19,342
The 19-year-old finds himself in the top 15 after big checks at the Dixie National and the Cinc World’s Toughest Rodeo. His biggest check came at the Dixie National where he placed second with an 87-point ride to earn over $3,000.
No. 15 Ben Kramer, $18,962
While Kramer doesn’t have a big win on the season, he does have three checks over $1,000 including two fourth-place finishes in bracket play at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo which earned him over $1,600 each.
No. 16 Nick Pelke, $18,122
Pelke has had a strong showing at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeos in 2023. He has placed first, fourth, and second in three events which have earned him over $7,000 in total.
No. 17 Tim O’Connell, $17,900
O’Connell is looking to crack the top 15 and has been climbing the leaderboard lately thanks to solid showings at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros. In total, he won over $5,000 between three rides at the two rodeos.
No. 18 Tanner Aus, $16,664
Aus’ most notable win of 2023 came at Rodeo Rapid City where he went 88 points for the win and earned a check of just over $5,000.
No. 19 R.C. Landingham, $15,599
Landingham doesn’t have many outs since his appearance at the 2022 NFR, but he does have some big wins. Most recently Landingham took the title at the Dixie National after an 88-point ride.
No. 20 Jacek Frost, $15,434
Frost has failed to cash a check in his last eight outs and has only broken 80 points once in those eight rides.
