Governor’s Cup: Whose Season Will It Make or Break?

The nailbiter of a season comes down to the $144,444 calf roping payout in Sioux Falls.

Not even two weeks remain in the regular season, but the 2024 NFR Playoff Series points have been tallied to reveal which tie-down ropers have officially made it to Sioux Falls for a chance to win $25,000—money that could make all the difference in qualifying for the NFR.

The Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup will pay more than $1.3 million in three days, Sept. 26-28, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Calf ropers competed throughout the 2024 season at NFR Playoff Series approved rodeos, hoping to earn a spot as one of the 24 qualifiers to rope in Puyallup at the Washington State Fair.

The top four finishers in Puyallup earned an automatic advancement to the Governor’s Cup, with the other eight positions coming from the Playoff Series standings. Playoff Series standings were tallied at the conclusion of Pendleton, Abilene and Albuquerque’s ProRodeos the weekend of Sept. 16.

Shad Mayfield Holds Strong in No. 1 with Puyallup Victory: Puyallup Tie-Down Results

The top 20 calf ropers have formed five bunches with similar earnings.

Nos. 1-4 have all broken the $200,000 mark and will be competing in Sioux Falls. Shad Mayfield could lose his strong lead on Ty Harris with the big money that Sioux Falls has to offer.
Nos. 5-7 are separated by less than $4,000. From here, the earnings fall off by almost $20,000
The Nos. 8-10 are separated by about $12,000. This group contains Kincade Henry, Tuf Cooper and Zack Jongbloed. But Cooper didn’t qualify to Sioux Falls, so we could see him fall out of this group.
Nos. 11-15 are separated by about $10,000. Only Dylan Hancock and Cole Clemons have qualified for the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, so big shifts could be on the horizon in this group.
Calf ropers Nos. 16-19 could see the biggest changes with Hunter Herrin sitting on the bubble in 16^th, outside the Top 15 by less than $5,000. Herrin qualified to Sioux Falls and could take home part of the $144,444 payout. Only $10,000 separates this group of guys.

Governor’s Cup payout breakdown

Total payoff: $144,444

Total payoff for each of the first two performances: $27,500

Placing	Payout
1^st	$11,000
2^nd	$8,250
3^rd	$5,500
4^th	$2,750

Total payoff for Semi-Finals (5^th through 8^th place): $14,444

Placing	Payout
5^th	$3,611
6^th	$3,611
7^th	$3,611
8^th	$3,611

Total payoff for the Finals: $75,000

Placing	Payout
1^st	$30,000
2^nd	$22,500
3^rd	$15,000
4^th	$7,500

Sioux Falls format

The 12 qualifiers will compete across two rounds for a position into the final eight. From the eight-man Semifinals, four return to the final shootout round for a chance at the Governor’s Cup championship.

Qualifiers are unofficial and list will be updated when official callbacks are released the evening of Sept. 17, 2024.

Puyallup Qualifiers

Shad Mayfield
Shane Hanchey
Riley Webb
Zack Jongbloed

Playoff Series Standings Qualifiers

Ty Harris
Kincade Henry
Shad Mayfield (seeded)
Marty Yates
Riley Webb (seeded)
Haven Meged
Dylan Hancock
Shane Hanchey (seeded)
Cole Clemons
Zack Jongbloed (seeded)
Hunter Herrin
John Douch

2024 Tie-Down Roping World Standings

Ranking	Name	Hometown	Earnings
1	Shad Mayfield	Clovis, NM	$242,771.79
2	Ty Harris	San Angelo, TX	$217,408.68
3	Haven Meged	Miles City, MT	$210,563.31
4	Riley Webb	Denton, TX	$200,144.73
5	John Douch	Huntsville, TX	$152,192.90
6	Marty Yates	Stephenville, TX	$150,368.36
7	Shane Hanchey	Sulphur, LA	$148,219.67
8	Kincade Henry	Mount Pleasant, TX	$129,097.41
9	Tuf Cooper	Decatur, TX	$122,925.81
10	Zack Jongbloed	Iowa, LA	$116,630.43
11	Dylan Hancock	San Angelo, TX	$109,728.42
12	Joel Harris	San Angelo, TX	$108,644.69
13	Cole Clemons	Lipan, TX	$101,283.68
14	Quade Hiatt	Canyon, TX	$100,654.10
15	Marcos Costa	Iretama, PR	$99,338.74
16	Hunter Herrin	Apache, OK	$94,906.38
17	Bryce Derrer	Portales, NM	$92,929.38
18	Brushton Minton	Witter Springs, CA	$92,585.57
19	Macon Murphy	Keatchie, LA	$89,373.77
20	Trevor Hale	Perryton, TX	$81,928.36