The Columbia River, Badlands, Prairie, Mountain States, Montana and Maple Leaf Circuits have wrapped up their regular seasons, leaving only the circuit finals rodeos left to determine who will claim year-end titles for 2023.
Joel Braden Harris Leads Columbia River Circuit by $284
The top side is dominated by guys who make their homes outside the circuit including rookie Joel Harris, who staged a come-from-behind sprint to retake the circuit lead by a scant margin. He placed at Pendleton and Othello, winning $6,425 to lead Tuf Cooper by $284. Lane Livingston, Ty Harris and Jake Pratt are all within $3,600 for the championship.
READ MORE: Preston Pederson Prevails at Pendleton Despite Problems
Columbia River Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | Joel Braden Harris | San Angelo, Texas | $24,521.46 |
2 | Tuf Cooper | Decatur, Texas | $24,237.18 |
3 | Lane Livingston | Seymour, Texas | $23,249.21 |
4 | Ty Harris | San Angelo, Texas | $21,663.30 |
5 | Jake Pratt | Ellensburg, Washington | $20,915.50 |
6 | Cody Craig | Wendell, Idaho | $18,606.39 |
7 | Paden Bray | Stephenville, Texas | $18,447.95 |
8 | Bo Pickett | Caldwell, Idaho | $18,426.95 |
9 | Preston Pederson | Hermiston, Oregon | $16,262.73 |
10 | Beau Cooper | Stettler, Alberta | $14,628.81 |
11 | Trevor Hale | Perryton, Texas | $13,021.71 |
12 | Luke Potter | Maple City, Kansas | $12,400.19 |
Chase Lako Reclaims Badlands Circuit Lead
In the Badlands Circuit, Chase Lako reclaimed his lead just before the circuit cut-off in early September, bolstered at the end with a good check from the Range Days Rodeo in Rapid City, South Dakota. Thane Lockhart slid into the finals in the final position on the strength of a win at Dazey, North Dakota, and a second-place finish in Northfield, Minnesota, to close the season.
Badlands Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | Chase Lako | Arthur, North Dakota | $17,112.01 |
2 | Jason Schaffer | Broadus, Montana | $16,738.10 |
3 | Ty Moser | Volga, South Dakota | $16,536.57 |
4 | Grant Turek | St. Paul, Nebraska | $14,792.74 |
5 | Trey Young | Dupree, South Dakota | $13,132.32 |
6 | Bodie Mattson | Sturgis, South Dakota | $12,934.18 |
7 | Austin Hurlburt | Norfolk, Nebraska | $10,784.05 |
8 | Matt Peters | Hot Springs, South Dakota | $9,229.76 |
9 | Brock Belkham | Flandreau, South Dakota | $8,629.74 |
10 | Rex Treeby | Hecla, South Dakota | $8,481.49 |
11 | Cole Robinson | Moorcroft, Wyoming | $6,729.64 |
12 | Thane Lockhart | Oelrichs, South Dakota | $6,224.15 |
Paul David Tierney Carries $5,500 Lead in Prairie Circuit
Paul David Tierney dominated the Prairie Circuit in the final month of the season, earning more than $4,500 just since August 21 to end as the season leader. He’ll carry a lead of $5,500 into the Prairie Circuit Finals in Duncan, Oklahoma, October 12–14. His closest competitor is five-time Prairie Circuit Champ Ryan Jarrett.
The battle for the 12th and final spot into the finals was fierce and RJ Straw of Lenapah, Oklahoma, seems to have won the war. He finished 12th, just $31.63 ahead of Riley O’Rourke. Amazingly, only $203 separated the 11th spot from the 15th.
Prairie Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | Paul David Tierney | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | $20,216.19 |
2 | Ryan Jarrett | Comanche, Oklahoma | $14,701.09 |
3 | Denton Oestmann | Alva, Oklahoma | $13,849.07 |
4 | Cash Fuesz | Eureka, Kansas | $12,663.86 |
5 | Tom Crouse | Gallatin, Missouri | $12,611.25 |
6 | Glenn Jackson | Okmulgee, Oklahoma | $11,302.63 |
7 | Cash Hooper | Pampa, Texas | $11,159.06 |
8 | Sam Van Buskirk | Ringling, Oklahoma | $9,674.31 |
9 | Kason Dyer | Ottawa, Kansas | $9,231.96 |
10 | Hagen Houck | Henrietta, Texas | $8,004.20 |
11 | Nolan Richie | Bristol, South Dakota | $6,862.78 |
12 | RJ Straw | Lenapah, Oklahoma | $6,778.59 |
Mountain States Circuit Leaderboard Shuffle
JD McCuistion closed the season with a slew of checks from Colorado to Idaho to take the lead from Tyler Boxleitner ahead of the Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo in Loveland, Colorado, on October 20–21. His lead is just $733, though, setting up a showdown at the finals for the year-end title.
