LAS VEGAS – A year ago during his first trip to the National Finals Rodeo, Tyson Durfey earned a respectable $26,310 over 10 rounds of competition.
In two nights at this year’s grand finale at the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus, the Savannah, Mo.-born tie-down roper has already surpassed that total.
Durfey won Friday night’s second go-round with a heart-stopping run, roping and tying his calf in 7.2 seconds to win the top prize in the go-round, $16,767. Combined with Thursday’s second-place earnings of $13,251, Durfey has earned $30,018.
More importantly, the Colbert, Wash., cowboy is closing ground on all those ahead of him on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s calf-roping money list – in rodeo, the contestants in each event with the most money won at the conclusion of the NFR are crowned champions.
In two nights of tough competition, Durfey has moved from ninth to fourth in the world standings and leads the all-important NFR average race with two runs totaling 14.9 seconds. He’s got a nearly two-second lead over the No. 2 man, NFR veteran Stran Smith of Childress, Texas.
Durfey has now earned $102,189 this season and trails the leader, Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo., by about $50,000. But as quickly as he earned $30,000 to make up ground, Durfey has plenty of financial opportunities before him in the next eight rounds.
Durfey wears pink during each performance in which he competes – carrying rodeo’s Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign to the next level – in an effort to raise money and awareness in the fight against breast cancer. He has teamed with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure campaign, and in January 2008, he donated a portion of his 2007 earnings to the organization.
Donning attire made available through a commitment from Cinch Jeans, Durfey definitely makes his presence known in and out of the arena at rodeos across the country. Now competing in his second straight NFR, the two-time Canadian tie-down roping champion is putting his cause before millions of viewers on national television as ProRodeo’s grand finale is broadcast across the ESPN networks.
In 2006, Durfey was the first American to win an event championship in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. This past November, he edged the field of tough competition at the Canadian Finals Rodeo to win his second title. Now he’s hoping that success translates into success at the NFR.
Learn more at www.tysondurfey.com
