BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Marty Yates has been to every Wrangler NFR since 2014 and has finished in the Top 6 six times.
A year ago, after starting No. 7 at the Wrangler NFR, he erased a $100,000 deficit to Shad Mayfield and came within $200 of his first Gold Buckle.
This year, he has a similar opportunity as he will arrive in Las Vegas No. 9 in the PRCA World Standings and about $75,000 off Shane Hanchey’s lead.
On the first day of August, Yates stopped the clock at 10.3 seconds to win Cheyenne Frontier Days and it kicked off the best month of his season.
YATES IN THE CHEYENNE SHORT ROUND
Including the $9,078 he won on the final day of The Dad, Yates about $39,000 in August and moved up from No. 12 to No. 8 in the world.
After Cheyenne, he won more than $6,000 the next weekend by finishing third at the Lea County PRCA Rodeo (New Mexico) and first at Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo, where he was 8.1 seconds. He also won the Cache County Fair and Rodeo and placed in all four rounds in Caldwell, where he won a total of $9,400, in August.
Yates’ other wins in the 2021 season came at the Magic Valley Stampede (Idaho) in early September and Texas Circuit Finals all the way back in early January. In Waco, all three of his times were 7.5 seconds or faster.
He also starred at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo in 2021 by winning $8,000 and finishing second in three straight rounds with times between 7.1 and 7.9 seconds. Yates had a career-high 34 runs of 8.5 seconds or faster this year.
YATES IN SAN ANTONIO
Yates, who is known for going fast and taking chances, caught more of his calfs than he ever has. He had qualified times on 100-of-131 attempts in 2021 which gave him a qualified time on 76 percent of his runs. Prior to 2020, when he was 72 percent, he had never had a mark higher than 67 percent.
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