Denton Dunning is heading into the 2024 World Championship Junior Rodeo ready to defend his 2023 Junior heeling world title with momentum on his side.
The 18-year-old from Surprise, Arizona, has had a busy July, raking in money in both the youth and pro ranks. Dunning is fresh off the win at the National High School Finals Rodeo July 14-20, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he and his header Ketch Kelton took home the national title with an 18.66 on three steers.
But before his last NHSRA hurrah, Dunning put himself into the driver’s seat of the PRCA Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title with $28,449.49 won on the year thus far.
“It’s been really good so far,” Dunning said of his rookie year. “I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The future Cisco College student cashed in $7,592 since the start of July on the ProRodeo trail before heading out for the plethora of youth rodeos offered in July, like the IFYR, NHSFR and WCJR.
“We didn’t get as many as we could have (over Cowboy Christmas), but we went quite a bit,” Dunning said. “We tried going somewhere every day, but I had to stop a day early because I had to be [at the IFYR]. But other than that, we went.”
While Dunning is no stranger to the road, seeing the major rodeos over the Fourth of July was exciting.
“It was good times,” Dunning said. “I didn’t do as good of a job entering as I probably could have—I could have done that a little bit better and that would have made it a little bit smoother. But overall, it was good to see the sights. A lot of those arenas are a lot different than they look on TV.”
Dunning is set to compete in Guthrie, Oklahoma, at the Lazy E July 23-27, at the WCJR. While Dunning has plenty of career goals, his most important goal is personal.
“I just like to be the best I can be,” Dunning said. “Do as much as I can while I’m doing it.”
