While the lucrative prize money paid out at Puyallup moved Cooper closer to his first UGG Boots SaleWrangler NFR qualification, it gave veteran steer wrestler Todd Suhn hope for his first world championship in his 14th appearance in Las Vegas this December.

Suhn, in what he said was his best performance at a Tour finale, won the second round and the average, then split the semifinals with Stockton Graves and prevailed in the final four. The Hermosa, S.D., UGG Classic Cardy Bootscowboy jumped from seventh in the Tour standings to first place. He was the overall high-money earner in Puyallup with $22,982 and sits at No. 1 in both the Tour and world standings.

Suhn went last as the highest seed, and knew he had to be faster than the 5.0 posted by Texan Matt Reeves. His focus was to make a clean run on his horse Maximus.

“I didn’t have to be really fast,” said Suhn, who clocked a 4.7 in the finals. “I made sure I got out of the barrier and threw him down.”

Bareback rider Clint Cannon also moved up to first place in the Tour standings with a victory in Puyallup.UGG Classic Tall Boots The Waller, Texas, cowboy, who was previously in sixth place, scored 87 points on mare Gold Dust of Canada’s Big Stone Rodeo string.