World champions compete to advance to finals
Lives will be changed and champions will be crowned at RFD-TV’s The American Rodeo as the event returns to Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas this February and March. The Team Roping event will take place tonight at Cowtown Coliseum as the best athletes in Western sports compete for the chance to advance to the finals at AT&T Stadium March 7-8.
Erich Rogers, 2017 world champion header, had three qualifications entering the competition on Tuesday morning and qualified for the semi-finals, once heading for Cory Petska and once heeling for Brock Hanson.
“When I found out I could heel, I was at the Tucson slack and asked Brock Hanson if he would head for me,” said Erich Rogers, 2017 world champion header. “Brock said that he didn’t have a horse, but once I told him that he could ride mine, he was in. This is our chance to become millionaires.”
Three-time world champion Jade Corkill and reigning world champion Clay Smith were invited to compete, in addition to eight-time NFR qualifier Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira. Driggers and Nogueira will switch header and heeler end positions. These athletes have the opportunity to win life-changing money if they advance. Corkill and Nogueira will compete as headers tonight, and Smith and Driggers will be the heelers.
“Junior and I have been switching ends for several years now and are going into this event confident,” said Kaleb Driggers, eight-time NFR qualifier. “This is a huge opportunity for our lives to change, and it’s fun to have the opportunity to swap with my partner.”
The American Rodeo’s semi-finals will take place February 24-March 1 at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Tickets are available online for the semi-finals and finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The finals will take place the following weekend, March 7-8 at AT&T Stadium. Tickets are on sale here, beginning at just $10.
“I feel confident and am fortunate to have great partners for both runs,” said Rogers. “I am preparing for the Timed Event Championships and have been practicing heeling more than usual.”
About RFD-TV’s The American Rodeo
Taking place at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium on March 7-8, 2020, RFD-TV’s The American, hosts the richest weekend in Western sports. With $2.4 million on the line, the best athletes in the world will gather in Arlington, Texas to battle for the biggest single paycheck of their lives. The American invites the top athletes from the 2019 PRCA, WPRA and PBR world standings and puts them against everyday cowboys and cowgirls who advance from the American Semi-Finals. If a nationally ranked athlete wins, the prize is $100,000, but if a qualifier from the Semi-Finals – or an athlete who earned an exemption – wins THE AMERICAN, that contestant shares in a $1 million bonus pool. For more information, please visit:www.americanrodeo.com and www.RFDTV.com. Follow us on Twitter: @RFDTVAMERICAN and find us on Facebook:www.facebook.com/RFDTVTheAMERICAN. To buy tickets, go to AmericanRodeo.com