BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Sage Newman has taken a commanding lead in the PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings after winning RodeoHouston in March, but behind him are the past two World Champions, Stetson Wright and Ryder Wright, as well as 2020 Reserve World Champion Wyatt Casper.
1. Sage Newman, $100,573
Newman made his first NFR in 2021 and finished No. 11 in the PRCA World Standings. In 2022, he hasn’t slowed down one bit. He won close to $60,000 at RodeoHouston in March and followed it up by winning the Clark County Fair (Nevada) and the Northern PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs Challenge (Montana).
2. Stetson Wright, $84,862
Since the Finals of RodeoHouston, Wright has won a check on seven of his last eight rides and five of those checks were worth more than $1,500. Earlier in the season, Wright won Fort Worth with 91.5 points and San Antonio with 90.5. Wright also finished third in the Finals of RodeoHouston and RodeoAustin.
3. Ryder Wright, $63,645
Ryder Wright placed in a total of 14 rounds in Texas Tour rodeos and won four consecutive rounds at RodeoHouston, where he banked $12,000 total. He also made the Finals in San Antonio and San Angelo.
4. Wyatt Casper, $60,975
Casper’s biggest check of the season came from a 90 point ride in the Finals of RodeoHouston which won him $20,000. Casper made three consecutive 90 point rides at RodeoHouston and for the season, he is averaging 83.92 points. Casper also had a good run in San Antonio by making $8,500 with five rides of 87 points or more.
5. Brody Cress, $57,009
Cress capped the Texas Tour by winning the San Angelo Cinch Chute Out with a 90 point ride on Larry Culpepper. That ride won him $7,500 and he also won $9,500 in San Antonio.
6. Layton Green, $49,035
Green placed second in the San Angelo Cinch Chute Out and the Finals of San Antonio. Those two rides earned him over $10,000 combined. Green was also the champion of the High Desert Stampede (Oregon) at the end of March.
7. Sterling Crawley, $44,158
After giving himself an early cushion by doing well at the Texas Circuit Finals and the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo in January, Crawley also won almost $9,000 in Fort Worth and $7,500 in San Antonio.
8. Leon Fountain, $42,211
Fountain won $12,000 by winning Rodeo Austin with 92 points on Killer Bee. Fountain also won $8,625 at RodeoHouston. He has rode 93 percent of his horses this year.
9. Kole Ashbacher, $40,052
Ashbacher is averaging 81.67 points per ride this year and won more than $4,000 in Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston.
10. Kolby Wanchuk, $39,580
Wanchuk won $7,500 by placing second in the Finals in San Antonio with 90 points aboard Pete Carr’s Billie. For the entire rodeo, he won $15,500. Wanchuk also won the Dixie National Rodeo (Mississippi) and finished second at the Clark County Rodeo (Nevada). Those two wins won him almost $10,000 combined.
11. Chase Brooks, $35,212
Brooks won big in both Fort Worth and San Antonio. He was second in the Finals of Fort Worth and won over $14,000. In San Antonio, he over $7,000. Brooks is averaging more than 84 points per ride this year.
12. Lefty Holman, $32,761
Holman won $8,000 in San Antonio and $7,125 in Houston. In those two rodeos, he placed in eight of 10 rounds he competed in. Holman also finished second at the Southeastern Livestock Exposition (Alabama) and won the Northern PRCA Extreme Bares and Broncs Challenge (Montana).
13. Zeke Thurston, $30,918
Thurston finished second in the Finals of Rodeo Austin with an 87.5 point ride and also made four straight rides of 86 or more in San Antonio. Between those two rodeos, he won nearly $20,000.
14. Spencer Wright, $29,995
Wright was the final champion of the Texas Tour by riding Straight Moonshine for 89.5 points to win San Angelo. Wright is averaging nearly 82 points per ride and has nine rides of 85 points or more this year.
15. Lucas Macza, $29,700
Macza won $7,000 in San Antonio and over $5,000 in Fort Worth, but his season will be put on hold after he was kicked in the face in San Angelo.
16. CoBurn Bradshaw, $29,658
Bradshaw just won $5,621 at the Red Bluff Round-Up and also fared well at RodeoHouston, where he won over $7,000. Bradshaw is averaging 81.47 points per ride which would be a career high.
17. Dawson Hay, $29,198
Hay won over $9,000 in Houston and also added $3,750 in San Antonio. He is averaging almost 83 points per ride in 2022.
18. Logan Cook, $26,897
Cook helped himself early in the PRCA season by winning over $13,000 in October. His best performance of the Texas Tour came in Austin.
19. Kade Bruno, $26,713
Bruno finished second in the Finals in Denver and also won close to $4,000 in Fort Worth. For the year, he is averaging 80.48 points per ride.
20. Tegan Smith, $26,372
Smith won $5,640 on one ride in Austin by going 90 on All or Nothin’ and also won $10,000 for his second place finish in the Finals of Fort Worth.
STANDINGS CURRENT AS OF APRIL 20 ON PRORODEO.COM
