In the far southeastern corner of New Mexico sits Lovington, home of the Lea County PRCA Rodeo, one of the sport’s longest-running events. First held in 1935, the rodeo moved into Jake McClure Arena in 1960, where it has become a key August stop on the ProRodeo schedule.

With less than two months left in the regular season, it’s the kind of rodeo where bubble races tighten and World Title hopes can take a significant step forward.

Athletes to Watch

Ryder Wright – Wright has only entered Lea County three times since 2019 and will compete for the first time there since 2023 this weekend. He enters on a tear, even by his elite standards. He won Cheyenne and took second in Salt Lake City. He was also second at the Home on the Range Champions Ride on Aug. 1.

Josh Frost – Frost enters the Lea County PRCA Rodeo No. 23 in the World having ridden his last three bulls. After not starting his season until March, the NFR remains within striking distance and another title here would put him right in the heart of the bubble race. Frost was the 2022 Lea County Champion.

Jess Pope – Pope has risen to No. 3 in the PRCA Bareback Riding World Standings and is coming off of his second Dodge City title in the last three years. Since July 1, he has made over $74,000 and jumped seven spots in the standings. Pope was the runner-up in Lea County in both 2021 and 2023.

Lefty Holman – At No. 16 in the World, it appears Holman is in for another bubble battle to make the National Finals, but he could find salvation in a rodeo that he finished Top 5 at three years in a row from 2022 to 2024. Holman needs to regain some mojo to avoid drifting too far to the wrong side of the Top 15.

Kincade Henry – The No. 3 tie-down roper in the World has finished second in the Average in Lea County each of the last two years. He enters fresh off a pair of fourth place finishes at PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos last weekend.

Stats to Know

No bareback rider has been 90 at Lea County since Tanner Aus, when he won in 2019.

Every round winner in the steer wrestling since 2019 has been 4.0 or faster.

Since 2023, the Steer Wrestling Average winner has won by an average of .77 seconds. The three winners before that won by a combined 0.7 seconds from 2019-2022.

The Team Roping Average winner’s time has been getting slower in each of the last four years. It was an 8.8 on two in 2022, but has risen all the way to 10.4 on two last year.

The last team roping pair to win a round and the Average in Lea County was Coleman Proctor and Ryan Motes in 2019.

Rusty, Stetson, and Statler Wright all placed in the Top 6 of last year’s event, with Stetson winning it.

In the last three years, three years there has been just one round-winning tie-down roping time faster than 8.0 seconds.

Since 2022, the Barrel Racing Average winner has won by an average of just .04 seconds.

Since 2019, the winning score in the bull riding has been an average of 88.33 points, but never cleared 90.

Last Year’s Winners

Bareback Riding: There were nine rides between 84 and 87.5 points and the rodeo was won by Cole Franks by 1.5 points over Dean Thompson, Bradlee Miller, and Roedy Farrell.

Steer Wrestling: Gary Gilbert was 3.7 to win Round 1 outright and 4.0 to share Round 2 with Jacob Edler and Tyke Kipp en route to winning the Average by a full second with an aggregate time of 7.7 seconds on two.

Team Roping: Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin finished fourth in both rounds and it was enough to edge Cody Snow/Hunter Koch by one tenth of a second, 10.4 to 10.5 on two. The fastest time of the entire rodeo was a 4.5 from Cody Carter/Blake Bentley.

Saddle Bronc Riding: Brody Wells and Statler Wright shared the title with 91 points each.

Tie-Down Roping: Marty Yates was 9.5 and 8.3 seconds on his two runs, placing fourth and third in the rounds to win the Average by six-tenths over Kincade Henry. Henry and Quade Hiatt tied for the fastest run of the rodeo with an 8.2 in Round 2.

Breakaway Roping: In the inaugural breakaway roping at Lea County, Cheyanne McCartney was victorious with a time of 5.0 seconds on two. McCartney enters this year’s rodeo on fire after wins in Calgary and Cheyenne last month.

Barrel Racing: Helen Nowosad picked up the highest paying win of her career with a 17.37-second run.

Bull Riding: Hunter Kelly was 87.5 points on Pete Carr’s E.To to edge Jace Trosclair by a half-point. It was Kelly’s highest marked ride of the season.