ARLINGTON, Tex. (March 12, 2023) – As the dust settled inside Globe Life Field at The American Rodeo, powered by Teton Ridge on Saturday, March 11, less than 10 seconds across two disciplines turned into the biggest single-day payout for breakaway roping winner Jackie Crawford and tie down winner Ty Harris, both Texas natives.
“You can play out a million different scenarios in your mind, but the odds of it coming true just always seem so far,” Jackie Crawford said following the nationally televised western sports event. “We prepare for it, we work for it, and we are just thankful for the opportunity that has been given to us and to be able to capitalize on it, I truly cannot believe that this just happened.”
Hailing from Stephenville, TX, breakaway roper Jackie Crawford is no stranger to world titles in the rodeo world as the second most decorated member in the WPRA and now two-time American Rodeo breakaway roping winner. But this is her first time taking home a winning title as a contender at The American Western Weekend – and the first time a cowgirl has also carried the title. 24-year-old Ty Harris, a San Angelo, TX native, recently finished 11th in the tie down roping world standings and qualified for his fourth straight NFR. This is his first American Rodeo win.
Celebrating its 10th year, The American Rodeo features competitors in all eight traditional rodeo disciplines: barrel racing, breakaway roping, steer wrestling, team roping (heading and healing), tie down roping, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. Fans could root for the underdog “Contenders” chasing a $1 million bonus or the professional athletes defending their champion status in the ultimate high-stakes showdown.
Other champions from The American Rodeo 2023 included: Stetson Wright (bull riding and saddle bronc); Kaycee Field (bareback); Tyler Waguespack (steer wrestling); Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira (team roping); and Lisa Lockhart (barrel racing).
The American Rodeo’s exhilarating evening kicked off with The National Anthem performed by “American Idol” alum Pia Toscano, followed by five Contenders up against five Champions. A halftime performance by award-winning singer-songwriter Cody Johnson brought a fast-paced, upbeat energy to the sold out 42,000-seat Globe Life Field before the winners of each discipline competed, with one overall The American Rodeo winner crowned.
For the first time ever during The American Western Weekend, the top five year-end money earning professionals from the NRCHA, NCHA and the NRHA came together for The American Performance Horseman inaugural event on Friday, March 10. The competitive exhibition format fused the elements of history and competition in an ode to the past, present and future of western performance horse sports. The Royal Blue Team, as drafted in early February, of cutter Adan Banuelos, reiner Fernando Salgado and reined cow horse professional Sarah Dawson, swept the night.
For more information on The American Rodeo or Teton Ridge, please visit www.americanrodeo.com and follow @theamerican.tr on Instagram.
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Teton Ridge/ The American Western Weekend Media Contacts:
Mandi McCary / [email protected]
Cally Anderson / [email protected]
About Teton Ridge: Teton Ridge is a multi-platform, wholly American-owned brand and media company devoted to the iconic American western way of life. Teton Ridge’s Sports division was created with the singular focus of elevating classic Western sports and America’s western culture on the world stage, while broadening audiences around the globe as well as at home. In 2021, Teton Ridge acquired The American, the iconic event of the rodeo circuit, to continue to expand the audiences for rodeo sports and make it the world’s premier Western culture event. For more information about Teton Ridge, please visit tetonridge.com or @tetonridge on Instagram @tetonridgeusa on Facebook.
About The American Rodeo:
The American, is an annual Western sports and entertainment experience that occurs each year at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas and represents the richest single-day event in all of western sports. Over the course of qualifier events across the country, competitors will all battle for what could be the biggest single-day paycheck of their careers. Owned by Teton Ridge, The American is a true open competition in format, the iconic event brings together top professional rodeo athletes and honest, hardworking cowboysand cowgirls in a winner-take-all showdown, meant to crown the finest talent the world has to offer.
About The American Western Weekend:
The American Western Weekend March 8th -11th, 2023 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas features four nights of action-packed entertainment, world-class talent and western sports that culminates with The American Rodeo. Hailed as The Crown Jewel of Rodeo™, The American Rodeo is an unrivaled celebration of the pioneering spirit of the American West. The national sporting event offers fans a unique choice – to cheer on western sports’ finest, champion athletes, or root for the underdog “Contenders” chasing a $1 million bonus – through every rodeo, roping and riding effort. For the first time ever, a new competitive exhibition called The American Performance Horseman brings together the western equine sports disciplines of reining, reined cow horse and cutting for a $1 million prize. All combined with star-studded music, a western festival and more. Acquired by Teton Ridge in 2021, The American Rodeo is an annual western sports and entertainment celebration that matches professional rodeo’s top athletes against the world’s most aspirational cowboys and cowgirls, who have put up their own money to bet on themselves in this high stake’s showdown. For more information on The American Rodeo, please visit americanrodeo.com or @TheAmerican.TR on Instagram @TheAmericanTR on Facebook and Twitter.
