BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Last year, Sage Newman entered the NFR No. 1 in the PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings fresh off a regular season earnings record and Zeke Thurston left Vegas the World Champion.
That’s to say, these are two cowboys the rest of the field does not want to see at the top of the world. To make matters worse, neither of them are giving any ground. In fact, the two best cowboys in the world have made about $45,000 apiece since 100 Rodeos in 100 Days began on June 15.
No. 1 Sage Newman - $172,068
Sage Newman rode Wicked Dream for 88 points in the Finals of the Reno Rodeo and has somehow gotten better ever since. He was the champion at four rodeos that concluded on July 4. All four of his rides were 87 points or more and all four paid at least $3,800. His highest marked ride of the bunch was 90 on Lunatic from Hell at the Black Hills Roundup (South Dakota) and his biggest payday was $9,700 for winning the Cody Stampede (Wyoming).
No. 2 Zeke Thurston - $150,363
The best way to keep pace when the No. 1 man in the world wins four times? Win once, but make it worth more than $18,000, that’s what Thurston did at the Ponoka Stampede (Canada), where he was a whopping 92.5 points in the Showdown Round. Thurston was at least 87 on all three of his rides in Ponoka. For the season, he’s a perfect 53-for-53 and averaging nearly 86 points per ride.
No. 6 Chase Brooks - $89,176
Brooks was 90 in the Showdown to finish second behind Thurston in Ponoka and other than that the Montana native has stayed, and thrived, close to home this summer. From July 2-8, he went to four Montana rodeos, placed at all of them and won two of them. Three of those checks were worth more than $2,000 and he has also brought in checks of $2,000 or more at the Western Stampede (Utah), Jordan Match Xtreme Broncs (Montana) and New Town Rodeo Days (North Dakota) during 100 Rodeos in 100 Days.
No. 12 Lefty Holman - $73,218
Holman started June No. 21 in the world and has been terrific over the last month and a half. A stretch from June 10-17 kick-started his season when he won the Livermore Rodeo (California), Battle Born Broncs (Nevada) and finished second at the Buffalo Bill Rodeo (Nebraska) to make over $13,000 in one week. Since then, he has added a third place finish both rounds and the Average at the Greeley Stampede (Colorado) as well as three Top 5 finishes over the Fourth of July.
No. 16 Leon Fountain - $57,932
Fountain has gone from No. 27 to No. 16 in just two weeks much thanks to more than $7,000 in winnings from a second place finish in St. Paul. He could climb even higher as he advanced in The Calgary Stampede and NFR Open, both of which conclude this weekend and pay over $1 million. In Calgary, he won 2-of-3 rounds in Pool A.
| NAME | WORLD RANK | EARNINGS |
| 1. | Sage Newman | $172,068 |
| 2. | Zeke Thurston | $150,363 |
| 3. | Stetson Wright | $148,793 |
| 4. | Kade Bruno | $124,186 |
| 5. | Layton Green | $102,731 |
| 6. | Chase Brooks | $89,176 |
| 7. | Dawson Hay | $81,298 |
| 8. | Ben Andersen | $81,124 |
| 9. | Wyatt Casper | $80,374 |
| 10. | Tanner Butner | $80,217 |
| 11. | Brody Cress | $75,057 |
| 12. | Lefty Holman | $73,218 |
| 13. | Ryder Wright | $59,677 |
| 14. | Isaac Diaz | $59,677 |
| 15. | Kolby Wanchuk | $59,099 |
| 16. | Leon Fountain | $57,932 |
| 17. | Ryder Sanford | $57,774 |
| 18. | Cash Wilson | $56,499 |
| 19. | Jacobs Crawley | $55,922 |
| 20. | Q Taylor | $54,398 |
Standings via ProRodeo.Com are accurate as of 8 AM ET on Thursday, July 13.
