Ties remain in the Top 5 on both sides of the USTRC Cinch Ladies standings, but newcomers and newly earned points alike means the race for year-end victory is still anyone’s game. 

Top 5 Takeaways

Without change from the November-issue reporting, USTRC Cinch Ladies header Tracey Nelson of McDavid, Florida, holds onto her 38 points and the No. 1 position this month, keeping her four-point lead over Mathews, Alabama’s Carrie Blanton, still with 34 points. Third and fourth place continue to be occupied by Texas’ Glover Coats of Bronte with 32 points and Amarillo’s Anna Gregory with 30 points. Changeup, however, comes in at No. 5 with Liberty, Missouri’s Brandi Brisbane, breaking up a months-long tie for the spot in the standings with 28 points.

On the back side of the standings, Carbondale, Kansas’ Staci Mitchell and Bosque, New Mexico’s Voy McNeil remain locked in a 19-point tie for first for the second month running. Both continue to hold a six-point lead over No. 3 Sally Ball of Max Meadows, Virginia. Clarence, Iowa’s Taylor Proesch, however, has shaken loose of the five-way, nine-point tie for the now No. 5 spot with two more crucial points for fourth. Meanwhile, Pueblo, Colorado’s Christine Talton takes her place in the maelstrom among Fayetteville, West Virginia’s Makayla Osborne; Atkins, Virginia’s Rylie Heath; Cimarron, Kansas’ Sherry Robinson and Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Kyra Hendren.

The Winnings

Headers

In May, Brandi Brisbane earned her first USTRC Cinch Ladies points in high fashion when she won the #8.5 at the Missouri Classic for a full 10 points. She resumed her Top 5 approach at the Jeff Smith & 3 Point Productions’ Missouri Fall Classic in early October. There, Brisbane took the win in the #9.5 for another 10 points. She also finished third in the #8.5 Legends for 8 points and second in the #8.5 for 9 points for an event-total of 18 points. Added to her initial 10 points, she now has 28 points and fifth place in the standings.

Heelers

Since the first reporting of her earnings in the September issue of The Team Roping Journal, Taylor Proesch has been locked in a stale-mate, at-minimum three-way tie with 9 points. No more. Thanks to a ninth-place finish in the #9.5 at early October’s Missouri Fall Classic, Proesch earned 2 points and a path to her own place in the standings. Combined with her original 9 points earned at June’s Iowa Championships, she has 11 points and the No. 4 spot in the standings … all to herself.

New to the Top 5 is Christine Talton, who made her 2022 entry into the reported standings in the October issue with 3 points for a two-way tie for the No. 9 spot. Now, after taking fifth at Jeff Smith’s Southern Colorado Classic in September for 6 points, she’s traded her two-way tie for a five-way tie for fifth in the standings with 9 points. n

Current USTRC or Key Card/Key Card Max membership is required to participate in the Cinch Ladies Program. Earned points begin counting at time of membership purchase thru the NFTR’s last shootout event. The season begins the Monday after the last USTRC NFTR event and ends the last day of the next USTRC NFTR event.

Ropers must enter at least one Shootout division in the USTRC Cinch NFTR to be eligible. The award will be announced at the end of the USTRC Cinch National Finals of Team Roping event.

The points breakdowns are as follows: Starting with At Home Challenge Events, ladies will earn 10 points if they win the Challenge. No other points will be awarded. At Signature Events, points will be awarded to those winning an aggregate check. It starts at First Place with 10 points, Second = 9 points, and so on as far down as the ropings are paid. During the Cinch NFTR, the placing points are simply doubled. First Place will be 20, second = 18, and so on.