Reno Rodeo: Preview, Format, and What to Watch

100 Rodeos in 100 Days kicks off with the wildest, richest rodeo in the West! The 104th annual Reno Rodeo signifies the start of the Summer Run and begins June 15. The rodeo will see more than 140,000 fans enter through the gates to watch one of the most exciting rodeos on the PRCA calendar. The best athletes in the world will compete for their share of roughly $700,000.

Format

In Reno, athletes have two rounds to put together their two best scores or times. After the two opening rounds, the Top 12 scores on aggregate will move on to the Finals where an aggregate champion will be crowned. In bull riding, there is just one opening round, with the Top 12 scores advancing to the Finals where the aggregate champion will be crowned. While you will cash a nice check for winning the Finals, the big money comes in winning the Average, where athletes can expect to take home around $10,000.

What to Watch

Performance 1 ( June 16)

Reno opens with a loaded field in bull riding with Sage Kimzey looking to win the Reno Rodeo for the second time in his career (2019). Competing alongside the seven-time World Champion is No. 3 Josh Frost who is looking to get his first career win in Reno.

Rookie sensation and No. 2 in the world Keenan Hayes is the highest-ranked bareback rider of Night 1, but there are plenty of stars competing with him. No. 10 Cole Renier looks to keep a strong month that has seen him climb the standings going and No. 13 Tim O’Connell, Richmond Champion, Wyatt Denny, and Caleb Bennett are all slated for the first performance as well.

Performance 2 (June 17)

Performance 2 will look similar to the first with many of the same athletes competing. In bull riding, you can catch Trey Benton, Laramie Mosley, and 2012 World Champion Cody Teel competing.

Performance 3 (June 18)

A new crop of competitors will be in Nevada on Sunday. Reigning World Champion Jess Pope highlights the bareback riding field and will be competing against a handful of impressive rookies in Kade Sonnier, brother Ty Pope, Gauge McBride, and Donny Proffit.

Performance 4 (June 19)

Monday night’s performance features the same bareback and saddle bronc riders. In saddle bronc riding, Lefty Holman, Brody Cress, Sterling and Jacobs Crawley, and Mitch Pollock will all be looking to lock in their spot in the Final Round.

Performance 5 (June 20)

If you have to pick just one performance to watch (but why would you with The Cowboy Channel+ App?) then Tuesday night should be the one.

In bareback riding, you will get to see No. 3 Rocker Steiner go up against No. 6 Jayco Roper, No. 9 Dean Thompson, No. 12 Jacob Lees, No. 19 Mason Clements, and eight-time NFR qualifier Orin Larsen.

In saddle bronc riding, you have the 2022 World Champion Zeke Thurston competing against four members of the Wright family - Rusty, Ryder, Statler and Stetson. The talent doesn’t stop there, 2022 NFR qualifiers Dawson Hay, Kade Bruno, Kole Ashbacher, Layton Green, and Kolby Wanchuk are also competing.

In barrel racing, you have 2022 World Champion Jordon Briggs competing against 2022 NFR qualifiers Leslie Smalygo, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, and Wenda Johnson.

Finally, in bull riding you have the World No.1 in Ky Hamilton going up against 2022 World Champion Stetson Wright as the two traveling partners face off in what will be the first of a potential two bull rides.

Performance 6 (June 21)

Performance 6 will feature the same excitement in bareback and saddle bronc. In barrel racing, Hailey Kinsel is featured, going up against Nellie Miller, Summer Kosel, and Nicole Driggers.

Performance 7 (June 22)

Performance 7 marks the final group of Bareback and Saddle Bronc Riders to compete and they will know exactly what they’ll need to do by Friday night. To kick things off on Thursday it will be the best Bareback Rider to do it, Kaycee Feild competing alongside World No. 1 Leighton Berry, rookies Luke Thrash and Jacek Frost, and 2022 NFR qualifiers Clayton Biglow and R.C. Landingham.

In Saddle Bronc Riding World No. 1 Sage Newman is going up against Logan Hay, Ben Andersen, Q Taylor, and Chase Brooks.

Performance 8 (June 23)

Fire up Bad to the Bone as JB Mauney makes his Reno debut on the final night of the opening rounds. Mauney, who currently sits 31st in the world is $16,000 out of the top 15.

2022 Winners

The 2022 Reno Rodeo was a prime example of why this rodeo is so exciting. The champions of the rodeo were some of the biggest names in the sport. Here is a look back at the 2022 Reno Rodeo Champions.

Bareback Riding: Leighton Berry

In the Finals, it was Chad Rutherford’s 88.5-point ride that won the round and helped him finish third in the aggregate. However, current World No. 1 Leighton Berry was crowned Champion after going 256 on three head, beating out R.C. Landingham by one point.

Steer Wrestling: Mike McGinn

It came down to the wire last year in the steer wrestling, with Mike McGinn coming out the victor in not only the Final Round, but also the Average. McGinn’s 3.5-second run, which was the second fastest of the rodeo, won him the whole thing.

Team Roping: Aaron Tsinigine and Kyle Lockett

It was the Minor brothers who took the Final Round with Brady and Riley teaming up to go 6.6 seconds, but that would not be enough to win them the Average. Aaron Tsinigine and Kyle Lockett claimed the title with an impressive 18.8 seconds on three, which was .01 seconds better than the teams of Wyatt Imus and Caleb Anderson and Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill.

Saddle Bronc Riding: Statler Wright and Sage Newman

Statler Wright had a name that belonged in rodeo, and in Reno, he proved that he had the talent to stick around too. He opened the rodeo with a round-winning 88-point ride, but was not done there. Statler went on to the Finals where he would tie Wyatt Casper’s 90.5-point ride. Meanwhile, Sage Newman, who finished the 2022 regular season No. 1 in the world, turned in back-to-back 89-point rides in the last two rounds to tie for the win.

Tie-Down Roping: Riley Webb

It was another young talent to impress in the tie-down roping with Riley Webb winning the average after going 25.7 seconds on three head which was nearly two full seconds better than eventual World Champion Caleb Smidt.

Barrel Racing: Michelle Darling

Big names were all over the barrel racing leaderboard in 202 with Michelle Darling going on win the rodeo. She opened the rodeo with a round-winning 17.00-second run, which would be the third fastest of the rodeo. Darling would go on to win the Average after a 17.05-second time in the Finals bringing her aggregate to 51.37 seconds on three, beating Jordon Briggs by .01 seconds.

Bull Riding: Creek Young

Creek Young dominated the bull riding at last year’s rodeo going 172.5 on two, which was a full four points better than Coy Pollmeier who placed second in the Average. It was an 88-point ride that won Young the rodeo.

How to Watch & Broadcast Schedule

You can watch every performance LIVE on The Cowboy Channel and The Cowboy Channel+ App. For a full broadcast schedule click HERE.