American Semi-Finals Kicks Off Week-Long Celebration
American Semi-Finals Kicks Off Week-Long Celebration
The American Semi-Finals Rodeo held in historic Fort Worth Stockyards will kick off a weeklong celebration of the Western lifestyle that is unlike any other.
Everyone is gearing up for The American Semi-Finals in Fort Worth, Texas. The countdown is on and the number of remaining spots are limited. The Semi-Finals are jam-packed with exceptional talent and extraordinary athletes.
Free entertainment for fans of all ages will be available in the FanZone prior to the three days of rodeo performances, which begin at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, February 15 and end on Friday, February 17. Nearly 3,500 rodeo contestants from around the world have competed at qualifying events in hopes of advancing to The American Semi-Finals, where nearly $1 million in prize money will be paid.
The best contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding will leave Fort Worth with a good paycheck. They will also earn a chance to compete at RFD-TV's The American presented by Polaris RANGER on Sunday, Feb. 19, at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington.
Many of today's top rodeo athletes are already on the Semi-Finals contestant roster. Nowhere else will fans be able to watch seasoned veterans and top rodeo stars going up against high school and college rodeo champions as well as other young up-and-coming athletes.
When rodeo contestants compete for a year, qualify for a championship event and win it, they get a gold buckle to mark their accomplishment. Will Lowe, from Canyon, Texas, and Steven Peebles, from Redmond, Oregon, have both earned buckles in the bareback riding and are on the contestant roster for Fort Worth.
The steer wrestling also features two former world champions, Dean Gorsuch from Gering, Nebraska, and Hunter Cure from Holliday, Texas. Team roping, a very popular event across the nation, has more former world champions competing at the Semi-Finals than any other event.
They include headers Chad Masters from Cedar Hill, Tennessee; Aaron Tsinigine from Tuba City, Arizona; Matt Sherwood from Pima, Arizona, and Nick Sartain from Dover, Oklahoma. On the heeling end, Rich Skelton, from Llano, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn from Blanchard, Oklahoma, will be roping.
Tie-down roping world champion Monty Lewis from Hereford, Texas, and barrel racing titlist Lindsay Sears from Nanton, Alberta, are also on the roster. In the bull riding, four-time world champion J.W. Harris from Mullin, Texas, and Cody Teel from Kountze, Texas, will be favorites to move on.
Each event has a little bit of a different set up to advance all the way to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
The number of athletes that advance to The American is based on the total number of entries from the qualifiers.There are still a number of qualifying events left, so the exact number is not set. The number they are anticipating advancing are as follows:
Barrel racers will only make one run during the semi-finals slack with the top 30 times advancing to the performances on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. The barrel racers will be randomly drawn into the three performances and given a certain amount of time to trade following the draw to trade with other contestants. The contestants time from the slack will be wiped clean, and the top 10 times from the three performances will advance on to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
Bareback and Saddle Bronc Riders will not compete in a slack. Half of the qualifiers will compete on Wednesday night and the other half will compete on Thursday night. The top 10 in the bareback and saddle bronc riding, along with the top 12 in the bull riding, will advance on to Friday night. On Friday night, the roughstock rider's first score will be wiped away and the top competitors from Friday night will advance on to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
Bull Riders will compete Wednesday morning in the semi-finals slack, with the top 20 in the average advancing to the performances at 7:30 PM on Wednesday and Thursday at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The team ropers, steer wrestlers, and tie-down ropers will run two head during the semi-finals slack, with the top 20 in the average advancing to the performances at 7:30 PM on Wednesday and Thursday at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The contestants will be randomly drawn into the performances on Wednesday and Thursday night, but will be able to trade to the other night with other contestants for a limited amount of time after their event slack completes.
When contestants come back to the performances their average time from the slack will no longer matter, as they are competing with a clean slate. The top 10 fastest times out of the two performances will advance to the performance at 7:30 PM on Friday at Cowtown Coliseum.
Friday's performance will once again start with a clean slate, and the contestants with the fastest times will advance to The American at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, February 19, for their chance to win $1 million.
Traditionally, the Semi-Finals have all been held in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards, but this year a few things are changing.
The excitement will kick off Friday, February 10, at 9 AM in Bryan, Texas, at the Brazos Valley Expo Center. The Brazos Valley Classic will host the last qualifier for the team roping, and the semi-finals will follow that qualifier. You can find all the information for the qualifier here.
Monday, February 13th, is when the steer wrestling slack will take place at Shepherd's Valley Cowboy Church in Alvarado, Texas at 10 AM.
Monday evening from 4-8 PM barrel racers will have the opportunity to exhibition at Cowtown Coliseum before the barrel racing slack on Tuesday, February 14, at 9 AM.
The tie-down roping slack will follow the barrel racing slack on Tuesday but will not begin before 3:30 PM.
The performances begin on Wednesday, February 15th at 7:30pm in Cowtown Coliseum. The combination of rodeo action, the FanZone in the Stockyards, live music and the overall theme of patriotism that will be evident at every performance is sure to make this a great event for contestants and fans alike. The three performances of The American Semi-Finals will be broadcast on Rural Radio, SiriusXM Chanel 147.
For more information on qualifying events click here.
2017 Semi Finals List
See complete list of entries here.
Stay tuned to FloRodeo for more information and coverage as the event starts.
-Photo Courtesy of RFD
-Some Information Courtesy of Johna Cravens
Like what you see? Sign up for our newsletter to stay current on all the latest rodeo news and your favorite content from FloRodeo.
