American Royal Rodeo Showcases Top Talents

One of the many stops on the professional rodeo tour is Kansas City, Mo. The Hale Arena hosted the American Royal Rodeo from May 2 to 4, 2024.

As usual, cowboys and cowgirls descended on the town from all over the United States and all ranks of the standings. With many of the top competitors in attendance, the competition was fierce and full of excitement for the crowds.

The total payoff was just short of the $100,000 mark but it is still a substantial stop for the ones looking to move their way up the ladder in the World Standings.

Familiar face, Jess Pope took top honors in the bareback riding when he rode Korkow Rodeos' I Fly Planes to 87 points. For his high-flying, spur-laden action, the World Champion cowboy will deposit $2,109 toward his fifth trip to the Wrangler National Finals rodeo.

Milan, Tenn., cowboy Hudson Bolton earned the biggest paycheck of all the winners. The 18-year-old bull rider stayed on top of Zapata from the Korkow string and earned 88.5 points for his effort.

With only three qualified rides in the entire rodeo, Bolton was able to cash in for $4,617 on the first place finish.

The duo of Buddy Hawkins and J.C. Yeahquo caught both ends of their steer in the team roping in a 4.3-second run. This team is currently sitting number one in the world standings, and the $2,816 checks they earned surely won't hurt.

While Hawkins has been to the NFR six times in his 13-year professional career, Yeahquo is looking for his first trip. Together they have earned $70,150 on the season and are looking solid to be amongst the top teams headed to Las Vegas in December.

The breakaway ropers keep burning up the arena where nearly every single rodeo these days is won with a time of under two seconds. That's fast! Well, Cheyenne McCartney didn't let the crowd down when she stopped the clock in 1.9 seconds on her calf to be the only cowgirl under two and placed at the top of the leaderboard. McCartney cashed her check for $2,773 for first.

All-around cowboy:Austin Madison, $1,822, tie-down roping and steer wrestling.
Bareback riding:1. Jess Pope, 87 points on Korkow Rodeos' I fly Plane, $2,109; 2. Taylor Broussard, 86, $1,617; 3. (tie) Kyle Bloomquist and Wacey Schalla, 84.5, $984 each; 5. Nick Pelke, 83.5, $492; 6. (tie) Colt Eck and Kade Sonnier, 82, $316 each; 8. Will Lowe, 81.5, $211.
Steer wrestling:1. Cooper Orr, 4.4 seconds, $2,465; 2. Weston Taylor, 4.6, $2,143; 3. Austin Madison, 4.8, $1,822; 4. (tie) Riley Duvall and Jace Melvin, 5.1, $1,340 each; 6. Trisyn Kalawaia, 5.2, $857; 7. Savion Elias, 5.3, $536; 8. Chase Crane, 5.5, $214.
Team roping:1. J.C. Yeahquo/Buddy Hawkins II, 4.3 seconds, $2,812 each; 2. Clay Bauer/Butch Levell, 4.5, $2,482; 3. (tie) Trevor Howard/Levi Pettigrew and Andrew Ward/Kollin VonAhn, 4.7, $1,985 each; 5. Kreece Thompson/Cooper Freeman, 5.0, $1,654; 6. Cooper White/Tucker White, 5.4, $1,489; 7. (tie) Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek and Koby Sanchez/Trace Porter, 5.6, $1,241 each; 9. Tyler Hobert/Shannon Frascht, 6.7, $993; 10. (tie) Cole Frey/Latham Dickson and Caleb Miller/Luke Miller, 6.8, $331 each.
Saddle bronc riding:1. Riggin Smith, 87 points on Korkow Rodeos' Joker Poker, $2,312; 2. Traylin Martin, 86, $1,773; 3. Trey Watts, 84, $1,310; 4. Tegan Smith, 83.5, $848; 5. Cauy Masters, 82.5, $540; 6. Weston Patterson, 82, $385; 7. Colt Gordon, 81, $308; 8. Jordan Iker, 79, $231.
Tie-down roping:1. Colten Wallis, 8.2 seconds, $2,573; 2. Riley Pruitt, 9.2, $2,270; 3. (tie) Ryan Jarrett and Chase Thrasher, 9.4, $1,816 each; 5. Chris McCuistion, 9.5, $1,513; 6. (tie) Trent Creager and Cody Huber, 9.6, $1,286 each; 8. Coy Arnold, 9.9, $1,059; 9. (tie) Roy Lee and Booker McCutchen, 10.3, $757 each.
Barrel racing:1. Cayla Small, 15.03 seconds, $2,530; 2. Mataya Eklund, 15.12, $2,151; 3. Aubrey Sprouse, 15.14, $1,771; 4. Leslie Smalygo, 15.22, $1,518; 5. Sara Winkelman, 15.28, $1,265; 6. Ronda Casey, 15.32, $886; 7. (tie) Paige Lilleman and Erin Zoucha, 15.35, $569 each; 9. Gracie Smith, 15.41, $443; 10. Kylie Kanngiesser, 15.42, $380; 11. (tie) Ivy Hurst and Kalli McCall, 15.49, $285 each.
Bull riding:*1. Hudson Bolton, 88.5 points on Korkow Rodeos' Zapata, $4,617; 2. Brandon Ballard, 86, $3,809; 3. Jestyn Woodward, 79.5, $3,116; no other qualified rides. *(all totals include ground money).