Austin is officially underway with Performance 1 in the books. Heading into Performance 2, another Louisiana bareback rider is up while World Champions are out in five of the seven events.
BAREBACK RIDING
Louisiana’s Taylor Broussard has matched up with the horse that Round 1 was won on in 2022, Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Forward Motion. Jacob Lees put a score of 88.5 points on the board in 2022, however, the horses only out of 2023 ended with a no score in Tucson.
| Dakota Mendez | Lost & Found |
| Andrew Ruth | Nutrena’s Pebbles |
| Kaden Kornegay | First Class |
| Kameron Merck | Hot Wheels |
| Cooper Cooke | Shattered Dream |
| Taylor Broussard | Forward Motion |
STEER WRESTLING
World Champion Hunter Cure is one of the eight bull doggers backing into the box tonight along with fellow National Finals qualifier Tanner Brunner. Matt Reeves is another top-notch steer wrestler who has won Austin before that will give Cure and Brunner a run for their money.
| Jace Logan |
| Matt Reeves |
| Hunter Cure |
| Tanner Brunner |
| Floyd Butler |
| Cooper Hurt |
| Don Payne |
| Grady Payne |
TEAM ROPING
Riley and Brady Minor are coming into Austin after splitting a go-round win at RodeoHouston. Rodeo Austin is a rodeo that the brother duo has yet to win but a streak of fast times could change that and add it to their list of accolades.
| Andrew Ward | Buddy Hawkins |
| Brock Hanson | Noah Jones |
| Riley Minor | Brady Minor |
| Kolton Schmidt | Jake Minor |
| Lightning Aguilera | Coleby Payne |
| Bubba Buckaloo | JR Gonzalez |
| Jaxson Tucker | Wyatt Cox |
| Rhett Anderson | Chris Young |
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
Two of Canada’s best will climb into the chutes in Performance 2, reigning World Champion Zeke Thurston and Dawson Hay. Thurston has drawn Beutler’s No Show Jones, the horse that Jacobs Crawley rode for 84.5 points in Odessa. Meanwhile, Hay’s matchup is Ridge Walker, a horse that will be making his second appearance of the 2023 season.
| Hunter Greathouse | Kingdom Come |
| Zeke Thurston | No Show Jones |
| Jesse Wright | Black Gold |
| Dawson Hay | Ridge Walker |
| Ira Dickinson | Flying Solo |
| Lance Gailard | Nutrena’s Four Aces |
| Christopher Williams | Bootlegger |
| Jacob Benham | Cimarron Jack |
TIE-DOWN ROPING
It is a night of Texas calf ropers for Performance 2 including Tuf Cooper and Cory Solomon. The World Champion and NFR qualifier are the two to keep an eye on the tie-down roping. Cooper is a two-time previous champion while Solomon has yet to take the title home from this rodeo.
| Wyatt Imus |
| Rowdy Haferkamp |
| Reese Riemer |
| Zack Kirkpatrick |
| Cash Enderli |
| Cory Solomon |
| Tuf Cooper |
| Colton Greene |
BARREL RACING
Two NFR qualifiers are among the ladies out tonight, Brittney Sporer and Cassidy Deen. Sporer is known for her horse, Paint, who is tiny and mighty in any set up. Deen has two horses that she has been having success on lately, Leroy and Ellie. As always, the horsepower is undeniable in the barrel racing.
| BryAnna Haluptzok |
| Lisa Thornton |
| Shaylee Hindman |
| Janet Staton |
| Brittney Sporer |
| Cassidy Deen |
| Acey Pinkston |
| Emma Charleston |
BULL RIDING
Seven-time World Champion Sage Kimzey has drawn Bracket Buster in Austin who is unridden this season but it was Ernie Courson and Luke Mast who covered the bull in 2022. Courson is also out in Performance 2 aboard Moody Muley who Kimzey covered in Austin last year.
| Chauk Dees | Tilt A Whirl |
| Francisco Garcia | Overpass |
| Bryce Burnell | Frat House |
| Jacob Gardner | Skin Walker |
| Ernie Courson | Moody Muley |
| Sage Kimzey | Bracket Buster |
| Marshall Adkins | All Star |
| Trevor Reiste | Poker Face |
