As the 2018 Finning Pro Tour Finals draws near, we’ve been crunching the numbers to see who is safe, and who needs to hustle if they want a chance at the extra dollars up on September 2.

Watch the Finning Pro Tour: Armstrong IPE & Stampede and the Finning Pro Tour Finals LIVE on FloRodeo August 29 to September 2.

Armstrong marks both the final rodeo on the tour, as well as the tour finals on the last day of rodeo action in British Columbia. The rodeo always hosts loud crowds packed into the grandstands, good stock, and competitors ready to lay it all on the line for one more chance to qualify for the tour finals — and sometimes the Canadian Finals Rodeo. 

The Finals

The top 10 in the Finning Pro Tour Standings will get the chance to come back for the Finning Pro Tour finals, also held in Armstrong on the final day of competition. The standings to determine the finals qualifiers are not calculated by money won, but rather by points.

The finals itself is a $6,000 one-head rodeo that comes at a crucial time of year for Canadian Professional Rodeo Association contestants. The money at the finals does not count towards the PRCA world standings but does count in the CPRA standings, and it can make or break some contestants that need a boost to get them to CFR.

One (1) go rodeos points are as follows: 1st place - 100 points, 2nd place - 90 points, 3rd place - 80 points, 4th place - 70 points, 5th place - 60 points, 6th place - 50 points, 7th place - 40 points, 8th place - 30 points, 9th place - 20 points, 10th place - 10 points

Two (2) go rodeos points for each full go-round are as follows: 1st place – 50 points, 2nd place - 45 points, 3rd place – 40 points, 4th place - 35 points, 5th place - 30 points, 6th place - 25 points, 7th place - 20 points, 8th place - 15 points,

9th place - 10 points, 10th place - 5 points

The points for aggregate are as follows: 1st place - 100 points, 2nd place - 90 points, 3rd place - 80 points, 4th place - 70 points, 5th place - 60 points, 6th place - 50 points, 7th place - 40 points, 8th place - 30 points, 9th place - 20 points, 10th place - 10 points

*Contestants also receive 25 points for every rodeo they compete at. 

Who Is In

Competitors that have seated themselves in the top third to half of the standings can count themselves fairly safe to qualify for the Finning Pro Tour Finals in Armstrong. There are a few competitors that that pull away from the pack and have a stronghold on their No. 1 spot in the standings. 

The 2016 world champion saddle bronc rider has a 125-point lead on second-place bronc rider Dusty Hausauer. Zeke Thurston, who recently became a father to a baby girl with wife Jayne, is back on the rodeo trail and will remain No. 1 heading into the finals, even if he doesn’t earn any points in Armstrong. 

Carman Pozzobon is another one of those competitors who has pulled away from her competition; at 730 points, she leads Shayna Weir by 140 points and will guarantee she will hold the No. 1 spot. 

While Thurston and Pozzobon have separated from the pack, some races remain tight. 

The closest race at the top of the standings come from steer wrestlers Scott Guenthner and Stephen Culling. Guenthner is No. 1 at 525 points and Culling is just 10 points behind at 515. 

The next tightest race is between team ropers Denver Johnson and Tristin Woosley, who have 517.5 points, and the team of Roland McFadden and Devin Wigemyr at 495. The teams also sit at No. 1 and 2 in the regular Canadian Standings before last weekend’s update.

When looking at the race from first to 10th, no event has tighter competition than the tie-down roping. Only 90 points separate the competition that is currently making the cut for the finals, but cowboys all the way down to the No. 21 spot also have a mathematical chance at making the top 10 (Randall Carlisle could move up to tie the current No. 10/11 split from the 21st spot if he wins Armstrong).

Who Has A Chance

The Armstrong IPE & Stampede offers one more chance for competitors to make their way into the top 10 and earn a spot in the tour finals. The numbers around that No. 10 mark are tight in most events, leaving the door open for many competitors to sneak in if they can do well at Armstrong’s regular-season rodeo. 

Much like the tie-down roping, the steer wrestling, bull riding, and team roping could all see competitors from as long as the No. 19-21 spot making a move into the finals — including team roper Trey Gallais, who turned his season around when he won the Strathmore Stampede, placed in Dawson Creek, and has now moved up to the 14th spot in the heading standings. 

The barrel racing has the highest number of competitors that have a mathematical shot at qualifying. Diane Skocdopole, who sits in the No. 26 spot, is only 100 points behind the 10th spot. 

The race with the least amount of competitors that have a chance to qualify is the bareback riding. Only the top 13 (including the No. 13 man Luke Creasy) have enough points to either move into or stay within the top 10. 

The Armstrong IPE and Stampede kicks off on August 29 with four performances before the tour finals on September 2.