Conley Kleinhans and Brant Cookston may only be 18 and 16 years old, but this July, they outperformed team roping juggernauts like Erich Rogers and Paul Eaves and other champions of 2024’s biggest summer rodeos.
The Texas kids rode away from the Lazy E as the top earners of the WCJR on July 27 with $14,560 and $14,700 in hand after winning the Junior Heading and Heeling world championships. Their $14,000 checks bested the payouts at some of July’s most prestigious rodeos, like Cheyenne, St. Paul and Salinas.
“It gave me the confidence boost that I needed going into this next chapter of my rodeo career,” said Kleinhans, who is a freshman at Weatherford College. “As this was my last youth rodeo and I’m starting my collegiate career, I feel like I have the potential to succeed.”
In comparison, Hayes Smith and 2009 NFR heeler Justin Davis, left Cheyenne Frontier Days with $11,925 a man—about $2,700 shy of what Kleinhans and Cookston profited in Guthrie.
The young WCJR champs also won $3,614 and $3,754 more than World Champions Erich Rogers and Paul Eaves when they won the California Rodeo Salinas and left with $10,946 a man. NFR header Lightning Aguilera and partner Lane Mitchell are right outside the Top 15 of the 2024 ProRodeo season. Still, their $13,019-a-man win at the St. Paul Rodeo in Oregon—crucial in their quest for an NFR berth—missed Kleinhans and Cookston’s WCJR mark by more than $1,500.
Kleinhans and Cookston also won more than the reigning World Champions Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp. Wade and Thorp pocketed $9,843 a man for the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo win in Casper, Wyoming—a cool $4,717 and $4,857 behind Kleinhans and Cookston’s WCJR earnings.
“It is a huge opportunity to get to rope for this kind of money at a youth event,” Kleinhans said. “It is going to help me down the road when I am roping for this kind of money at the pro level. To already be put under this kind of pressure at a young age, it will help me be better when it is an even bigger stage.”
How Kleinhans and Cookston stack up against the pros
- Utah Days of 47 Rodeo (Salt Lake City, Utah): Jake Smith and Douglas Rich, $14,623 a man (Cookston surpassed, Kleinhans right behind them by $63.)
- St. Paul Rodeo (St. Paul, Oregon): Lightning Aguilera and Lane Mitchell, $13,019 a man
- Cheyenne Frontier Days (Cheyenne, Wyoming): Hayes Smith and Justin Davis, $11,925 a man
- California Rodeo Salinas (Salinas, California): Erich Rogers and Paul Eaves, $10,946 a man
- Fiesta Days Rodeo (Spanish Fork, Utah): Brye Crites and Tyler Worley, $10,188 a man
- Sheridan WYO Rodeo (Sheridan, Wyoming): Wyatt and Paden Bray, $9,985 a man
- Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo (Casper, Wyoming): Tyler Wade and Wesley thorp, $9,843 a man
- Snake River Stampede (Nampa, Idaho): Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith, $9,385 a man
Top Junior money earners at the 2024 WCJR
10. Amy Ohrt, breakaway roping & pole bending: $6,280
9. Jesus Villa Jr., bull riding: $6,445
8. Harley Pryor, breakaway: $7,000
7. Cooper Lane, saddle bronc riding: $7,652
6. Colin Fox, tie-down roping & steer wrestling: $7,882.50
5. Bella Skinner, barrel racing: $8,750
4. Alli Autrey, goat tying: $10,372
3. Kaydence Tindall, breakaway & goat tying: $11,788
2. Conley Kleinhans, heading: $14,560
1. Brant Cookston, heeling: $14,700
Top Youth money earners at the 2024 WCJR
10. Cross Ringelstein, heeling: $2,525
9. Landree Bennett, breakaway roping & barrel racing: $2,825
8. Cannin Carson, heading & heeling: $2,910
7. Arina Dee Haugen, barrel racing, pole bending & goat tying: $3,300
6. Briana Carr, pole bending: $3,625
5. Drew Ellen Stewart, pole bending & goat tying: $3,760
4. Myles Nixon, tie-down roping: $3,812
3. Kali Jo Bannister, breakaway roping & barrel racing: $5,945
2. Dusky Lynn Hall, barrel racing & pole bending: $8,180
1. Bronc Evans, heading & heeling: $9,300
