SAN ANGELO, Texas – Clayton Sellars got his start as a professional bull rider in the PRCA, the premier sanctioning body in rodeo.
Sellars was stellar, qualifying three straight times for the National Finals Rodeo beginning in 2019. The next season, he took his act to the PBR, which has been around for more than 30 years and features just one event. But there was something missing.
An early-season injury last year pushed him to the sidelines. When he was ready to return to action, he went back to his foundation, ProRodeo. He’s been on fire ever since. In just three months of competition, he pocketed more than $77,000 and finished 24th in the 2023 world standings.
He’s been marching onward and upward, and the most recent proof came Sunday when the Wildwood, Florida, cowboy won the San Angelo Xtreme Bulls title. He was the only man in the field to ride both bulls. Sellars added several thousand dollars to his bank account and his spot on the money list.
He began his day with an 84.5-point ride on New Star Rodeo’s Smorgasboard, which helped him finish in a tie for sixth place in the opening round; that was the bottom rung of the payout ladder. His big payday came with his 88.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Time Bomb. Because he was the only man to ride in the final round, he earned more than $8,100 in the championship round alone. The payouts for the first round and the aggregate were not available because of technical difficulties
While his earnings in San Angelo are substantial, Sellars has been quite successful so far this season, including victories at Texas rodeos in Hempstead and San Antonio, the latter of which was worth more than $27,000. He pocketed nearly $3,200 for winning at Hempstead and also gathered his first Xtreme Bulls victory of the campaign at Rapid City, South Dakota, in January.
Sellars entered Sunday’s competition second in the world standings and 11th in the Xtreme Bulls standings. He will move into the top five on the Xtreme Bulls money list and will gain a little ground on the season bull-riding leader, Missourian Creek Young.
Sellars is also in position to return for Friday’s championship round of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, where he is ninth with an 85-point ride under his belt. He will have to wait out the final two preliminary performances to see where he lands in the standings. So far, he is three for three in competition inside Foster Communications Coliseum.
Utahan Josh Frost has been in need of some big bucks, and he got them by winning Sunday’s opening round with an 88.5-point ride on United Pro Rodeo’s Listen Linda. Because Sellars was the only man to ride two bulls, Frost also finished second in the all-important aggregate race.
“That’s an older bull, and I was happy about the draw but figured we’d be in the middle of the round,” Frost said of Listen Linda. “He bucked like he used to when he was 5 years old and made me work for every second of it. It turned out pretty good.”
Frost will move up from his ranking; he was 30th on the money list heading into the weekend.
Four nights remain at San Angelo’s rodeo, including Championship Friday and the San Angelo Cinch Chute-Out on Saturday night.