No one had any idea what to expect at the first edition of RFD-TV’s The American in 2014 and the bareback riding ended up producing the fireworks we’d grow accustom to at AT&T Stadium.
Richmond Champion, now a six-time NFR qualifier, then a political science student at Tarleton State University, won as a qualifier in the very first event of the first American. He would end up being the only cowboy eligible for the Side Pot which won him $1.1 million.
“Words can’t even express how I feel right now, that was amazing,” he said afterward.
In the shootout round, Champion outdid Steven Peebles, Kaycee Feild and Caleb Bennett. Feild, who would go on to win the Gold Buckle that year, knocked fellow legend Bobby Mote out of the Shootout Round with 84 points on a re-ride.
RFD-TV’S THE AMERICAN 2014 BAREBACK RIDING RESULTS
Long Round: Steven Peebles, 87.5 points; Caleb Bennett, 85.25; Richmond Champion, 84; Kaycee Feild, 84; Bobby Mote, 83.75; RC Landingham, 82.5.
PEEBLES’ RIDE
BENNETT’S RIDE
Shootout: Richmond Champion, 90 points; Peebles, 87.5; Feild, 87; Bennett, NS.
CHAMPION’S RIDE
CHAMPION’S INTERVIEW
You can watch the 2014 American Rodeo in its entirety on CowboyChannelPlus.Com.
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