Paying his proverbial dues as a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association prospect, Dustin Sanchez has also earned some. 

The Ignacio High School alumnus was in the bull-riding chute June 25-26 at the Thermopolis (Wyo.) Cowboy Rendezvous PRCA Rodeo, whose organizing committee had tapped Wright, Wyo.-based Powder River Rodeo Company, with famed D&H Cattle Company of Dickson, Okla., also on board to bring top-notch stock to the spectacle. 

And Sanchez benefited; awarded 87 points aboard D&H mount Show Glo, Sanchez earned first place and a check for almost $1,100. 2020 Wrangler NFR World Champion (as well as All-Around Cowboy) Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah, had ridden the same bull for a winning 87.5 the previous week at Days of the Old West in Delta, Utah. 

Entering the summer’s ‘Cowboy Christmas’ phase, the former Bobcat Sanchez wasted no time seeking his next bounty and has since competed in places including Greeley, Colo.; Cody, Wyo.; Crawford, Neb.; Estes Park, Colo.; and Laramie, Wyo. Most recently at Laramie’s Jubilee Days, held July 9-11 at the Albany County Fairgrounds, Sanchez was unable to record a score atop Centennial, Wyo.-based Summit Pro Rodeo’s Seminole Wind (during the Days’ 7/8 Xtreme Bulls feature) or SPR’s Foghorn. 

Summit had been honored in December 2020 with the Polaris Ranger Remuda Award for being the PRCA contractor providing “…the best, most consistent pen of bucking horses [and bulls], creating the best opportunities for contestants to score well,” according to a press release from PRCA headquarters in Colorado Springs.