How Will the Rough Rider Cup and Governor's Cup Impact World Standings?

As athletes enter the final weeks of the professional rodeo season, two exclusive rodeos will have a major impact on who earns an NFR qualification.

Brody Cress | Fernando Sam-Sin

One of the most important rodeos of the season will happen in the final weekend of the professional season.

For the cowboys and cowgirls of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and Women's Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA), a qualification to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is the culmination of years worth of hard work.

In the past few seasons, an increasing importance has been placed upon a specific group of rodeos known as the Playoffs Series.

With the Rough Rider Cup in Mandan, N.D., held the weekend of September 19-21, the excitement will continue to build until the final event of the tour: the Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Paying out $1.4 million, the rodeo will be held September 26-28. Adding to the intrigue, not just anyone can compete at one of the most prestigious rodeos of the entire season and the process to qualify is complex.

In Sioux Falls, a total of 12 contestants will compete in each event. The top four from the finals of the CINCH Playoffs in Puyallup will be on that roster, as well as the top eight in the Playoffs Standings. For those athletes who earned a seat through Puyallup and are also ranked in the top eight, positions will drop down to fill a total of 12 spots.

The Rough Rider Cup is the final rodeo that counts towards the Playoffs Standings and the final list of qualifiers will be determined after the points cutoff on September 22.

The payouts in Mandan will be substantial, but a large amount of rain has drastically impacted the arena conditions.

Although these athletes have to compete under a wide variety of circumstances all year, it could create a "luck of the draw" situation in some events if the arena dries out later in the weekend.

Another exclusive event, the rodeo in Mandan was only open for entry to the top 32 in the World Standings, along with the winners of four specific rodeos in the Badlands Circuit. It is a single round rodeo and paid nearly $13,000 to first place winners in 2024.

Regardless of what happens along the way, everything will lead up to the Governor's Cup, where the athletes on the bubble will make some of the most critical runs and rides of the entire year.

In Sioux Falls, the two long rounds will pay $12,000 to first place, with the top eight in the average advancing to the semi-finals. From there, the top four will move on to the finals. That payout will be: $32,000, $24,000, $16,000, and $8,000.

This is a substantial amount of money, considering many of these races have 5-10 positions in the World Standings separated by as little as $5,000. As we keep close tabs on these two "Cup" events in the next two weekends, it will be very interesting to watch how events play out for the cowboys and cowgirs "on the bubble."