BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
The Top 20 bull riders have been battling it out all season and with the presence of some high-paying Xtreme Bulls events this winter, they’ve had more chances at big money than any other event.
At the moment, three cowboys - Ky Hamilton, Jeff Askey and Josh Frost - are leading the pack, but reigning World Champion Stetson Wright is hot on their heels, ready to take back the Gold Buckle he has won two of the last three years.
The difference between the top and bottom of the standings is significant, with a massive $70,000 gap between first-place Hamilton and 20th-ranked Tristen Hutchings.
1. Ky Hamilton, $101,842
The veteran of three consecutive NFRs, Hamilton has basically locked himself into another before the calendar turns to May. One of three athletes to have more than $100,000 in a single discipline, Hamilton was powered by making more than $60,000 for his 6-for-7 performance at RodeoHouston. Hamilton also finished second in San Antonio on Feb. 25 and won La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros (Arizona) on Feb. 26. His last 14 qualified rides have been marked 83.5 points or better.
2. Josh Frost, $89,519
The 2021 NFR Average Champion was simply stellar during the Texas Swing. He covered 15-of-20 bulls and made the Finals of all five rodeos. His best finish was first in Fort Worth, but he was also second in Houston, fourth in San Antonio and fourth in Austin. In total, he made nearly $75,000 at Texas Swing rodeos.
3. Jeff Askey, $83,555
The five-time NFR qualifier’s season can be summed up by three wins spread out equally over the last six months. In October of 2022, Askey rode 3-of-4 and won two rounds to bank $11,716 as the champion of the Texas Circuit Finals. In February 2023, he won San Antonio (and $26,833) with back-to-back 90-point rides on Let’s Go Brandon and Bayou Bengal on the rodeo’s final day. And just this past weekend, he was 176.5 on two to claim the San Angelo Cinch Chute-Out, which came with a payday of $7,500.
4. Stetson Wright, $71,536
The fact that the defending World Champion has yet to win a rodeo in bull riding in 2023 will likely come as a surprise to most fans, but it has by no means been a bad start to the season from Stetson Wright. The Utah native finished second in Denver and Fort Worth and is riding 60 percent of his bulls so far in 2023.
5. Trey Holston, $60,226
After making his first NFR with a riding percentage below 50 in 2022, Holston has improved drastically in 2023. He has ridden 65 percent of his bulls so far this year, including going 11-for-16 during the Texas Swing.
6. Ernie Courson, $52,116
The Florida native has won five rodeos this season and four have been in his home state. Courson is also coming off a second place finish in the Average in San Angelo that earned him a total of almost $8,400.
7. T Parker, $48,186
The 19-year-old is one of two rookies currently in the Top 20 and already has two Xtreme Bulls and an NFR Playoff win to his name this season. Parker has already won six checks of $3,000 or more this season, including $11,774 for an 89.5-point ride at the Lawton Xtreme Bulls (Oklahoma).
8. Koby Radley, $44,888
Healthy enough for a full season for the first time since 2019, Radley is looking to make his third NFR at age 24. He has just 15 qualified rides this season, but has made the most of them with wins at two NFR Playoff Rodeos (Arcadia All-Florida Championship and Southeastern Livestock Expo) and the Fort Worth Xtreme Bulls.
9. Chance Schott, $44,226
Schott has cleaned up in the Dakotas so far this season. He was the Badlands Circuit Finals Champion on Oct. 16 and also won both the rodeo and the Xtreme Bulls in Rapid City in February.
10. Trey Benton III, $42,454
The seven-time NFR qualifier is riding less than 40 percent of his bulls, but he’s logging big scores when he does make the whistle. Benton is averaging 85.6 points this season and more than half of his 15 qualified rides have been worth 86 points or more.
11. Coy Thorson, $41,831
The Minnesota native has never finished better than 54th in the world but at age 24, the 2023 season is shaping up to be a breakthrough. Thorson currently has career highs in riding percentage (46) and average score (82.1). He has made five 85+ point rides on 28 attempts this season after making 14 on 218 attempts since 2016.
12. Jestyn Woodward, $40,392
The 19-year-old is the other rookie in the Top 15 and has been 80 or better on his last 10 qualified rides. Woodward’s most notable ride of the season was a 91-pointer on Black Magic in the Finals of La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros.
13. Creek Young, $39,818
The 2021 Resistol Rookie of the Year is searching for his third consecutive NFR berth. With a third place finish in Houston, a second place finish in Lawton and a third place finish the San Angelo X Bulls since March 19, Young has made close to $25,000 over the last 30 days. He was outside of the Top 20 at the beginning of March.
14. Cody Teel, $38,362
Teel, the 2012 World Champion, is looking to make his first NFR since 2016 after riding primarily in the PBR since then. Since March 31, the five-time NFR qualifier is 4-for-7 and has made a little more than $12,000 to settle back into the Top 15. Teel has been all over the leaderboard in the last three months, reaching as high as No. 5 near the end of January before being outside the Top 20 about a month later.
15. T.J. Gray, $38,078
Gray won a total of $16,693 toward the 2023 season before the calendar turned to the new year. Since then, things have slowed down a bit, but he has won two Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeos, which paid him $11,181 combined.
16. Sage Kimzey, $37,815
The seven-time World Champion recently jumped more than 10 spots in the World Standings after winning both rounds and the Average at the San Angelo Xtreme Bulls on April 9. Kimzey has made almost $29,000 in standalone bull riding events this season to lead the Xtreme Bulls Standings.
17. Trevor Reiste, $37,622
The 30-year-old banked more than $10,000 combined at the two rodeos he went to prior to Jan. 2023. Since the calendar turned, Reiste’s biggest win was the Xtreme Bull Bash in Lufkin, Texas where he won $9,725 for an 89-point ride. He has also notched second place finishes at two Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeos.
18. Colton Byram, $35,668
Byram had two wins that paid him more than $5,000 in October and November - the Arizona State Fair Xtreme Bulls and Bulls in the Ballpark in Round Rock, Texas. Byram has not competed since Feb. 19.
19. Cullen Telfer, $31,904
Since Feb. 18, Telfer has pulled seven checks of at least $1,000.
20. Tristen Hutchings, $31,146
The breakout star of the 2022 NFR won about one-third of his money for the 2023 season in November of 2022, when he finished third at Bulls in the Ballpark and fourth at the Queen City Xtreme Bulls (Arizona).
Standings via ProRodeo.Com are accurate as of 5 PM ET on April 19, 2023.
