With a long score and big money to be won, Cheyenne Frontier Days is one of the most prestigious rodeos, and the implications of success there are great, including for the Mountain States Circuit’s cowboys.

For Mountain States Circuit contestants, showing out in Cheyenne can potentially set their entire year up. There are two Mountain States teams that have advanced into the Semifinals and Finals, as of Saturday, July 27, 2024.

Into the Finals

Clayton Van Aken and Cullen Teller need no introduction. Kings of the Mountain States Circuit, Van Aken has five Mountain States Circuit titles to his name, and Teller has three. Van Aken and Teller roped in Semifinals 1 Friday, July 26, and snagged last hole with a 9.6-second run for $900 a man to lock in their spots in Sunday’s Finals. Van Aken and Teller are currently No. 9 and 8 in the Mountain States Circuit standings with $6,200.34 won on the year, meaning a big payday in Cheyenne would help them tremendously.

Still fighting

Casey Adams and Riley Pedro are still alive in the Cheyenne Semifinals fight. The Colorado and Hawaii cowboys will rope in the last Semifinals, July 27. Adams and Pedro are currently 24th in the Mountain States Circuit with just $1,654.40 won on the year. Adams and Pedro split Performance 1 in Cheyenne with a 9.6-second run for $1,625 each to advance them to the Semifinals.