SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb. 25, 2017) -- The San Antonio Rodeo started on Feb. 9 with 400 contestants hoping to leave the AT&T Center with big paychecks.

That dream came true for the Xtreme Bulls champion on Saturday afternoon and the rodeo champions on Saturday night. The day started out with an exciting performance of bull riding where Colorado's Ty Wallace rose to the top.

Wallace rode Powder River Rodeo's Shocker for 90 points. That eight-second effort netted him a whopping $25,380. And while he didn't win the bull riding at the rodeo, he still earned $14,613 bringing his San Antonio total winnings to $39,993.

The stars were shining on Amberleigh Moore and her great mare "CP Dark Moon" in the AT&T Center as well. Moore, from Keizer, Ore., and the eight-year-old horse that she calls Paige won all three rounds in her preliminary bracket. Then, they won a round and tied for first in the two semifinals competitions. She led the standings coming into the finals by over $2,000.

Taking the first barrel with left-hand turns and the next two to the right, she had the fastest time on Saturday night once again at 13.98 seconds. She had made five victory laps around the AT&T Center horseback. Her sixth one was standing in the back of a Ford truck. She earned $29,339.

I was talking to her the whole trip," Moore said. "It's amazing that she could hear me with the fans in here, but she did and she did everything I asked her to.

Paige was also honored as one of the Animal Athletes at the San Antonio Rodeo. That got Moore another $1,500 bonus. Moore is leaving San Antonio as the highest earning contestant in the rodeo's history.

Bareback riding saw unheard of scores at the top of the leaderboard. Tyler Nelson, from Victor, Idaho, won first place in the finals with a 91.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo's Full Baggage. That got him $14,476 for the night and total earnings of $25,881 for the biggest win of his career.

World champion and current standings leader, Tim O'Conner from Zwingle, Iowa finished half a point behind Nelson with 91. Tanner Aus from Granite Falls, Minn., had a 90 and the final check went to Richmond Champion from The Woodlands, Texas, with an 89.

"This was the best bareback riding I've ever witnessed, "O'Connell said. "Where else can you go and score 91 points and finish second? That was phenomenal."

Hunter Herrin, from Apache, Okla., was a repeat champion and he did it with speed. The tie-down roper tied his own arena record with a 6.6-second run Saturday night. He won $22,734.

Kaleb Driggers from Albany, Ga., is a three-time team roping champion in the AT&T Center and he's won it with three different partners. He finished at the top of the standings this year with the reigning world champion all-around, Junior Nogueira from Presidente Prudente, Brazil. The each earned $21,692.

Plans are already underway for the 2018 San Antonio Rodeo which will be held Feb. 8 -- 24.

2017 San Antonio Rodeo Champions:

Bareback Riding -- Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, $25,881
Steer Wrestling -- Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., $21,604
Team Roping -- Junior Nogueira, Presidente Prudente, Brazil
And Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., $21,692
Saddle Bronc Riding -- CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, $24,927
Tie-Down Roping -- Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., $22,745
Barrel Racing -- Amberleigh Moore, Keizer, Ore., $29,339
Bull Riding -- Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, $27,033

By: Susan Kanode