The American Contender Tournament wraps up in Tulsa with Central Region

Cover photo: “Old Glory” carried into the rodeo arena during the opening ceremonies at The American Contender Tournament in Tulsa. Courtesy of The American Rodeo.

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The qualifying rodeos in The American Contender Tournament wrapped up with the Central Region over the weekend in Tulsa, OK.

Contestants traveled great distances to Tulsa, both domestically and internationally, for a chance to compete at The American for one million dollars.

Professionals and amateurs, mixed with weekend warriors, all paid their entry fee to compete for a spot at one of the richest rodeos in the world.

Held inside the Ford Truck Arena at Expo Square in Tulsa, the Central Region qualifier ran from Thursday morning, February 13 through Saturday night, February 15.

Five qualifiers from each event now advance to The American Contender Finals inside Globe Life Field at Arlington, TX on Friday, April 11.

Format of The American Rodeo

The rodeo on April 11 the five qualifiers from each region, for a total of 15 contestants in each event.

The top five contestants from the Contender Finals advance to the perf on April 12 in the stadium for the “Contender Round”, where those top five compete against the top five invited from the 2024 PRCA world standings.

Top four from the Contender Round advance to the short go (or the “Championship Round”). Fastest time or highest score wins in the short round.

Contestants that qualified through the Contender Tournament are eligible for the money, which excludes the invited contestants. Those invited are not eligible for the million dollar added money, only the “Contenders” can win that prize.

That makes qualifying in Tulsa all the more important, as it was the last chance to qualify for a chance at one million dollars.

At the Central Region rodeo in Tulsa, most of the timed events were essentially a three-header with two long rounds and short go. Roughstock was one long round on Friday, and a short round on Saturday.

Winning the short round paid $10,000 for first place. The long rounds also paid day money, along with an average in the timed events. Day money varied per event, but first place paid somewhere between $1,000 to $2,000. In the times events that depended greatly on the number of entries.

The long rounds from Thursday and Friday in Tulsa streamed on the Teton Ridge+ app, where video-on-demand can also be found. The short round aired live on FS1. Replays of the same short go air on FS1 and FS2 in the coming weeks. Check local listings.

The Mauney Cast was also part of the rodeo with co-hosts JB Mauney and Kadee Coffman on Friday night during the first round of roughstock.

Watch for free on YouTube, but some strong language is NSFW. Viewer discretion advised:

Central Region short go results:

Bareback Riding

1. Jayco Roper – 86 points
2. Mason Clements – 84.75
3. Cole Reiner – 83.75
4. (tie) RC Landingham – 83.25
   Weston Timerman – 83.25

Breakaway Roping

1. Dylan Hancock – 7.30 seconds
2. Kincade Henry – 7.41
3. John Douch – 7.48
4. Lucas Peres – 7.90
5. Lane Livingston – 8.01

Team Roping

1. Nelson Wyatt & Jonathan Torres – 4.42 seconds
2. Jeff Flenniken & Buddy Hawkins – 4.59
3. Jet Toberer & Joe Mattern – 4.83
4. Cory Kidd & Dustin Davis – 5.25
5. Jake Smith & Douglas Rich – 5.90

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. Skinny Parson – 85.75 points
2. Brody Wells – 85.25
3. Rusty Wright – 84.75 (Already advanced via East Regional in Lexington, KY)
4. Ben Andersen – 83.75
5. Cole Elshere – 83.5
6. Gus Gaillard – 82.5 (Advances via tie-breaker over Kade Bruno)

Steer Wrestling

1. Dalton Massey
2. Trace Harris
3. Marc Joiner
4. Bridger Anderson
5. Bridger Chambers

Tie-Down Roping

1. 1 Dylan Hancock – 7.30 seconds
2. 2 Kincade Henry – 7.41
3. 3 John Douch – 7.48
4. 4 Lucas Peres – 7.90
5. 5 Lane Livingston – 8.01 (Advances via tie-breaker over Hunter Herrin)

Barrel Racing

1. Emma Parr – 15.148 seconds
2. Jordan Driver – 15.425
3. Tasha Welsh -15.449
4. Raelin Jurgens – 15.488
5. Katelyn Scott – 15.535

Bull Riding

1. Jacon Carige – 86.75 points
2. Lane Vaughn – 85
3. Mason Taylor – 85
4. Kase Hitt – 83.5
5. Ky Hamilton – 80

View full results here from The American Contender Central Region in Tulsa.

More coverage from Rodeo Lariat: American Rodeo contenders qualify at East Regionals