IN THE NEWS Crowther Clinches First NFR Qualification with Puyallup Victory
second set was won by Tarryn Lee in a time of 13.58 seconds. The top four in the average in both sets advanced to the semifinal round. Crowther squeaked into the final spot with her two-run time of 28.00 seconds. In the semifinals, Crowther and Sissy stopped the clock in 13.90 seconds just behind Shelley Morgan in a time of 13.85 seconds. The two would trade spots in the final round with Crowther stopping the clock in 13.96 seconds, while Morgan finished second in 14.15 seconds. Kinsel finished third in 14.37 seconds and Leslie Smalygo finished fourth despite hitting a barrel.
Margo Crowther of North Fort Myers, Florida, entered the Cinch Playoffs at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup ranked 13th and was looking for her first trip to the Wrangler NFR. She too took advantage of the big payday in Puyallup to punch her ticket to Las Vegas. Crowther picked up $15,700 to move off the NFR bubble. Crowther rode her 2012 petite sorrel mare Shes Packin Fame “Sissy” to the title. The duo competed in the second set of barrel racers with three- time world champion Hailey Kinsel and Sister winning the first round in a time of 13.63 seconds. Crowther and Sissy would take second in a time of 13.93 seconds.
Sioux Falls to Host Cinch Playoff Event September 28-30, 2023
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Cinch Playoffs will play a bigger role than ever before in deciding who makes it to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a payout of more than $1 million on the final weekend of the 2023 season. The PRCA, the State of South Dakota, Experience Sioux Falls and Cinch announced the Cinch
Playoffs will have athletes competing for the Governor’s Cup and vying for the more than $1 million purse Sept. 28-30, 2023, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. It will be the richest rodeo in South Dakota history. “The event rodeo fans will see in 2023 in September is like the AFC, NFC championship games in football or the pennant race in baseball,” said Rorey Lemmel, the general manager of the Cinch Playoffs in Sioux Falls. “It will change the landscape for who is the world champion.” The Cinch Playoffs provides one last opportunity for ProRodeo athletes to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The contestants will include the top four finishers from each event at the Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash. earlier in September, and the top eight out of the standings of the Playoff Series presented by Pendleton Whisky. “Rodeo tradition runs deep in South Dakota, some of our biggest legends in the sport are from South Dakota and some of our oldest rodeos are in South Dakota,” PRCA CEO Tom Glause said. “But we are super excited to bring the biggest rodeo in terms of payout to Sioux Falls in September of 2023.” South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is thrilled to have the event in Sioux Falls. “Freedom and rodeo go hand in hand, and that’s why South Dakota is becoming a destination for major rodeo competition,” Noem said. “I’m excited to celebrate our state sport with the final qualifying competition before the National Finals Rodeo.” In addition to bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding, breakaway roping will be held at the Cinch Playoffs. The 2023 ProRodeo season concludes Sept. 30. The Top 15 athletes in the world standings in each event will qualify for the Wrangler NFR.
“We were second in our set this afternoon…Sissy was working and loved the small pen set-up,” wrote Crowther on her Facebook page following their first round performance. Photos by Rod Connor They were a little longer in the second round finishing out of the money with a 14.07-second run. The second performance of the
8 WPRA NEWS OCTOBER 2022
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs