Will 2019 See A Roughstock Competitor Win The World All-Around Title?
Will 2019 See A Roughstock Competitor Win The World All-Around Title?
A roughstock competitor hasn’t won the PRCA all-around title since Ty Murray’s last championship in 1998–but could it happen in 2019?
A roughstock competitor hasn’t won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association all-around title since Ty Murray’s last championship in 1998, but could it happen in 2019? It has been just over 20 years since the feat has been accomplished and – while there are timed event competitors in the mix that are always tough to beat – the roughstock side of the arena appears ready to put up a heck of a fight at the NFR this year.
To win an all-around title in the PRCA, a competitor must win at least $3,000 in any two or more events, proving they’re a hand at multiple disciplines. Historically, the title was more evenly split between timed-event and roughstock competitors, and often those cowboys actually competed on both sides of the arena (an award that is still honored with the Linderman Award for cowboys competing in three events with at least one being a roughstock and one being a timed event).
Over the last 20 years, the title has been dominated by timed event masters like Joe Beaver, Fred Whitfield, Cody Ohl, Ryan Jerrett, Tuf Cooper, Junior Nogueira, and, oh right… that guy from Decatur, Texas, named Trevor Brazile… 13 times.
This year, we’ve seen a huge resurgence of roughstock competitors at the top of the all-around standings, with a total of ten competitors in the hunt for the title via an NFR berth–four from the roughstock side of the arena and six from the timed event end.
All-Around Rank | Name | Earnings | NFR Events |
1 | Stetson Wright | $182,999.49 | Bull Riding |
2 | Clay Smith | $161,363.88 | Team Roping Header |
3 | Caleb Smidt | $145,189.73 | Tie-Down Roping |
4 | Tuf Cooper | $136,025.16 | Tie-Down Roping/Steer Roping |
5 | Steven Dent | $101,577.32 | Bareback |
6 | Rhen Richard | $94,653.08 | Tie-Down Roping |
7 | Josh Frost | $82,731.63 | Bull Riding |
X | Tanner Green | $72,713.57 | DID NOT QUALIFY |
9 | Trevor Brazile | $72,046.55 | Steer Roping |
10 | Daylon Swearingen | $70,919.89 | Bull Riding |
11 | Landon McClaugherty | $66,978.83 | Steer Roping |
We won’t know which of these ten will take home the title until the final numbers are tallied in Las Vegas come mid-December, but this list means the race for one of rodeo’s most coveted titles will be one you won't want to miss.