It’s that time of year where the numbers roll in and the cowboys evaluate if they have enough won for a chance at the 2024 NFR—or if they can get it two months left in this ProRodeo regular season.
Conventional wisdom held for years that one could figure the amount it will take to be 15th in the World Standings on Sept. 30 by taking 15th after Cheyenne and adding half again as much. It comes close though the big new added money at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on the final weekend has pushed the number a bit. But still.
So what are the odds this year? As of Tuesday, July 30, ProRodeo.com currently shows Hunter Herrin sitting 15th right now with $64,211 won. So by years of rodeo superstition, it looks like it will take at least $96,316 to get there in 2024. But reality? Just plan on more than six figures.
You know who’s not worrying about making it back to Vegas? Shad Mayfield.
Shad Mayfield’s Bucket List Win at the Cheyenne
Mayfield’s ProRodeo.com bio lists Cheyenne Frontier Days as his favorite rodeo and the New Mexico native recalls spending time behind the chutes there as a kid while his dad Sylvester competed.
Call it a long time coming or a bucket list win, but Mayfield’s finally got the buckle from his favorite rodeo.
The guy rodeo announcers call “Money” rolled in it all week in Cheyenne, capping a brilliant week with a win in the finals in dominating fashion. Mayfield claimed his first Cheyenne victory lap with 9.8 seconds, nearly three seconds ahead of Reserve Champ Chet Weitz to bank $16,400.
“It’s one of the hardest ones to win,” Mayfield said of the fresh calves over a 30 foot scoreline in the huge Cheyenne arena. “There’s a lot of luck of draw but I’ve been enough to know the setup.”
After a couple of years “going home before the finals and not being too happy about it,” Mayfield came into the 127th edition with a new mindset on winning his favorite rodeo.
“A lot of times with fresh calves, it’s kind of a game of who’s takes it,” Mayfield said. “When I was younger, I just tried to go as fast as I could, but you really have to set up your run to be successful.”
Mayfield rode his good mare, “Lollipop,” who’s sweet, silly name may invoke images of little girls in pigtails and unicorns. But make no mistake, this Lollipop is gritty, tough and brings sweet victories.
“My horse made it easy for me and I felt like I set up every run perfectly,” Mayfield noted. “Yeah, there’s luck of the draw there, but you have to setup the run the right way to make it work.”
Cheyenne is an endurance contest, starting with 200 ropers in a Qualifying Round held back on July 15. The top 60 guys on one calf advanced to the performances along with 12 from a second chance Wild Card round.
The ProRodeo World Standings Leader did not have to rely on the Wild Card, winning second in the Qualifying Round with a run of 9.6 seconds.
“The first run, you got 200 guys going for 60 spots, so you just want to get out of that round and from there it was on,” Mayfield said.
He stormed through the remaining rounds in Cheyenne much like he did the winter rodeo run, where he won Fort Worth and San Antonio back-to-back to seize control of the 2024 PRCA World Standings.
A big win in Reno kept Mayfield on top of the World, but July has been a struggle for the roper who was told to have surgery on his hips at the beginning of the season due to torn labrums in both hips and femoral impingement.
“I’ve been battling these hip injuries and the summer has been hard with sitting on planes and in the truck on all the long drives,” Mayfield said. “It was so beneficial for me being in Cheyenne, because I wasn’t in the truck or on a plane, and I was sitting there getting worked on every day and it felt better.”
The proof was definitely in the performance. After taking second in the Qualifying Round, Mayfield was never beaten again, winning his Quarter Final perf with a 10.8-second run, his Semi-Final with a 10.1 and of course, the Finals in 9.8 seconds.
“It’s a top one that I’ve wanted to win so it’s pretty cool,” Mayfield said with a laugh.
He’s on his way home to Texas to take a couple weeks off to rest up and do more treatments in preparation for the final push to regular season’s end on September 30.
After leading the standings by a large margin since January, it may have looked like the world championship battle in the tie down roping was closing down as Ty Harris had moved to within $11,000.
But Mayfield, the 2020 PRCA World Champ, wasn’t concerned about the rearview mirror. Now? Even less so thanks to a nearly $27,000 week that includes an average win at the Salt Lake City qualifier, a round win in Deadwood and some Ogden cash, too. Though standings don’t include Cheyenne winnings yet, ProRodeo announced on social media that Mayfield has gone over $200,000 for the season.
“I’m not worried,” Mayfield said. “I’m going to end up going to half as many rodeos as those guys and I know where you make it up and that’s at the NFR.”
Mayfield’s a lock for his sixth trip to Vegas and is also holding down a $90,000 lead in the All Around race thanks to some handy team roping too during a dream season thus far.
“We were reminiscing about it a few days ago,” Mayfield said. “It’s been a pretty awesome year but this dang sure is right up there at the top.”
