Reigning PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme Cracks World Top 10 with Round 1 Win in Kansas City

Photo courtesy Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media | PBR
Photo courtesy Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media | PBR

Leme’s third PBR Unleash The Beast round win of 2021 earned courtesy of league-leading third 90-point ride of 2021 season

Despite his 2021 season having already been derailed twice by injury, reigning PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) is riding with the same seemingly unstoppable form that earned him his first gold buckle in record fashion in 2020.
After breaking ribs during the late February event in Fort Worth, Texas, Leme, who was subsequently sidelined for one elite Unleash The Beast event, returned in triumphant fashion on Saturday evening in Kansas City, recording his third 90-point ride of the year to win Round 1 of the PBR Caterpillar Classic.

Read MoreReigning PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme Cracks World Top 10 with Round 1 Win in Kansas City

Egusquiza and Koontz Split $154K at First-Ever Spring BFI

BFI Photo by Performance Horse Photography
BFI Photo by Performance Horse Photography

Fans watched the greatest jackpot team roper in history extend his record of wins and break the all-time earnings record at the world’s richest pro roping Sunday night in Oklahoma.
Kory Koontz, 49, of Stephenville, Texas, clinched victory at the Wrangler Bob Feist Invitational (BFI) presented by Yeti for the record third time, riding a horse he raised and nursed back to health after a horrific auto accident a year ago. Exactly 25 years after Koontz won back-to-back BFI titles with Rube Woolsey and Matt Tyler, he and Manny Egusquiza Jr. roped six steers in 46.48 seconds to earn $150,000 cash and epic prizes.

Read MoreEgusquiza and Koontz Split $154K at First-Ever Spring BFI

Marcus Theriot Takes the Title of 2021 Ironman at the Lazy E

Photo by Audrey Hart Photo, courtesy of Lazy E
Photo by Audrey Hart Photo, courtesy of Lazy E

The Cinch Timed Event Championship is in the books, and Mississippi’s Marcus Theriot rode the roller coaster to the end of the tracks for the biggest win of his young career. With 25 runs—five each in heading, heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and steer roping—done in 322.4 seconds, Theriot won $100,000 and is just the 17th Ironman in the tradition-rich TEC’s 37-year history.

Read MoreMarcus Theriot Takes the Title of 2021 Ironman at the Lazy E

For the First Time in American Rodeo History the Top 10 World Invitees Win in Every Event

Photo by Shelby Caitlin Photography | The American Rodeo / Rural Media Group
Photo by Shelby Caitlin Photography | The American Rodeo / Rural Media Group

RFD-TV’s The American Rodeo Presented by Durango Boots has crowned its 2021 champions, and each of these winners, for the first time in the American Rodeo history, are all from the top 10 world invitees, each taking home $100,000 in prize money.  Because no qualifier won their event, there was no million dollar bonus this year, and now the million will carry over to next year to potentially turn someone into the next multi-million dollar cowboy. 

Read MoreFor the First Time in American Rodeo History the Top 10 World Invitees Win in Every Event

Cole Melancon Wins Round 1 of First-Ever PBR Elite Tour Event in Okeechobee, Florida

Photo courtesy Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
Photo courtesy Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

League-leading third round win of 2021 propels surging Texan within 30.5 points of world No. 1 rank

Earning his league-leading third round victory of the 2021 season, surging Texan Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas) dominated the opening afternoon of competition at the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event in Okeechobee, Florida, winning Round 1 of the PBR Coors Banquet Invitational at the Agri-Civic Center.
Melancon shot to the top of the leaderboard compliments of an 88.5-point score atop Soup in a Group (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Wilks Ranch). Along with collecting 20 world points for his round victory, the 26-year-old also earned eight bonus points for the qualified ride.