Free entertainment for fans of all ages will be available in the FanZone prior to the three days of rodeo performances, which begin at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, February 15 and end on Friday, February 17. Nearly 3,500 rodeo contestants from around the world have competed at qualifying events in hopes of advancing to The American Semi-Finals, where nearly $1 million in prize money will be paid.
The best contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding will leave Fort Worth with a good paycheck. They will also earn a chance to compete at RFD-TV's The American presented by Polaris RANGER on Sunday, Feb. 19, at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington.
Many of today's top rodeo athletes are already on the Semi-Finals contestant roster. Nowhere else will fans be able to watch seasoned veterans and top rodeo stars going up against high school and college rodeo champions as well as other young up-and-coming athletes.
When rodeo contestants compete for a year, qualify for a championship event and win it, they get a gold buckle to mark their accomplishment. Will Lowe, from Canyon, Texas, and Steven Peebles, from Redmond, Oregon, have both earned buckles in the bareback riding and are on the contestant roster for Fort Worth.
The steer wrestling also features two former world champions, Dean Gorsuch from Gering, Nebraska, and Hunter Cure from Holliday, Texas. Team roping, a very popular event across the nation, has more former world champions competing at the Semi-Finals than any other event.
They include headers Chad Masters from Cedar Hill, Tennessee; Aaron Tsinigine from Tuba City, Arizona; Matt Sherwood from Pima, Arizona, and Nick Sartain from Dover, Oklahoma. On the heeling end, Rich Skelton, from Llano, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn from Blanchard, Oklahoma, will be roping.
Tie-down roping world champion Monty Lewis from Hereford, Texas, and barrel racing titlist Lindsay Sears from Nanton, Alberta, are also on the roster. In the bull riding, four-time world champion J.W. Harris from Mullin, Texas, and Cody Teel from Kountze, Texas, will be favorites to move on.
The American Semi-Finals might be one of the best rodeos of the year," Lewis said. "When they added the $500,000 to the pot, they really upped the ante and gave us an incentive to come rope there. Qualifying for The American would just be the icing on the cake.
Each event has a little bit of a different set up to advance all the way to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
The number of athletes that advance to The American is based on the total number of entries from the qualifiers.There are still a number of qualifying events left, so the exact number is not set. The number they are anticipating advancing are as follows:
- Bareback -- 5 qualifiers
- Saddle Bronc -- 5 qualifiers
- Steer Wrestling -- 5 qualifiers
- Team Roping -- 5 teams
- Tie-Down Roping -- 7 qualifiers
- Barrels -- 10 qualifiers
- Bull Riding -- 5 qualifiers
Barrel racers will only make one run during the semi-finals slack with the top 30 times advancing to the performances on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. The barrel racers will be randomly drawn into the three performances and given a certain amount of time to trade following the draw to trade with other contestants. The contestants time from the slack will be wiped clean, and the top 10 times from the three performances will advance on to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
Bareback and Saddle Bronc Riders will not compete in a slack. Half of the qualifiers will compete on Wednesday night and the other half will compete on Thursday night. The top 10 in the bareback and saddle bronc riding, along with the top 12 in the bull riding, will advance on to Friday night. On Friday night, the roughstock rider's first score will be wiped away and the top competitors from Friday night will advance on to The American on Sunday, February 19th.
Bull Riders will compete Wednesday morning in the semi-finals slack, with the top 20 in the average advancing to the performances at 7:30 PM on Wednesday and Thursday at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The team ropers, steer wrestlers, and tie-down ropers will run two head during the semi-finals slack, with the top 20 in the average advancing to the performances at 7:30 PM on Wednesday and Thursday at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The contestants will be randomly drawn into the performances on Wednesday and Thursday night, but will be able to trade to the other night with other contestants for a limited amount of time after their event slack completes.
When contestants come back to the performances their average time from the slack will no longer matter, as they are competing with a clean slate. The top 10 fastest times out of the two performances will advance to the performance at 7:30 PM on Friday at Cowtown Coliseum.
Friday's performance will once again start with a clean slate, and the contestants with the fastest times will advance to The American at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Sunday, February 19, for their chance to win $1 million.
Traditionally, the Semi-Finals have all been held in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards, but this year a few things are changing.
The excitement will kick off Friday, February 10, at 9 AM in Bryan, Texas, at the Brazos Valley Expo Center. The Brazos Valley Classic will host the last qualifier for the team roping, and the semi-finals will follow that qualifier. You can find all the information for the qualifier here.
Monday, February 13th, is when the steer wrestling slack will take place at Shepherd's Valley Cowboy Church in Alvarado, Texas at 10 AM.
Monday evening from 4-8 PM barrel racers will have the opportunity to exhibition at Cowtown Coliseum before the barrel racing slack on Tuesday, February 14, at 9 AM.
The tie-down roping slack will follow the barrel racing slack on Tuesday but will not begin before 3:30 PM.
The performances begin on Wednesday, February 15th at 7:30pm in Cowtown Coliseum. The combination of rodeo action, the FanZone in the Stockyards, live music and the overall theme of patriotism that will be evident at every performance is sure to make this a great event for contestants and fans alike. The three performances of The American Semi-Finals will be broadcast on Rural Radio, SiriusXM Chanel 147.
For more information on qualifying events click here.
2017 Semi Finals List
See complete list of entries here.
Stay tuned to FloRodeo for more information and coverage as the event starts.
-Photo Courtesy of RFD
-Some Information Courtesy of Johna Cravens
Like what you see? Sign up for our newsletter to stay current on all the latest rodeo news and your favorite content from FloRodeo.
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