The Pendleton Round-Up, of course, has been the talk of the town lately, but it wasn’t the only note-worthy happening over the week of Sept. 12-17. With some other significant rodeos going on, the 2023 world standings have shuffled. Checkout the movement inside the Top 15 AND on the bubble.

Top 15 switcharoos 

Derrick Begay and Colter Todd may have walked away with the biggest win of the weekend, taking home the 2023 Pendleton Round-Up win for $16,932 a man. They’re already pretty locked in for the Finals, but that payday did give them a slight jump them in the standings. Begay is now the No. 8 world standings header with $117,830.53 won on the year, and Todd is No. 4 on the heel side with $132,997.73. They’re next entered in some circuit rodeos before heading to the Cinch Playoff Series Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls the last weekend of September.

Erich Rogers and Paul Eaves also saw a bump in the standings, moving Rogers to No. 7 with $118,400.27 and Eaves to No. 6 with $118,751.59. They collected $3,404 from the West Texas Fair & Rodeo in Abilene, Texas, after finishing seventh in the first round, fifth in the second, and second in the average with a 9.1 on two head. They also won the New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a 4.1-second run to both pocket $5,078. 

Major bubble bursts

Luke Brown and Hunter Koch have been dancing around the Top 15 for the last few weeks, both bouncing anywhere from 13^th to 20^th. Now at No. 13 on the head side for Brown and No. 10 on the heel side for Koch, both with $91,775.50 won on the year, they’re officially inside that Top 15. They were able to take home $1,940 a man in Abilene after winning second in the second round and seventh in the average with a 14.3 on two head. They also won $3,920 for second in the first round at the Pendleton Round-Up. At only $3,677.14 and $3,224.20 ahead of No. 15 on both ends, Brown and Koch need to keep cashing in to hold their spot in the standings. Luckily, they’ve qualified for one of the 12 spots in the Governor’s Cup, where big money is on the line.

Jake Clay and Tyler Worley haven’t been paired together all year, but they’re coming in clutch for one another in the final countdown. Clay and Worley have moved to No. 11 and No. 12 in the standings, Clay having $94,895.81 on the head side and Worley with $91,381.01 on the heel side. They’ve both been in and out of the Top 15 throughout the year but had been outside at the No. 15-18 positions the last few weeks, fighting tooth and nail for a way back in. Their recent push comes from capitalizing in both Pendleton and at the Lion’s Dixie Roundup in St. George, Utah. Clay and Worley won $12,348 a man in Pendleton after winning fifth in the second round, winning the short round, and winning second in the average with an 18.1 on three steers. They were 4.8 seconds in St. George to win $1,627 for third place. Clay and Worley didn’t grab a spot in Sioux Falls, however, so these next two weeks need to be big for them to stay inside the Top 15.

One of the most impressive bubble teams in September has been Coy Rahlmann and Jonathan Torres. At the end of August, Rahlmann and Torres were No. 26 and No. 24 in the world standings. As of Sept. 19, Rahlmann is No. 17 with $87,352.31 and Torres is No. 13 with $89,659.03. Rahlmann may be on the outside looking in, but he’s only $746.05 (!!) behind No. 15, so a good hit could easily move him into the Top 15—a very feasible possibility thanks to their qualifications into Sioux Falls. Rahlmann and Torres have been capitalizing when it matters most, like Pendleton, for example. They won the first round with a 5.6, finished sixth in the second round, fifth in the short round and third in the average with an 18.5 on three head. Their Pendleton trip totaled in at $14,388, the reason for their big standings shove.

Other notable wins

Brenten Hall and Paden Bray may not be where they’d prefer in the world standings, but they’re coming off a win in Abilene that has significant implications. Abilene served as the last of the PRCA Playoff Series rodeos, meaning it was the last chance to rack up enough points to get into the top eight of the Playoff standings to qualify for Sioux Falls. And Hall and Bray did just that. They were second in the first round to win $1,583 each and won the average with an 8.7 on two steers to both take home $2,731. That win puts them at No. 12 in the Playoff standings, BUT four of the top eight teams qualified to Sioux Falls through Puyallup, bringing in Hall and Bray through the standings. In the world standings, Hall sits No. 18 with $86,680.56—just $1,417.80 out of 15th—and Bray is No. 15 with $88,551.30.

Billie Jack Saebens has bounced around this year, from hard on the road to home and back on the road again. He’s currently No. 18 on the heel side with $80,630.19, which is $7,921.11 behind No. 15. He recently added $4,299 to his earnings after winning third in the second round in Pendleton with a 5.4-second run. Saebens didn’t quite make the cut for the Governor’s Cup, so if he wants a shot at the Top 15, he’s going to need to stay out on the road and capitalize as much as possible.

Chad Masters and Trey Yates aren’t out of Top 15 contention yet either. Masters and Yates sit No. 19 in the world standings—Masters with $76,632.27 and Yates with $79,982.27. They also just picked up a $3,883-check for second in Albuquerque. They’ll need to stay hot on the trail as well if they want to push into that Top 15, given they didn’t get into Sioux Falls.

As of late, Aaron Tsinigine and Ryan Motes have made up quite a bit of ground. Tsinigine is No. 20 on the head side with $76,109.70 and Motes is No. 22 on the heel side with $76,736.72. They both took home $5,536 in Pendleton after winning seventh in the first round, fifth in the short round and fifth in the average with a 19.5 on three.

World Standings

As of Sept. 19, 2023

HEADERS

HEELERS