Hayes, the 2023 PRCA Bareback Riding World Champion, looked the part as he won the first round of the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup with an 88-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Bunk House Mouse Thursday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.”That was a fist fight,” said Hayes, 21. “I’m kind of fighting a groin injury right now. So, my legs aren’t doing what they are supposed to but I’m just nodding my head and going at them.”
Hayes arrived in Sioux Falls as the season leader with $204,472, and he will add to that total as he earned $11,000 for his eight seconds of work Thursday.
“My right groin has been fired up,” Hayes said. “It got sore in Reno (Nev.) (in June) and this last month it got fired up more and tore into something. I’m just fighting this last weekend out and know I will get some time off after this and we should be good. It was worth it to come here and ride being sore when you can get an ($11,000) check like that.”A year ago, Hayes finished second at the Inaugural Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup and he would love to add this title to his ever-impressive resume.
“If we could get a win out here that would be amazing,” Hayes said. “Any money helps at this point, so we are just going out and going for round wins and hopefully it works out in the end.”
The Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup, which has a $1.3 million payout, is a huge payday as cowboys try and position themselves to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge, Dec. 5-14 in Las Vegas.
Round two continues at 7:30 p.m. (CT) Friday. Rounds 1 and 2 pay $11,000 to first place; $8,250 (second); $5,500 (third); and $2,7500 (fourth).
The top eight finishers in the average from each event from Rounds 1 and 2 move on to Saturday’s semifinals.
The top four finishers in the semis move on to the sudden-death Final Four Saturday night. The event winners will take home $30,000.
Last season Hayes was all about cashing checks.
The Hayden, Colo., native became the first cowboy to win a PRCA Bareback Riding World Championship in his Resistol Rookie season.
Hayes also earned $434,050 which set the PRCA Bareback Riding single-season earnings record.
“Winning a gold buckle was great and winning a second one would be even sweeter,” Hayes said.
Eldridge, Brown share Round 1 steer wrestling round
Jesse Brown set the tone for the rest of the night in the steer wrestling with a blazing 3.8-second run in Round 1 on Thursday.
A few minutes later, his traveling partner, Dakota Eldridge, backed into the box in hopes of one-upping Brown. He matched the 3.8-second mark, and the duo held on to secure shares of the round win.
“When he sets the bar like that, and there are a few other fast runs like Justin Shaffer and Tristen Martin, it kind of makes it easier,” Eldridge said. “But it’s also not because you’ve got to go fast, and you’ve got to go for first. So, it worked out, and I couldn’t split it with a better guy.”
Wade/Thorp top speedy field in team roping
All 12 team roping duos recorded clean runs on the opening night of the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup.
Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp edged out the rest of the field with a 3.8-second run to claim the top spot and an $11,000 payday.
“It was super tough in the team roping. All 12 teams were clean,” Thorp said. “Anytime we can be at the top of it is a good thing. For as good of a rodeo as this is, to get a rhythm going on the first night means a lot.”
Wade said he and Thorp discussed the importance of starting strong ahead of the performance.
“To have a chance at all, we needed to win something in the round,” Wade said. “So, we were just going to make our run and hope for the best. We had faith in it, and it worked out.”
Cress pairs with familiar foe to win round
Saddle bronc rider Brody Cress drew Bailey Pro Rodeo’s Capone for the third time this season at the Governor’s Cup.
Cress and Capone paired for 86.5 points at the Denver Stock Show and Rodeo and an 84-point trip at RodeoHouston.
On Thursday night, Cress held on for another 86.5-point ride on Capone to win the opening round and $11,000.
“I knew she was going to give me a good chance,” Cress said. “She works really well in these small setups where she’ll see that fence, set up there and stay kicking off of it. That’s really important because if they don’t do that, you can lose a lot of points.”
Weight replicates Round 1 success in bull riding
Hayes Weight did it again on Thursday night at the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup.
The 25-year-old bull rider earned 86.5 points on Harper & Morgan Rodeo Company’s Swing Your Sword to earn the opening round win for the second-straight year and pocket $11,000.
“It’s so amazing to come up here and be able to compete for this kind of money,” Weight said. “This is like a little mini NFR. It’s a race for the world title, and every little bit helps.”
Webb claims opening round in tie down
Kincade Henry moved to the top of the leaderboard on the opening night of tie-down roping at the Governor’s Cup with a 7.7-second run. But the defending world champion was ready to strike.
Riley Webb backed into the box as the tenth man out and made the most of his opportunity with a 7.6-second run to win the round.
Kelsie Domer won the breakaway roping at 2.2 seconds, and Hailey Kinsel earned the buckle for the round in the barrel racing at 13.92 seconds.
