The finals are almost set at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo as five more athletes or tandems in each event advanced to Saturday’s final round.
Bareback Riding
Richmond Champion won the second performance of Semifinal II on Thursday night with an 89-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Two Buck Chuck. The $5,000 check he earned vaulted him into fourth place in the bracket, good enough to advance to the finals.
Jamie Howlett, who earned the $4,000 second-place check on back-to-back nights, is first in the bracket with $11,250. Jake Vold won the second bracket’s first performance on Wednesday night with an 88.5 Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Faded Night to finish second.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Jamie Howlett, $11,250
2. Jake Vold, $9,500
3. Shane O’Connell, $9,250
4. Richmond Champion, $8,750
5. Dantan Bertsch, $7,625.
Steer Wrestling
Jule Hazen made his mark on the second semifinal group by winning Round 1 with a time of 3.6 seconds on Wednesday. He followed that up by stopping the clock at 4.4 seconds on Thursday to take home a second-place check, meaning he won $9,000 total in the semifinals.
With $13,000 total, Hazen is one of the top earners in the rodeo across all events. He is joined in the finals by Tanner Brunner, Curtis Cassidy, Blake Knowles and Jace Melvin.
Cassidy had the top time Thursday night, stopping the clock at 3.7 seconds.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Jule Hazen, $13,000
2. Tanner Brunner, $9,500
3. Curtis Cassidy, $9,375
4. Blake Knowles, $8,500
5. Jace Melvin, $5,000.
Team Roping
Billy Bob Brown and Tanner Braden rose to the top of a crowded leaderboard in Semifinal II.
Brown/Braden finished tied for first with Matt Sherwood/Trey Yates on Wednesday and tied for third with Erich Rodgers/Paden Bray on Thursday.
Sherwood/Yates are also moving on as are Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, Colemon Proctor/Ryan Motes and Tanner Baldwin/Nan Garza.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Billy Bob Brown/Tanner Braden, $9,000
T2. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, $8,500
T2. Coleman Proctor/Ryan Motes, $8,500
4. Matt Sherwood/Trey Yates, $7,000
5. Tanner Baldwin/Nano Garza, $6,000
Saddle Bronc Riding
After only one ride of 80 or better on Wednesday night, the bronc riders came back with much better scores Thursday night.
After finishing second on Wednesday with a 79.5, Allen Boore won the second performance of Semifinal II with an 86.5-point ride on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Grab Your Guns on Thursday night. Lefty Holman was second with 86 points and Ryder Wright was third with an 85.5.
Boore was the top athlete in the bracket as he earned $11,250.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Allen Boore, $11,250
2. Lefty Holman, $8,375
3. Joe Harper, $8,000
4. Tegan Smith, $7,500
5. Ryder Wright, $6,250
Tie-Down Roping
Catfish Brown was the top tie-down roper in Semifinal II and he was closely followed by Timber Moore and Shad Mayfield.
Brown stopped the clock at 8.2 seconds to win the first performance of the semifinals and Moore was 6.9 seconds to win the second performance.
Mayfield, on the other hand, finished third both nights.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Catfish Brown, $10,750
T2. Timber Moore, $9,500
T2. Shad Mayfield, $9,500
4. Chance Oftedahl, $7,875
5. Cody Huber, $7,250
Barrel Racing
Fresh off her win in San Angelo, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi had the top ride Thursday night with a run of 13.91 seconds.
She was second overall in Semifinal II behind Ryann Pedone, who finished second on Thursday.
Two-time world champion Hailey Lockwood was fourth in the group overall with runs of 14.03 and 14.06 seconds.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Ryann Pedone, $11,500
2. Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, $10,000
3. Jill Wilson, $9,750
4. Hailey Lockwood, $7,750
5. Cindy Smith, $6,750
Bull Riding
No one has made more money in San Antonio this year than Ruger Piva. The Idaho cowboy was the only one to cover a bull Wednesday night and he did so in style with 90 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Tried and Tested, which earned him $13,000.
On Thursday night, Trevor Kastner, Colten Fritzlan and Denton Fugate all had 8-second rides.
Finals Qualifiers
1. Ruger Piva, $16,222
2. Colten Fritzlan, $9,472
3. Trevor Kastner, $7,750
4. Denton Fugate, $6,500
5. Tyler Bingham, $4,250