BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Dawson Hay continued to excite fans with his riding style and get-off enthusiasm in Rapid City on Thursday night when he totaled 179 points on two to claim the Average title at the Xtreme Broncs Tour Finale.
Hay’s first horse was Dakota Rodeo’s Richies High, whom he rode for 87 points to split second in the Long Round. Then, in the Short Round, Hay snatched the win away from Long Round winner Wade Sundell by covering Sutton Rodeo’s South Point for 92 points, complete with a stick of the landing and a chest pump.
“It’s one of the first years I’ve been completely healthy, and to be able to compete at rodeos like these I’m tickled pink,” Hay told ProRodeo.com. “My goal for this year was to enter the NFR in the top five positions, and this sets me up really good to do that.”
The Average win and Short Round win coupled with his tie for second in the Long Round won Hay just over $26,000 in Rapid City. He finished with north of $62,000 in Xtreme Broncs earnings, more than $25,000 clear of second-place Zeke Thurston.
Thurston and Sundell also rode for 90 in the Finals, Thurston with 90.5 on J Bar J’s Straight Jacket and Sundell with 90 on Lunatic from Hell. Sundell finished with 178.5 points on two, a half-point behind Hay.
PRCA XTREME BRONCS FINALE FULL RESULTS
First round: 1. Wade Sundell, 88.5 points on Sutton Rodeos’ Gangster, $8,545; 2. (tie) Dawson Hay, Ryder Wright and Ben Andersen, 87, $4,842 each; 5. (tie) Tegan Smith and Zeke Thurston, 86, $1,709 each; 7. (tie) Wyatt Casper and Stetson Dell Wright, 85.5, $997 each.
SUNDELL’S RIDE
Finals: 1. Dawson Hay, 92 points on Sutton Rodeos’ South Point, $7,595; 2. Zeke Thurston, 90.5, $5,696; 3. Wade Sundell, 90, $3,798; 4. Ben Andersen, 89.5, $1,899.
HAY’S RIDE
Average: 1. Dawson Hay, 179 points on two head, $14,241; 2. Wade Sundell, 178.5, $10,918; 3. (tie) Ben Andersen and Zeke Thurston, 176.5, $6,646 each; 5. Ryder Wright, 176, $3,323; 6. Stetson Dell Wright, 172.5, $2,374; 7. Tegan Smith, 171, $1,899; 8. Wyatt Casper, 170.5, $1,424.
