American Rodeo West Regionals Decides Semi-Finals Qualifiers

The roster is now set for The American Rodeo semi-finals, which will take place the day before the $2 million rodeo. The next stop for contestants will be to walk in and take the dirt stage in Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

The West Qualifier Tournament wrapped up on Saturday evening to determine the final five advancing in each event.

Here are the cowboys and cowgirls that found their way to the top of the leaderboards and will now be making a trip to Texas.

Bareback Riding

Keenan Hayes rides a bareback horse — Bareback rider Keenan Hayes | Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

The former world champion is making his way back to the top of every event he goes to. Keenan Hayes from Hayden, Colorado was the top man in the finals with an 86.25-point ride and will be eligible for the $2 million prize if he makes it out of the semi-finals.

The four men joining him advancing will be Weston Timberman, Daxtyn Feild, Mason Stuller and Orin Larsen.

Breakaway Roping

The breakaway roping has become so rapid that it’s hard to even watch because if you look away or blink, you are likely to miss it. These ladies are not just talented, they are wicked in their event.

The top five spots in the finals were separated by less than two-tenths of a second. This was a tough set of girls who will put on a show for sure.

Hadley Thompson from Yoder, Wyoming, took the top spot with her 1.79-second run. She was followed close behind by Madison Outhier, who stopped the clock at 1.80. Multiple-time world champion Jackie Crawford will be eligible for the $2 million if she qualifies out of the semis. The final two to advance are Fallon Ruffoni and Madd Jacobs.

Team Roping

The rodeo world needs to be put on notice when the team ropers ride in. This set of ropers has the biggest resume of any event without even doing any research. That statement was easy to make when looking at the teams who advanced, possibly because the last name Brazile stood out.

The five teams that earned their spots include:

Pedro Egurrola and Michael Calmelat, Jr
Dustin Egusquiza and JC Flake
James Arviso and Levi Lord
Trevor Brazile and Treston Brazile
Kellan Johnson and Trae Smith

Saddle Bronc Riding

With the change in rules to allow only the top five in the world standings to earn free advancement, things have become much tougher in the regional finals. This holds true in the saddle bronc riding for sure.

With names like Kade Bruno and Sage Newman making the cut to be in the $2 million contenders, you know it is going to be tough. None was better than Allen Boore from Axtell, Utah, though. He rode I’m a Dandy to 86.75 points and took the number one spot for a $10,000 payday.

Those three will have to fend off Logan Hay and Mitch Pollock in the semis to make it to the final day.

Steer Wrestling

After two full rounds, a redemption round, and the finals, the steer wrestlers put on quite a show. The final top 15 was a battle to make the top five cut. A run in the four-second range didn’t even guarantee advancement.

When the final steer was thrown, these five found their way to the top:

Kaden Greenfield
Justin Shaffer
Dalton Massey
JD Struxness
Rooster Yazzie

Tie-Down Roping

A very familiar name finished on top of the list in Las Vegas. None other than the man in green, 10-time National Finals qualifier, Cory Solomon tied his calf in 7.73 in the final round to take the win.

K.C. Miller from Cambria, Cali. was second with an 8.69. From there it was Tuf Cooper, Dylan Hancock and Lane Webb who would advance. Those cowboys represent 18 trips to Las Vegas and the Thomas and Mack.

There’s no question, the tie-down roping will be rapid and it will take a top-notch run to be able to match up against the top five in the world standings.

Barrel Racing

The redemption round may seem like an expensive risk, but for Hailey Krahenbuhl, that risk paid off. After tipping a barrel in the first round, there was no other way for Krahenbuhl to advance. So, she made a calculated decision.

She scratched in the second go and saved her horse for the redemption round. That decision worked out perfectly. She and Saaul Good won the redemption round with a 15.260 to earn their spot in the final round.

She came back and bested that time to turn in a 15.041 in the finals and gather a $10,000 check and a chance at $2 million. That was the fastest run of the entire weekend.

She will be joined by Taylor Armenta, Tayla Moeykens, Blake Molle and Autumn Snyder in the semi-finals.

Bull Riding

With only three qualified rides in the finals, there will just be three advancing from the West. Kase Hitt, Kaiden Loud and Luciano de Castro will take on another bull to try to make their way to the dirt on payday.

Add us as a preferred source on Google