Read MoreCole Melancon Wins Round 1 of First-Ever PBR Elite Tour Event in Okeechobee, Florida

2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco Dominates Pendleton Whisky Invitational in Florida

Photo by AndreSilva-BullStockMedia, courtesy of PBR
Photo by AndreSilva-BullStockMedia, courtesy of PBR

“Ice Man” Continues PBR’s Warm-Weather Swing with Perfect 3-for-3 Weekend, Moving into World No. 3 Ranking as Junior Patrik Souza Claims World No. 1 Spot
 
ARCADIA, Florida – The south Florida heat wasn’t enough to melt “Ice Man” Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) as the 2018 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion turned in a perfect 3-for-3 performance on his way to winning the PBR Pendleton Whisky Invitational in Arcadia, Florida on Sunday.

Read More2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco Dominates Pendleton Whisky Invitational in Florida

RTTH Announces Move from Kentucky to Texas for 2021 Event

Photo © Road To The Horse
Photo © Road To The Horse

Roots run deep in Texas for Road to the Horse. This year, the prestigious colt starting competition will make the unprecedented move from the Kentucky Horse Park to Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2021 event. Road to the Horse 2021 will retain the same dates, during the last weekend of March, and will work diligently to comply with all health and safety protocols for attendees. Additional event details, including venue specifics, will be released next week.

Read MoreRTTH Announces Move from Kentucky to Texas for 2021 Event

2020 NCHA Futurity Daily Update

Photos by Seth Petit Photo courtesy of NCHA
Photos by Seth Petit Photo courtesy of NCHA

A New Standard
The 2020 NCHA Futurity Sales concluded on Saturday, December 12, as the new standard by which all other cutting horse sales will now be measured.
Held live daily, beginning on December 7, at  Will Rogers Equestrian Center in Fort Worth, and with online bidding also available, the sale sessions shattered the 2014 overall all-time record average of $27,936 by an increase of 20%, for a new all-time record of $34,504 with completed sales of 83.5%.

Read More2020 NCHA Futurity Daily Update

2020 Wrangler NFR Round 7 Highlights

Photo courtesy © PRCA
Photo courtesy © PRCA

Stetson Wright dazzles in Round 7 with saddle bronc, bull riding wins

ARLINGTON, Texas – Stetson Wright is having a Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the ages.
The 21-year-old, Utah cowboy won his first career Wrangler NFR go-round in saddle bronc riding with a 90.5-point trip on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Larry Culpepper at Globe Life Field, Dec. 9.
Less than an hour later, he won bull riding with an 89-point ride on Universal Pro Rodeos’ Slinger.
Wright is the first cowboy to win two roughstock events in one night at the Finals since 2001. In Round 4 that year, Jesse Bail split the win in saddle bronc riding and won the bull riding outright.

Read More2020 Wrangler NFR Round 7 Highlights

2020 Wrangler NFR Round 2 Highlights

Photo courtesy © PRCA
Photo courtesy © PRCA

Team ropers Egusquiza/Graves win Round 2 in record-tying fashion

ARLINGTON, Texas – Team ropers Dustin Egusquiza and Travis Graves went to the Round 2 winner’s circle in record fashion Friday.

The duo tied the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Round 2 record with a 3.8-second run at Globe Life Field.
Egusquiza and Graves now share the record with Turtle Powell and Dakota Kirchenschlager, who clocked their time in 2014 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Read More2020 Wrangler NFR Round 2 Highlights

Anticipation Is High Leading Into the NCHA 2020 World Championship Futurity

Ted Petit Photo Courtesy of NCHA
Ted Petit Photo Courtesy of NCHA

For an irrepressible mix of excitement and anxiety, nothing compares to the first day of the NCHA Futurity, with hopes and dreams riding on a clean slate of unproven 3-year-olds. And the 2020 NCHA North Texas Chevy Dealers World Championship Futurity, presented by Great American Insurance, with nearly $3 million in total prize money and 25 days of competition, in addition to the 2020 World Finals, and six days of Western Bloodstock NCHA Futurity Sales, promises to deliver all of the anticipated thrills for participants and spectators.

Read MoreAnticipation Is High Leading Into the NCHA 2020 World Championship Futurity