The final performance of Rodeo Austin Round 1 has arrived. To move on to the next round you have to finish inside the Top 24 of this round, meaning the names on the leaderboard as of right now, we will see again. The cowboys and cowgirls out tonight could make big changes to the leaderboard.
BAREBACK RIDING
With five bareback riders out, every single one has been a dominant force in the arena. No. 4 bareback rider in the World, Keenan Hayes, has drawn Dakota Rodeo’s Green Bay. Another young gun, Sam Peterson, rode the horse for 85 points this year and Hayes is known to put even bigger scores on the board.
| R.C. Landingham | Hectic |
| Clayton Biglow | American Hat Trix |
| Dena Thompson | Blue Rocket |
| Keenan Hayes | Green Bay |
| Orin Larsen | Gunfighter |
STEER WRESTLING
The bull dogging is a night for veterans of the sport. Blake Knowles, Will Lummus and Riley Duvall have been there done that in Austin. With a 3.5 leading it, one of these three could easily take over that No. 1 spot.
| Stan Branco |
| Tristan Martin |
| Blake Knowles |
| Bryn Roy |
| Will Lummus |
| Shane Frey |
| Sam Powers |
| Riley Duvall |
TEAM ROPING
Sticking with the veterans is 15-time National Finals Team Roping Heeler Cory Petska in the team roping. He is roping with Clint Summers, a two-time NFR Header. Up against Petska and Summers is Jeff Flenniken and his 2020 partner, Tyler Worley.
| Jeff Flenniken | Tyler Worley |
| Keven Daniel | Douglas Rich |
| McCray Profili | McCoy Porfili |
| Kellan Johnson | Carson Johnson |
| Curry Kirchner | Tyson Thompson |
| Kreece Thompson | Landen Glenn |
| Billy Bob Brown | Kirby Blankenship |
| Clint Summers | Cory Petska |
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
The youngest Wright of all, Statler, made it to the Finals of Rodeo Austin in 2022, can he do it again? His match up in this performance is Andrews Rodeo’s Fire Lane, a horse that cowboys have scored in the high 80’s on this season.
| Statler Wright | Fire Lane |
| Brody Wells | Roust About |
| Will Pollock | To The Limit |
| Weston Patterson | Witch Craft |
| Dylan Hancock | After Hours |
| Talon Elshere | Remington |
| Jake Foster | Franklin’s Rocket |
| Lane Schuelke | Stiletto Night |
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Shad Mayfield and John Douch make up two of the tie-down ropers. Mayfield is the defending champion at Rodeo Austin while Douch finished second in 2022. Blane Cox’s 7.7 held on to the lead for an entire week before Caleb Smidt was a 7.6. Mayfield and Dough have both put up sub 8-second times in Austin.
| Richard Newton |
| Shad Mayfield |
| Weldon Watson |
| John Douch |
| Chance Oftedahl |
| Zaine Mikita |
| Justin Macha |
| JD McCuistion |
BREAKAWAY ROPING
Fan favorite JJ Hampton is about to leave her mark at Rodeo Austin as she does the JJ Jiggle tonight. Also backing into the box is Joey Williams, who is currently the No. 5 in the WPRA World Standings and she is aboard Baby, a Horse of the Year recipient.
| McKenna Hickson |
| Joey Williams |
| JJ Hampton |
| Jill Tanner |
| Laramie Johnson |
| Jordan Jo Hollabaugh |
| Whitney Thurmond |
| Josey Murphy |
BARREL RACING
Molly Otto made impressive runs in Houston and we can expect the same at Rodeo Austin. She is now No. 4 in the WPRA World Standings. Wenda Johnson is also out tonight with a big, bay, powerhouse for her equine partner.
| Tasha Welsh |
| Amanda Welsh |
| Jamie Olsen |
| Ivy Saebens |
| Wenda Johnson |
| Ilyssa Riley |
| Molly Otto |
| Rainey Skelton |
BULL RIDING
It is the night to watch the bull riding with newly crowned RodeoHouston Champion, Ky Hamilton and his traveling partner, seven-time World Champion Stetson Wright climbing down in the chutes. Both cowboys have drawn unridden bulls of Andrews Rodeo. Hamilton’s match up is Knucklehead while Wright’s is Red River Wrath.
| Ky Hamilton | Knucklehead |
| Stetson Wright | Red River Wrath |
| Blaine Beaty | Miller Time |
| Coy Thorson | Ol’ Son |
| Jate Frost | N3 |
| Josh Frost | Twizler |
| Braden Richardson | Pop A Top |
| Cutter Kaylor | Shockazooloo |