FORT WORTH, Texas, (Jan. 29, 2024) — Sam Petersen showed fans at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo ProRodeo Tournament why he is a rising star on Monday.
Petersen posted the highest score in round one of Bracket 7 in Dickies Arena with 88.5 points on United Pro Rodeo’s horse named Whiskey Trip.
He earned $2,000 and put himself on track for a qualification to the Semi-Finals later this week.
That’s good news for the Helena, Montana, resident who is a sophomore at Clarendon (Texas) College.
He competed in high school rodeo for his home state, earning the all-around championship at the National High School Finals Rodeo and finishing as reserve champion in both the bareback riding and steer wrestling.
Now, he has added a College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) qualification in the bareback riding and is working towards competing at rodeo’s championships, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR).
last year when he finished 19th in his rookie year, just four spots out of the top 15 who qualify. This year, he is hoping to qualify for the CNFR and NFR in the same year.
The multi-generation rodeo competitor is currently 17th in the world and a win here would move him up substantially.
In the tie-down roping 2020 world champion Shad Mayfield, from Clovis, New Mexico, got the win.
Mayfield stopped the clock in 8.3 seconds to earn $2,000.
He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2018 and while he has had a lot of success in his career, he has yet to earn a Fort Worth championship.
Summer Kosel is coming off of her first NFR qualification in barrel racing and is hoping to be back in Las Vegas in December.
She and her great horse Apollo stopped the clock in 16.61 seconds to finish at the top of round one.
All of these contestants will have their second round on Tuesday night, which will complete all of the brackets and determine who is moving on to Wednesday’s Wild Card round and who goes directly to Thursday and Friday’s Semi-Finals.
FORT WORTH, Texas —The following are unofficial results from the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo’s Pro Rodeo Tournament, Bracket 7, Round 1, January 29, 2024.
Bareback riding: 1, Sam Petersen, Helena, Mont., 88.5 points on Unite Pro Rodeo’s Whiskey Trip, $2,000. 2, Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 85, $1,500. 3, R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 84, $1,000. 4, Jacob Lees, Caldwell, Idaho, 83.5, $500.