Eli Lord has traveled the ProRodeo road for over a decade now. He’s experienced the rollercoaster ride the sport can offer to those cowboys chasing the dream of qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

The past two seasons the Sturgis, S.D., steer wrestler has found himself inside the top 40 of the world standings but fell just short of making it to Las Vegas. He’s hoping 2023 will be his opportunity to flip the script.

In the last week, Lord jumped 15 spots in the PRCA | RAM World Standings from 29th to 14th. A big reason was that jump was his success at the San Angelo (Texas) Rodeo. He finished tied for third in the average and pocketed $9,288 for his three runs. He was quick to credit horsepower for his recent surge.

“San Angelo was a really big rodeo for me,” said Lord, 29. “I’ve been able to get on some great horses here lately and so much of steer wrestling comes down to the horse you’re riding. In San Angelo, I rode Mable that’s owned by Garrett Henry and Stetson Jorgensen in the first two rounds, and then I rode Cade Staton’s horse FedEx in the short round. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

The early season success has Lord in a position to qualify for his first Wrangler NFR this December. He said while it’s not a must, having a good winter and spring, but it can take a little pressure off heading into the summer run.

“The winter isn’t a deal breaker or anything. There’s enough money in the summertime that you can still make up some ground in the standings,” he said. “But on the other hand, it’s so nice to get a head start on the year in the winter and spring. It’s great to be able to feel like now you’ve got a good start and you don’t feel like you have to win everything every single rodeo you go to.”

Below, are the other cowboys who moved inside the Top 15 of the PRCA | RAM World Standings over the last week.

77 Spots

• Tie-down roper Justin Smith moved from 90th to 13th.

19 Spots

• Steer wrestler Cash Robb went from 34th to 15th.

16 Spots

• Team roping header J.C. Yeahquo jumped up from 24th to eighth.
• Team roping heeler L.J. Yeahquo leaped from 25th to ninth.

15 Spots

• Steer wrestler Eli lord moved from 29th to 14th.

10 Spots

• Bareback rider Luke Thrash went from 17th to seventh.
• Saddle bronc rider Dawson Hay jumped from 17th to seventh.

Eight Spots

• Team roping header Brenten Hall leaped up from 23rd to 15th.
• Team roping heeler Hunter Koch moved from 20th to 12th.
• Team roping heeler Paden Bray went from 21st to 13th.

Seven Spots

• Bull rider Trey Benton III jumped from 17th to 10th.

Six Spots

• Team roping header Luke Brown leaped from 17th to 11th.

Four Spots

• Team roping heeler Corey Hendrick moved up from 15th to 11th.
• Tie-down roper Cory Solomon went from 11th to seventh.
• Bull rider Cody Teel jumped from 18th to 14th.

Three Spots

• Bareback rider Clayton Biglow leaped from 15th to 12th.
• Tie-down roper Trevor Hale moved from seventh to fourth.

Two Spots

• Bareback rider Taylor Broussard went up from 10th to eighth.
• Steer wrestler Jesse Brown jumped from fourth to second.
• Steer wrestler Cody Devers leaped from ninth to seventh.
• Team roping heeler Levi Lord moved from fifth to third.
• Saddle bronc rider Tanner Butner went from eighth to sixth.
• Saddle bronc rider Cash Wilson jumped up from 15th to 13th.
• Tie-down roper Matt Shiozawa leaped from 14th to 12th.
• Bull rider Ernie Courson Jr. moved from eighth to sixth.
• Bull rider Koby Radley went from 10th to eighth.

One Spot

• Bareback rider Jayco Roper jumped from sixth to fifth.
• Bareback rider Tim O’Connell leaped up from 16th to 15th.
• Steer wrestler Jacob Talley moved from fifth to fourth.
• Steer wrestler Stephen Culling went from 11th to 10th.
• Steer wrestler Stan Branco jumped from 13th to 12th.
• Team roping header Dustin Egusquiza leaped from fifth to fourth.
• Team roping header Kaleb Driggers moved up from sixth to fifth.
• Team roping heeler Junior Nogueira went from sixth to fifth.
• Team roping heeler Wesley Thorp jumped from eighth to seventh.
• Saddle bronc rider Stetson Wright leaped from second to first.
• Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper moved from 13th to 12th.
• Tie-down roper Michael Otero went up from sixth to fifth.
• Steer roper Blake Deckard jumped from ninth to eighth.
• Bull rider Jestyn Jax Woodward leaped from 13th to 12th.

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