ERA 2016 Season Preview- Steer Wrestling

The Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA) debut season begins Friday in Redmond, OR. In part one of my season preview, I focused on the roster of bareback riders who will be competing for the 2016 World Championship. In part two, the attention turns to Steer Wrestling. The roster assembled has combined for an impressive seven World Titles, including the last five.

I hope you enjoy the 2016 ERA Steer Wrestling preview. As always, please comment below or on Twitter with your own predictions for the inaugural season! Thanks for reading!


Steer Wrestling Roster

• Bray Armes
• Luke Branquinho
• Hunter Cure
• Stockton Graves
• Nick Guy
• Kyle Irwin
• Casey Martin
• Sean Mulligan
• Tyler Pearson
• Jake Rinehart
• Todd Suhn

Overall Roster Outlook 
The 2016 ERA Steer Wrestling roster is headlined by five-time World Champion Luke Branquinho. He's going to go down as one of the best ever in the sport, and he's won three of the last four gold buckles. In 16 years as a pro, the California cowboy has racked up a big list of accomplishments in steer wrestling and will certainly be one of the favorites to be crowned the inaugural ERA World Champion Steer Wrestler.

The 2015 Champion Hunter Cure may have something to say about that. The Texas Cowboy is coming off a fantastic season and has won two of the last three World Titles. On paper, it looks like it might be a two-man race for the gold buckle in steer wrestling.

Fortunately for fans and the other cowboys, World Titles aren't won on paper. They are won in the arena, and there are plenty of other ERA Steer Wrestlers capable of contending for the World Championship. Stockton Graves, Casey Martin, Sean Mulligan, and Todd Suhn have been a mainstay at the top of the sport for years. Martin, in particular, is coming off a 10th-place finish in the standings a season ago.

The Elite Rodeo Athletes is also focusing on some of the up-and-coming talent in each sports, and Kyle Irwin definitely fits the bill. He's only been a professional for five years, but he's already become one of the best steer wrestlers in the world. Nick Guy and Tyler Pearson have only been pros for 10 years, so they're still in their prime as well.

2016 Steer Wrestling Champion Prediction- Hunter Cure
The race for the first-ever ERA Steer Wrestling gold buckle is going to be a great one. While it may look like a two-man race, it's probably going to be wide open going into the World Championship in November. That being said, I'm still going with one of the preseason favorites. Hunter Cure is the defending champ and has won two of the last three World Titles. He's going to do his thing again in 2016 and end up on top at season's end.

My Twitter- @CThrash13
My Email- cthrash13@hotmail.com