Pioneer Week Brings Big Bucks and Gold Medals
Reigning World Champ Riley Webb scored a bit of redemption at the Utah Days of ’47 in Salt Lake City after earning his first Gold Medal on July 24. Webb has been roping in Salt Lake since its time as WCRA Rodeo and before he was old enough to own a PRCA card, roping there with a chance at $1 million Triple Crown of Rodeo bonus at just 17-years old.
After winning his Progressive Round perf, Webb noted in his interview it was his first catch in a perf in Salt Lake, despite being the arena record holder at 6.5 seconds set in 2023 during Qualifying Rounds.
Webb went 6.9 seconds in that Progressive perf, giving him the two fastest runs put up in the Utah State Fairpark ahead of the Gold Medal Round, a time that would prove key as he tied Haven Meged on the final night with identical 7.3-second runs. The Progressive round was the tie breaker for the medals so Webb went to the top of the podium.
He won $13,122 in Salt Lake and added another $3,181 at Ogden Pioneer Days and Qualifying money in Cheyenne for a total weeklong haul of just under $18,000.
Utah was even better to Marty Yates. Fresh off a nearly $9,000 California Rodeo Salinas win last week, Yates was on fire in the Beehive State. He won Ogden outright with 14.5 seconds on two calves and shared the win it Spanish Fork Fiesta Days with Cory Solomon after tying two up in 16.8 seconds. He also roped in the Gold Medal round in Salt Lake and banked $5,455 there.
Already ranked high in the standings, he has virtually assured himself a tenth Wrangler NFR and the $29,786 won this week only further cements his comeback after missing the Finals a year ago.
Around the World
Elsewhere in ProRodeo, Dylan Hancock continued to inch closer to his first NFR with a share of the win at the Deadwood (South Dak.) Days of ’76 with Blane Cox. With matching runs of 18.8 on two calves, Hancock added $6,353 to his World Standings. Hancock picked up some checks in Salt Lake and Cheyenne, too, to stay ranked ninth.
Cowboys scrambling to move back into NFR contention helped their causes in Joseph, Oregon (Brushton Minton) and Burwell, Nebraska (Tyler Milligan). Minton won $6,005 at Chief Joseph Days and added some in Ogden while Milligan picked up $3,260 at Nebraska’s Big Rodeo. Milligan also finished sixth in the Finals at Cheyenne.
2017 World Champ Marcos Costa also had big week, earning better than $13,000. Costa was the biggest mover in the standings, jumping eight spots from 27th up to 19th.
What’s Next
Everybody’s getting the hell INTO Dodge this week with the start of the Dodge City Round-Up, one of two NFR Playoff Series stops this week along with the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Those braving the “Sweat Tour” through Kansas will also visit Sidney (Iowa), Abilene, Hill City, and Phillipsburg while others may stay with the Wilderness Circuit and compete in Heber City, Preston and Idaho Falls.
There’s also Strathmore and High Prairie, Alberta on the docket and Great Falls, Montana and lots of other choices from California to New York.
PRCA World Standings as of July 30, 2024
| Rank | Athlete | Hometown | Earnings |
| 1 | Shad Mayfield | Clovis, New Mexico | $183,781.31 |
| 2 | Ty Harris | San Angelo, Texas | $172,491.93 |
| 3 | Haven Meged | Miles City, Montana | $144,337.93 |
| 4 | Riley Webb | Denton, Texas | $139,883.08 |
| 5 | John Douch | Huntsville, Texas | $119,510.47 |
| 6 | Marty Yates | Stephenville, Texas | $118,057.42 |
| 7 | Shane Hanchey | Sulphur, Louisiana | $102877.26 |
| 8 | Tuf Cooper | Decatur, Texas | $94,966.41 |
| 9 | Dylan Hancock | San Angelo, Texas | $82,630.83 |
| 10 | Kincade Henry | Mount Pleasant, Texas | $80,009.64 |
| 11 | Joel Harris | San Angelo, Texas | $76,844.96 |
| 12 | Quade Hiatt | Canyon, Texas | $75,129.90 |
| 13 | Cole Clemons ® | Lipan, TX | $71,958.01 |
| 14 | Bryce Derrer ® | Portales, New Mexico | $69,751.57 |
| 15 | Hunter Herrin | Apache, Oklahoma | $64,211.18 |
| 16 | Beau Cooper | Stettler, Alberta | $63,914.06 |
| 17 | Trevor Hale | Perryton, Texas | $61,250.37 |
| 18 | Macon Murphy | Keatchie, Louisiana | $61,113.79 |
| 19 | Marcos Costa | Iretama, PR | $60,884.00 |
| 20 | Brushton Minton | Witter Springs, California | $58,443.74 |
