We’ve been so caught up in the excitement of RFD-TV’s The American, presented by Dish, that February just flew by. We can’t believe we’re already over two months into 2018 and we’re seeing the rodeo season really heat up. 

Some pretty cool things happened in February, so we want to take a moment to look back at the great month it was for rodeo. 

Big Rodeos, Big Payouts

The month of February plays host to some top rodeos that can help competitors get momentum rolling that lasts well in to the summer months. In fact, the biggest rodeo of the entire PRCA regular season takes place in February: with its purse worth more than $1.4 million, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo can be a big boost for the 50 competitors that qualify to compete each year. 

There were 25 rodeos in the month of February with a purse totaling an impressive $4,186,722.00 unofficially. Here’s a look at how each of those rodeos paid out:

Scott Snedecor Wins Back-To-Back Titles At San Antonio

Steer roper Scott Snedecor made history at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo by winning the average at the event back-to-back for the first time in its history. The three-time world champion steer roper is now the only competitor in the event to pull off the feat with a time of 32.6 seconds on three head in 2018. 

Surprisingly, the Fredericksburg, Texas, cowboy with the long steer roping resume had never won the event that is just down the road from his hometown before, making the title more special for him. 

“Last year was a big thrill for me to get it off my back,” he told prorodeo.com. “This year was just a bonus. Such a great committee, great event, hats off to everybody involved in this deal. I’ve got a lot of people here. It’s kind of my hometown rodeo.”

Snedecor won the title aboard Stephen Stransky’s horse "Possum," the same horse that helped him win both San Antonio and later the world steer roping title in 2017.

Scott Snedecor did something no steer roper has ever done at the @SanAntonioRodeo: https://t.co/xTQP6fdQqH pic.twitter.com/leHV3eFXIn

— PRCA ProRodeo (@ThePRCA) February 26, 2018

Texas: State With The Most Rodeos In February

When it’s cold in the northern States and Canada, why not go to Texas for February? There were six PRCA rodeos in Texas during the month last year with three of those rodeos — San Antonio, Fort Worth, and San Angelo — boasting the three largest payouts of the month entire month. 

There were also five rodeos hosted in Florida including its popular Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee; there were three rodeos hosted in Mississippi and Arizona, while North Dakota and Alberta played host to two PRCA rodeos of their own.

Check out results from all of the professional rodeos HERE.

Hailey Kinsel Breaking Another Arena Record

Most cowgirls collect buckles, and while we’re sure she has quite a few Hailey Kinsel seems to be collecting records. The Cotulla, Texas, cowgirl that smashed the arena record at the WNFR in 2017 was at it again in February. 

At San Antonio, Kinsel dominated her bracket by winning each of the three rounds of competition, easily moving on to the semifinals. Once there, Kinsel started things off by placing third on night one behind Jessie Telford and Kelly Bruner. 

Kinsel and DM Sissy Hayday — aka Sister — wouldn’t settle for simply placing; in the second round of the semis the pair broke the arena record of 13.68 originally set by Sydni Blanchard all the way back in 2013 with their time of 13.60. 

“I grew up coming to this rodeo,” Kinsel said in a press interview following the performance. “We always bought tickets and it was a dream to just compete here. I felt like we had a pretty snappy run, but to set an arena record here, that’s pretty special.”

Kinsel finished out San Antonio by placing second in the finals and ultimately taking home the title with a total of $25,141 in earnings. She now sits in the second spot in the world, battling it our with No. 1 barrel racer Amberleigh Moore. 

Big Standings Jumps

With some of the big-money rodeos February holds, you can bet there will always be major shake-ups in the PRCA standings. According to the PRCA, the last week in February saw the largest number of contestants move in to the top 15 in the world, with 61 competitors climbing in to those coveted spots.

There were a few competitors that really made a move in February, coming all the way from outside the top 50 in the world standings to sit within the top 15. The PRCA reported early in the month that both Tanner Bruner (steer wrestling) and Jason Duby (team roping) moved all the way up to the No. 5 spot in each of their respective events. At press time, Bruner now sits in No. 14 while Duby sits No. 9.

The last week of February — the richest week of the winter month that hosts the largest rodeo of the entire regular PRCA season — saw four competitors move from outside of the top 50 in to the top 15. Josh Frost (bull riding), Will Gasperson (steer roping), Patrick Smith (team roping), and Jordan Ketscher (tie-down roping) all made it above the line and remain within the top 15 today.