BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
The Cowboy Channel’s Rookie Roundup presented by Resistol gave young cowboys and cowgirls a chance to compete with each other in an event that counted toward the Resistol Rookie Standings.
Here’s how things now look in every roughstock event.
BAREBACK RIDING
1. Rocker Steiner, $30,941
Steiner won Denver and Odessa in January while still on his permit. His biggest moment since then came at RodeoHouston, when he won $20,000 for finishing second in the Shootout. Unfortunately, that same rodeo, he injured his knee and has been sidelined him since. He has gotten two bucking horses since the middle of March.
2. Bodee Lammers, $20,575
With Steiner out of the Rookie Roundup, Lammers was the highest ranked bareback rider in the event and he finished second in the Long Round and third in the four-man Shootout to make over $2,000 in Fort Worth over the weekend. On April 17, Lammers won over $7,000 for riding C5 Rodeo’s Virgil for 88 points to win Red Bluff.
3. Waylon Bourgeois, $16,758
Bourgeious was the bareback riding star at the Rookie Roundup by winning both rounds and banking over $3,000. He is 25-for-25 this year and second among rookie bareback riders with an average score of 79.34 points.
4. Colton Clements, $8,342
Clements’ biggest checks of the year have both come at Cinch World’s Toughest events. In Columbus, he was 88 points to win $2,830 and in Cedar Rapids, he won $1,127 for an 82 point ride.
5. Coop Cooke, $3,721
Cooke made the Finals of Rodeo Austin and also finished second at the Okeechobee Cowtown Rodeo (Florida). Those two performances, along with a check at the Arcadia All-Florida Championship, make up a majority of his money so far.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
1. Lucas Macza, $29,700
Macza has not ridden a horse since April 8, when he was kicked in the face after dismounting Sky Fall in San Angelo. Macza, however, will be fine. Thanks to $7,000 in San Antonio and more than $5,000 in Fort Worth, he still leads all saddle bronc riding rookies. Macza has ridden 84 percent of his broncs in 2022.
2. Damian Brennan, $28,905
Breenan impressed at the Rookie Roundup with three straight rides marked 84 points or higher. He finished second in both the Long Round and the Shootout and made more than $2,500 for the event. The Aussie also won $7,000 at RodeoHouston this year.
3. Cash Wilson, $23,084
Wilson left the Rookie Roundup empty-handed, but that’s not indicative of his bronc riding talent. He has five Go-Round wins, four rides marked 85 points or higher and has ridden 45-of-48 broncs in the 2022 season, giving him the most qualified rides among rookies in 2022.
4. Kody Rinehart, $19,277
Rinehart hasn’t made any huge rides in 2022, but he seems to win money everywhere he goes, which is all a cowboy can ask for. He has won a check on 12 of his last 14 rides dating back to Feb. 26. Additionally, those 12 checks have come in eight different states.
5. Statler Wright, $9,713
Wright won the saddle bronc riding at the Rookie Roundup with 88.5 points on Border Town, the biggest score of his professional career. Wright also won checks of more than $3,000 at both Rodeo Austin and the Dixie National (Mississippi).
BULL RIDING
1. Bubba Greig, $47,981
Greig already has 11 rides of 85+ points and seven Go-Round wins in addition to averaging 84.7 points per qualified rides in 2022. The 21-year-old won Bulls in the Ballpark back in November to help him bank over $18,000 toward the 2022 season before January. More recently, he finished fifth at the Clovis Rodeo and second at the Springville Sierra Rodeo (California).
2. Lukasey Morris, $45,928
Like Greig, Morris also had a big run to start the 2022 season before the calendar changed years. He won $5,582 at the Kissimmee Southern Showdown (Florida), $4,021 at the Indian Hills Pro Rodeo (California) and $2,364 at Fall National Xtreme Bulls (Mississippi). All three of those rodeos came before Oct. 10, 2021, meaning Morris made over $10,000 in the first 10 days of the season.
3. Wade Berg, $22,321
Wade Berg is likely the biggest Rookie Roundup fan you’ll find this week. The North Dakota bull rider won over $11,000 at the event thanks to being the only cowboy to make the whistle in the Long Round and the Four-Man Shootout.
4. Jack Gilmore, $19,151
Gilmore is averaging nearly 80 points per ride and his riding percentage of 36 percent is second among all rookies, trailing only Lukasey Morris.
5. Riley Barg, $13,200
Barg’s biggest check of his young career came from an 87 point ride on Curley Bill in San Angelo, which won him $4,000. He also won more than $3,000 at the Bull Bash in Lufkin, Texas in February.
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Cowboy Channel Rookie Roundup Presented by Resistol: Recap, Highlights and Payouts