Kade Sonnier’s journey from collegiate baseball player to professional rodeo athlete is a story that we have come to know well this year as the rookie bareback rider showed us just what he is made of in 2023.
Finishing the regular season as the No. 3 ranked bareback rider, Sonnier is going into his first National Finals Rodeo with $160,469 in earnings and at every turn since he stepped onto the scene, has left no doubt he was one of the best bareback riders in the world.
BIGGEST PAYDAYS
Calgary Stampede, $29,900 (Toward PRCA World Standings)
Sonnier’s year only got better when he was invited to the greatest outdoor show on dirt. In Pool C, he won Round 3 and earned enough to advance to the Semifinals. With an 88.5 on Calgary Stampede’s Born Fearless, the rookie won the Semifinals before making the biggest ride of his career. A 92-point ride on the one and only Virgil, of C5 Rodeo, in the Finals would make Sonnier your 2023 Calgary Stampede Champion.
Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, $12,520
A big start to his winter run came early. He placed in the money in all but one Go-Round in Fort Worth climbing on horses like Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s San Angelo Sam and Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter. The highlight of Fort Worth came in the Finals when Sonnier matched up with multi-time Horse of the Year, Stevie Nicks of Macza Pro Rodeo . He marked 89 points to finish second.
HIGHEST MARKED RIDES
Puyallup Cinch Playoffs (Washington), 90.5 Points
While two of his highest marked rides came from those big paydays above (92 in Calgary and 89 in Fort Worth), Sonnier also delivered 90.5 points on Calgary’s Disco Party in the Finals to take third at the Washington State Fair.
Springhill PRCA Rodeo (Louisiana), 89 Points
The Springhill PRCA Rodeo is a home state rodeo for Sonnier and it holds a special memory for him as it was the first pro rodeo he ever won. He came in the defending champion and left the two-time consecutive champion after an 89-point ride on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Family Traditions.
NOTABLE WINS
Cheyenne Frontier Days, 87.5 Points in Finals
The Daddy of ‘Em All is a bucket list rodeo that cowboys dream of winning. Sonnier accomplished that in Year Onein professional rodeo. He won his Long Round performance with an 84-point ride on United Pro Rodeo’s Joan Jett. He placed fifth in the Semifinals before comingback in the Finals to be 87.5-points on a horse that knows Cheyenne well, Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics’ Irish Eyes. Sonnier split the win with veteran bareback riders Clayton Biglow and Cole Reiner. He became the first cowboy since Will Lowe in 2009 to win Calgary and Cheyenne in the same season.
Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo (Texas), 87 Points
In a rodeo that concluded on Jan. 14, Sonnier made an early statement in 2023 by winning the big indoor rodeo in Odessa with 87 points on Boomerang. The win came three years to the date of him quitting college baseball to pursue rodeo.
Old Fort Days Rodeo (Arkansas), 85.5 Points
At the PRCA Playoff Series Rodeo in Fort Smith, Sonnier was 85.5 to take home the win on Rylee’s Raisin Cane. He double-dipped in Arkansas with a win at the Crossett Riding Club Rodeo the same weekend.
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