Texas, New Mexico cowboys take home big money on the big stage at The American rodeo

Two cowboys from Texas and New Mexico, who live less than three hours apart, each earned $600,000 during the RFD-TV’s The American on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper, 23, from Pampa in the Texas Panhandle, and Shad Mayfield, 19, from Clovis, New Mexico, shared the big prize.

With the saddle bronc riding title at stake in the four-man final round, Casper clinched it with a 91.25 aboard a bronc named Get Smart — owned by Northcott Macza, a Canadian rodeo livestock firm. Mayfield, 19, paced the tie-down roping field with a blistering time of 7.75 seconds.

“This is a dream come true,” said Casper, who competed in The American in 2016 but did not advance to the final round. “I’ve dreamed on standing on this stage and winning that kind of money.”

Mayfield said he plans on investing the money toward his career.

“I’ve got to pay off some stuff right now, rodeoing is expensive,” he said. “I need a couple of more horses. Rodeo costs so much. There’s trucks and fuel.”

Casper’s and Mayfield’s earnings were highly inflated compared to the other event winners at The American because they were eligible for the “$1 million sidepot” after qualifying through the American Semifinals, which was held the previous week at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

The $1 million side pot was a part of the two-day rodeo’s overall $2.4 millon purse.

Casper and Mayfield were the only two title race winners who were eligible for the side pot money. All of the other champions each received $100,000.

Casper and Mayfield each earned $500,000 when they split the $1 million side pot. They also each earned $100,000 that went to every event winner, and $3,000 for winning the first round during the Saturday night performance for a total of $603,000.

Mayfield, a 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, is ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 tie-down roping world title race. According to the PRCA, Mayfield will be allowed to count $53,000 toward the world standings, which pushes his PRCA earnings to close to $130,000.

Mayfield is the son of Sylvester Mayfield of Clovis who qualified for the National Finals in tie-down roping in 1985 and 1987.

Casper, who clinched the 2016 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association saddle bronc riding title with Clarendon College near Amarillo, is ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 saddle bronc riding title race.

Casper has struggled the last five years on the PRCA circuit. Last year, he finished 33rd in the PRCA’s saddle bronc riding title race with $40,194.

But he has been the dominant saddle bronc rider in 2020. He finished second at the Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo on Feb. 8 ($16,250 in total earnings). He also came in second at the San Antonio Rodeo on Feb. 22 ($16,250).

Casper will be allowed to count $53,000 from The American toward the world standings. He has earned close to $120,000, which should be more than enough to qualify for the December National Finals in Las Vegas for the first time.

Casper said it’s a relief to be living in better times.

“I’ve always kind of scraped from the bottom of the pan,” he said. “It’s going to be nice to be comfortable for a while.”

Two Fort Worth area competitors earned a $100,000 final round winner’s check: four-time NFR qualifier Stevi Hillman of Weatherford and team roping header Luke Brown of Stephenville. Brown, who also has a home in Rockhill, South Carolina, partnered with former NFR qualifier Joseph Harrison of Marietta, Oklahoma. They clinched the title with a finals time of 4.3.

Hillman paced the barrel racing final round field of four with a 15.405. She competed on her veteran barrel racing horse, whose nickname is Truck.

The bull riding concluded with a tie between two cowboys. All four bull riders were bucked off in the final round, so officials took the top score from the qualifying rounds to determine the champion.

Joao Ricardo Vieira of Decatur, who has been one of the top riders on the Professional Bull Riders circuit, and Sage Kimzey, who has won the PRCA’s bull riding buckle the past six years, tied for first during the qualifying round with scores of 84 and each received $65,500 as co-champions.

Vieira was The American’s defending bull riding champion.

The other event winners each received $100,000. They were bareback rider Kaycee Feild (Genola), Utah; break-away roper Kaycee Hollingback (Wilburton, Okla.); and steer wrestler Matt Reeves (Cross Plains).

Reeves, 41, a Pampa native who has qualified for the Las Vegas-based National Finals seven times, has been on a roll lately. He clinched the steer wrestling average (event) title at the December NFR. He also clinched the bulldogging title at the San Angelo Stock Show Rodeo on Feb. 14.

With the title at stake at The American on Sunday, Reeves clinched it with a 4.05.

Junior NFR

Youth competitors were on a big stage during the Cowboy Channel Jr. National Finals Rodeo on Saturday afternoon at AT&T Stadium. All of the single event winners walked away with at least $10,000.

In team roping, Cayden Harmon and Hayden Powell clinched the title with a 5.71. They were the only team in the six-team finals round that turned in a qualified time.

Harmon, 18, from Stephenville, said he and his partner focused on making a clean run.

“When the first [three] teams had a little trouble, we just went to make a good run,” he said. “But when we won it, it felt pretty good.”

Powell, 18, who is Rogers, New Mexico, a tiny community near Portales, said he was relieved when he effectively caught the steer.

“It was a little nerve-racking at first, but once I caught him, all of the nerves went away,” Powell said.

PBR update

On the Professional Bull Riders circuit, Ramon De Lima, a Brazilian who lives in Decatur, clinched the title at the March 6-8 Unleash The Beast tour stop in Little Rock. He earned $45,403.

In the world standings, former PBR World Finals qualifier Jose Vitor Leme is ranked No. 1 with 543 points. Defending world champion Jess Lockwood is No. 2 with 543.5. Former PBR World Finals qualifier Joao Ricardo Vieira is third with 522.25.

The 2020 world champion will receive a $1 million bonus at the PBR World Finals, which is scheduled for Nov. 4-8 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 7:00 AM.