Houston Winding Down...

Courtesy of the PRCA -

2. Big finish: RodeoHouston winds down in historic fashion
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – RodeoHouston, with a $1.275 million purse that makes it the world’s richest regular-season rodeo, concludes this week with the last of five Super Series events, leading to the semifinals and climactic championship round.
The rodeo began Feb. 27 with the first of five individual “super series” rodeos that consist of three rounds each. The top 47 cowboys from last years’ world standings, plus three randomly-drawn medical exemptions qualified for entry into the super series rodeos, and there are 10 competitors in each event per super series rodeo.
After three performances, the top four contestants in total money earned in each event advance to the semifinals, where the scores will be zeroed. Those 20 semifinals contestants will be randomly split into two groups of 10 each for a second semifinal round, scheduled for March 14-15.
The top four cowboys in each 10-man group from the semifinals (eight total) will advance to the final round. However, the cowboys who placed fifth through 10th in the semifinals will have one last shot to advance, competing in one more wild card round on March 16. The top two contestants from that wild card round will advance to the finals, bringing the total number of cowboys in each event in the finals to 10.
After a single round of competition in the finals on March 17, the top four contestants will advance to a “shoot-out round,” and that winner will receive the $50,000 check.
For up-to-date RodeoHouston results, visit the “Early Results” link off the PRCA’s official Web site, www.prorodeo.com. Also, see Rodeo News and Notes for details on how to watch the two semifinal rounds, wild-card round and Super Series Championship Round on pay-per-view on DirecTV. You can also find results on our blog page here at rodeoprofiles.com.
Then, on March 18, ProRodeo’s top 40 bull riders will take the limelight for the season’s fifth stop on the Xtreme Bulls Tour, presented by B&W Trailer Hitches. Competition is slated for 3:45 p.m.
In Houston, each rider competes for part of the $75,000 purse and placement in the Xtreme Bulls rankings.
In Xtreme Bulls, every contestant competes in the semifinal round, with the top 15 performers advancing to the final round. The winner of the two-head average wins that stop’s title. Dodge Xtreme Bulls Tour earnings count toward the world standings, which determines qualifiers for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Dec. 6-15 in Las Vegas.