Kasen Brennise of Craig, Colorado, scored a clutch victory at the Colorado State Fair Rodeo in Pueblo at the end of the summer to move from 14th to seventh in the standings.
Likewise, La Junta, Colorado’s, Chance Wall picked up a big check at the final stop of the Steamboat Springs (Colo.) ProRodeo series to clinch his spot in Loveland. He finished 12th, just $245 in front of Owen Wahlert. Reigning year-end and circuit finals champ Cash Enderli finished 11th, giving him a shot to defend his titles.
Mountain States Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | JD McCuistion | Estes Park, Colorado | $18,830.80 |
2 | Tyler Boxleitner | Loveland, Colorado | $18,098.20 |
3 | Seth Peterson | Wellington, Colorado | $16,103.59 |
4 | Riley Pruitt | Gerring, Nebraska | $15,675.12 |
5 | Jase Staudt | Saguache, Colorado | $15,246.17 |
6 | Cason Kingsbury | Orchard, Colorado | $14,082.99 |
7 | Kasen Brennise | Craig, Colorado | $11,358.28 |
8 | Garrett Busby | Brock, Texas | $10,365.53 |
9 | Ryan Belew | La Junta, Colorado | $9,829.03 |
10 | Jeremiah Peek | Pueblo, Colorado | $8,471.66 |
11 | Cash Enderli | Liberty, Texas | $7,548.81 |
12 | Chance Wall | La Junta, Colorado | $7,106.37 |
Montana Circuit Shake-Ups
World Champion and current world No. 2 Haven Meged stormed to the circuit lead a month ago and held it through Labor Day’s final rodeos for the Montana Circuit season. Meged is about $6,000 ahead of Matt Gutierrez, who won the most in the final month, nearly $5,000, in the race for the circuit title.
Though the season is done, the Montana Circuit Finals Rodeo doesn’t happen until January 11–13 in Great Falls.
With the bulk of Montana’s rodeos happening in August, it’s no surprise to see a lot of shake-ups with guys like Ben Ayre and Kevin Peterson having big wins to land inside the top 12.
Bryce Bott held off Levi Delamarter for the 12th and final qualifying position to Great Falls. Bott picked up a key silver finish in Miles City at the end of the season to finish $178 in front of Delamarter.
Montana Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | Haven Meged | Miles City, Montana | $20,800.97 |
2 | Matt Gutierrez | Stephenville, Texas | $13,977.93 |
3 | Landon Williams | Helena, Montana | $11,097.17 |
4 | Ty Hedrick | Jackson, Montana | $10,949.34 |
5 | Hank Hollenbeck | Molt, Montana | $9,033.65 |
6 | Jesse Medearis | Belgrade, Montana | $8,811.75 |
7 | Dillon Hahnkamp | Melrose, Montana | $8,590.09 |
8 | Shay Keller | Rockglen, Saskatchewan | $7,740.36 |
9 | Ben Ayre | Glendive, Montana | $7,417.13 |
10 | James Ramirez | Churchill, Montana | $6,687.01 |
11 | Kevin Peterson | Dillon, Montana | $6,432.15 |
12 | Bryce Bott | Miles City, Montana | $6,292.16 |
Maple Leaf Circuit Shoot-Out
The Maple Leaf Circuit has become a shoot-out between Kyle Lucas, brothers Jason and Shane Smith and Logan Bird.
Lucas holds the lead but Shane Smith scored big at Olds, Alberta, during the final weekend of the regular season and could be in the lead once the standings are updated. Meanwhile, Bird picked up the win in Hanna, Alberta, leaving the top four within $1,000 of each other.
Erik Dublanko and Cooper Resch helped themselves off the bubble with two checks on the final weekend, Dublanko winning $2,508 and Resch $3,089. They should both be safely into the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals held on November 22–25.
Maple Leaf Circuit Standings as of September 18, 2023
courtesy RodeoCanada.com (doesn’t include Hanna and Olds)
Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Money Won |
1 | Kyle Lucas | Carstairs, Alberta | $17,871.58 |
2 | Jason Smith | Wimborne, Albert | $17,710.74 |
3 | Shane Smith | Wimborne, Albert | $16,823.58 |
4 | Logan Bird | Nanton, Alberta | $15,552.09 |
5 | Murray Pole | Erskine, Alberta | $10,761.04 |
6 | Stran Dunham | Souris, Manitoba | $10,606.92 |
7 | Clay Elliott | Nanton, Alberta | $10,385.48 |
8 | Jesse Popescul | Glentworth, Saskatchewan | $9,190.13 |
9 | Clayton Smith | Eckville, Alberta | $8,868.70 |
10 | Austin Hines | Marwayne, Alberta | $8,779.16 |
11 | Cooper Resch | Stettler, Alberta | $8,223.78 |
12 | Erik Dublanko | Thorsby, Alberta | $7,859.81 |