Western Industry News Updates for April 18-24 2022
Welcome to the Weekly Western Industry News Recap. In this series, you can find everything you need to know about rodeo, western sports, business, and events going on in the western industry. In addition, I hope to be providing exclusive interviews and stories along the way so if you have a story idea, please drop them in the comments!
Rodeo News
Below you will find all of the updates from the previous week with any and all rodeo news. This includes rodeo athlete updates, event updates, rodeo standings updates, and more!
Rodeo Athlete & Standings Updates
- All Around is being led by Stetson Wright with $205,299.64. Your other top five leaders include 2. Zack Jongbloed, 3. Rhen Richard, moved to third after being second last week 4. Bart Brunson and Taylor Santos hold fourth and fifth in the all around standings.
- Bareback Riding – Jess “The Pope” is leading the bareback standings with $94,428.75. Clayton Biglow brings up the number two spot with $58,777.56 and Cole Reiner moves up to third, with $57,889.03 in earnings. I am willing to bet he takes second place unless Clayton has a big win this coming week.
- Saddle Bronc Riding – Sage Newman holds the lead for saddle bronc with $111,540.24 in earnings and doesn’t look like he’s letting up any time soon. The lead for saddle bronc is growing with a $20,000 gap between Sage and Stetson Wright, who is second in the standings right now. Your other top five competitors are 3. Ryder Wright, 4. Brody Cress (moved up since last week) 5. Wyatt Casper (moved down from fourth).
- Bull Riding – Stetson Wright is holding a tight lead with $138,106.22 in earnings. Your top five competitors are now 2. Josh Frost with $101,909.61, 3. Sage with $93,830.38, 4. Roscoe Jarboe, and 5. Jeff Askey (No changes in standings from last week)
- Steer Wrestling – Hunter has been leading the steer wrestling pack with $63,661.51 for the last couple of weeks but Tyler Waguespack is not far behind him with $59,190.53. I am predicting that Tyler takes the number one spot this week unless we see Hunter take another win.
- Team Roping – Team roping has been on fire this month. On the heading side, Kaleb Driggers is holding the number one spot with $79,993.41 and Junior Nogueria on the heeling side with $79,993.42. Jake and Clay aren’t far behind in second place!
- Tie Down – New fan favorite, John Douch is still in the lead for the tie-down standings with a solid $88,320.80. As far as second and third, it has been changing every week. Shad “money” Mayfield snuck back up into 2nd place with $69,531.66 with Tuf Cooper right on his heels with $65,600.28.
Upcoming Rodeos
- APR 28 – 30 | Helotes, TX | Helotes Festival Association Rodeo
- APR 29 – MAY 1 | Drayton Valley, AB, AB | Drayton Valley Pro Rodeo
- APR 29 – MAY 1 | Coleman, AB, AB | Kananaskis Pro Rodeo
- APR 29 – APR 30 | Fort Worth, TX | Resistol Rookie Roundup
- APR 29 – APR 30 | Stonyford, CA | Stonyford Rodeo
- MAY 1 | Riverdale, CA | Riverdale Rodeo
Professional Bull Riding News
Below is everything you need to know from last week in the PBR. In addition, I will be closely covering the last couple of events for the PBR Finals in Fort Worth in mid-May.
PBR Bull Standings
Listen, guys, I am invested in the YETI World Champion Bull Race. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen Ridin’ Solo and Woopaa battle it out for the number one spot. This week Woopaa holds his number one spot, leading with a small .8 lead. The World Championship Bull title is anyone’s game at this point. Make sure to check back next week for updates heading into the finals!
PBR Standings – Top 10
| Rank | Name | Country | Points | Points Behind Leader | Earnings | Events | Wins | Outs | Rides |
| 1 | JOÃO RICARDO VIEIRA |  BRA | 861.50 | – | $242,521 | 27 | 5 | 55 | 27 |
| 2 | DAYLON SWEARINGEN |  USA | 772.66 | -88.84 | $272,894.96 | 30 | 5 | 61 | 27 |
| 3 | KAIQUE PACHECO | BRA | 741 | -120.50 | $189,316 | 20 | 2 | 41 | 23 |
| 4 | JOSE VITOR LEME | BRA | 623.50 | -238 | $159,737.39 | 19 | 3 | 38 | 19 |
| 5 | KYLER OLIVER | USA | 610.50 | -251 | $141,270.95 | 22 | 3 | 42 | 19 |
| 6 | MAURICIO GULLA MOREIRA | BRA | 592.50 | -269 | $141,118.21 | 25 | 2 | 46 | 18 |
| 7 | DALTON KASEL | USA | 585.50 | -276 | $138,249.33 | 26 | 3 | 47 | 20 |
| 8 | AUSTIN RICHARDSON | USA | 549.50 | -312 | $127,645.48 | 18 | 2 | 36 | 14 |
| 9 | LUCIANO DE CASTRO | BRA | 539 | -322.50 | $85,983.14 | 24 | 3 | 49 | 21 |
| 10 | ELI VASTBINDER | USA | 465.16 | -396.34 | $60,945.11 | 25 | 2 | 49 | 23 |
Upcoming PBR Events
- PBR COOPER TIRES INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY ARIAT | UNLEASH THE BEAST | BILLINGS, MT | METRAPARK | April 29 – May 1, 2022
- PBR WORLD FINALS: UNLEASH THE BEAST | FORT WORTH, TX | DICKIES ARENA | MAY 13 – 22
General Western Industry News
This section of our Western Industry News recap includes anything and everything going on in the industry. If you would like to be featured, please send me an email and I would be happy to give you a shoutout in the next article.
Elevate Ag
Founded by Tara Vander Dussen and Natalie Kovarik, Elevate Ag launched earlier this year with a beta E-Course and most recently, a podcast. If you are an entrepreneur in the ag, western, or rural space then you need to check out what these gals are up to. They will be re-launching their E-Course next month so make sure to get on their newsletter list to get all the details.
The Western Women’s Summit
Hosted by Sophie Sulzer, this virtual summit was announced last week and looks like it’s going to be magical! Featuring 12 rock star women of the western industry over the course of two days, it sounds like it’s going to be jam-packed with great information. See below for more information!
Thanks for tuning in to this week’s Western Industry News Recap, looking forward to reporting weekly so make sure to check back!