BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Sage Newman leads the saddle bronc riding, he will continue to lead going into the NFR and for the last month of the season, he will do nothing but add to his record-setting total of more than $240,000.
Newman’s path to a World Title, however, is not an easy one. Anything can happen at the NFR and no lead is safe, especially the lead of someone who made the NFR for the first time a year ago trying to fend off the last three World Champions. Stetson Wright, Ryder Wright and Zeke Thurston are all in the Top 5 and have won one, two and three Gold Buckles respectively.
The one guy who hasn’t won a World Title other than Newman in the Top 5? Well, that would be Brody Cress, who has three NFR Average titles in the last five years.
1. Sage Newman, $241,721
Newman has made more than any saddle bronc rider ever in a regular season, breaking Ryder Wright’s 2019 record. Newman has won 11 rodeos in 2022, most recently the Golden Spike Rodeo (Utah). Newman had an incredible August in which he won a check at every single rodeo he competed in and won $1,000 or more on 14-of-19 rides.
2. Stetson Wright, $173,332
Wright closed July by winning Cheyenne Frontier Days and That Famous Preston Night Rodeo the same weekend and in August, it was more of the same. He won three rodeos - the Gooding Pro Rodeo (Idaho), Cache County Fair and Rodeo (Utah) and Lea County PRCA Rodeo (New Mexico). All three of them came with a payday of more than $4,000.
3. Brody Cress, $166,338
In the last 10 days of August, Cress won the Xtreme Broncs Finals, placed at two more rodeos and brought in more than $25,000 on just four qualified rides. He has finished in the Top 3 three consecutive seasons.
4. Ryder Wright, $151,190
Ryder Wright won the two high-paying Oregon rodeos in August in true Ryder Wright fashion, by going 90. First, he did it at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo on Aug. 13 to win $7,191 and then a week later, he did it in Canby to bank $4,597. Those, along with $17,000 at the Xtreme Broncs Finals, kept Wright in 4th in the World Standings.
5. Zeke Thurston, $136,278
From Aug. 16-21, Thurston won over $17,000 and made three rides of 89.5 points or more across three different rodeos.
6. Lefty Holman, $129,400
Holman finished August by winning more than $21,000 combined at his last two rodeos, the Xtreme Broncs Finals and Ranch Mission Viejo Rodeo. Holman only entered 12 rodeos in August.
7. Logan Hay, $129,169
Hay won two rodeos in August - the Kitsap Stampede (Washington) and Omak Stampede (Washington). He also added second place results at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo and Fallon County Fair and Rodeo (Montana). Half of Hay’s 12 qualified rides were 85 points or better and three of those were 89.5 points on the number.
8. Kade Bruno, $128,782
Bruno reached as high as No. 6 in the World Standings in August, before settling in at No. 8 to close the month. He had eight paydays of more than $1,500 in August.
9. Wyatt Casper, $123,802
Casper has not competed since the Mountain Valley Stampede (Utah) on Aug. 6 due to a hamstring injury. He is expected to return for what will be his third consecutive NFR.
10. Kolby Wanchuk, $115,761
Since Aug. 16, Wanchuk has won a check on 8-of-10 outs with six being worth more than $1,000 and four worth more than $2,000. He cleared 85 points five times during that stretch.
11. Layton Green, $111,918
Green dropped three spots in August after pulling just two checks of more than $1,000 all month.
12. Chase Brooks, $100,521
Brooks dominated the final weekend of August by winning three rodeos and placing a second at another. All four rides were marked between 83.5 and 87 points and he won about $12,000 total because two of those wins paid more than $4,000
13. Kole Ashbacher, $89,267
Ashbacher had a light schedule by August standards, entering a total of 16 rodeos. His two highest scores were 89 points at the Omak Stampede and 87.5 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo, good for second and third respectively.
14. Sterling Crawley, $88,092
Two-thirds of Crawley’s August rides were marked between 82 and 86 points and that consistency allowed him to win $15,000 and move up one spot.
15. Dawson Hay, $84,315
Since Aug. 16, Hay is 8-for-11 with six rides of 86.5 points or better. In that stretch, he has won about $19,000 and for the month of August, he has banked almost $25,000 to move up five spots back into an NFR spot.
16. Damian Brennan, $83,042
Brennan closed out August by winning almost $4,000 at the Rosebud Fair Rodeo. It was the rookie’s biggest check of the month.
17. Tanner Butner, $82,351
Butner hit the road hard in the last week of August and placed in 3-of-6 rodeos he entered. His biggest check of the month, $3,583, came from winning the Richland County Fair and Rodeo (Montana).
18. Ben Andersen, $75,639
Since winning the Short Round of the US Open Xtreme Broncs Match (South Dakota) on Aug. 10, Andersen is 5-for-9 with less than $2,000 in prize money.
19. Jacobs Crawley, $73,187
Crawley has won nine rodeos this year, and eight of have taken place in. Most recently, he was the champion of the XIT Rodeo and Reunion on Aug. 6. That was part of stretch where Crawley won checks on nine straight horses.
20. Shorty Garrett, $71,272
Garrett had six rides in August that paid him $1,500 or better, the top one being 90.5 points on Killer Bee to win the Lawton Rangers Rodeo (Oklahoma) and just over $3,600.