SAN ANTONIO -- Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey has some ground to make up in the world standings, and there's not a better place to do that than at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo.

The Sulphur, Louisiana, resident has two consecutive wins in the AT&T Center and will be back for the semifinals next week. The wins gave the 2013 world champion $4,562 in earnings. San Antonio's advancement through the brackets into the semifinals and the finals is based on money won.

I love the way this rodeo is set up," Hanchey said. "I got to go play golf today. It's good to be in one place for three nights and it's a rodeo that doesn't penalize you for making a mistake. This year has just been a better year than I've had before and I've been coming here a long time.

Hanchey joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2009. The next year, he won the rodeo in Fort Worth and then came to San Antonio and finished in a tie for sixth place. That was the first of seven years that he qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

He is a huge sports fan, so for him the bonus is being able to rope in the AT&T Center -- home of the San Antonio Spurs. He even has a Kawhi Leonard jersey in his collection of sports memorabilia.

"When I was making my victory lap, I couldn't help but think about the Spurs playing basketball here," Hanchey added. "I'd love to meet the coach and hear what he has to say about a rodeo in his arena."

The tie-down roping competition is tight in Bracket 3. Along with Hanchey, two other ropers have won twice. Texans Marty Yates from Stephenville, and Stetson Vest from Childress both have total earnings of $2,851. Hanchey won the second round with a 7.1-second run. He had watched Vest stop the clock in 7.5 and Yates in 7.2.

In the first round, Hanchey was 7.3. Vest finished in second with an 8.0, and Yates was third with 8.3. The rest of the field is fighting for the fourth spot to advance to the semifinals.

Barrel racer Amberleigh Moore from Keizer, Oregon, also has two wins to her credit this week. Riding her mare Paige, she stopped the clock in 13.98 seconds for the second-round win. She is the only barrel racer in this bracket to have a time under 14 seconds so far. She has total earnings of $4,562 as well.


Bracket 3 continues here on Thursday night with one more opportunity for contestants to get a check and move into the semifinals, which start on Feb. 21.

By Susan Kanode

Like what you see? Sign up for our newsletter to stay current on all the latest rodeo news and your favorite content from FloRodeo.