A year ago, Trell Etbauer had the advantage of a big lead in the Prairie Circuit&#8217;s all-around standings.</p><p>That luxury is gone in 2008 as Etbauer prepares for the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo during the American Royal at Kemper Arena. The regional championship will have four go-rounds of competition starting with tonight&#8217;s sold-out event featuring the top 12 contestants in each event after the circuit season.</p><p>&#8220;Steven Dent and Jeff Miller will be tough to beat,&#8221; said Etbauer, a second-generation cowboy from Goodwell, Okla., who has won two of the last three circuit all-around titles. &#8220;Both of them qualified in two events, and they both do their events really good.&#8221;</p><p>Etbauer&#8217;s a tad modest. He, too, has qualified for the finals in two events, tie-down roping and saddle bronc riding. He&#8217;s No. 1 in the circuit&#8217;s all-around standings and No. 3 in bronc riding.</p><p>&#8220;Hopefully I can go in there and draw good, ride good and rope as good as I can,&#8221; he said, referring to the random draw of livestock. &#8220;I&#8217;ll go in there and try to win the rounds and let everything else play out.&#8221;</p><p>In rodeo, dollars equal points. In the all-around, Etbauer has a $1,000 lead over Dent and nearly a $5,000 lead over Miller. Dent &#8212; the leader in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association&#8217;s bareback riding world standings &#8212; will ride both bareback horses and saddle broncs at Kemper; Miller is a tie-down roper and steer wrestler.</p><p>&#8220;I would have liked to have made the finals in all three events,&#8221; said Etbauer, also a steer wrestler who won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association title in that event as a freshman at Panhandle State University in 2005.</p><p>Now a college graduate, the son of two-time world champion bronc rider Robert Etbauer has found his full-time livelihood, and just like his father, rodeo drives the 23-year-old cowboy.</p><p>&#8220;Because I ride broncs and am in the timed events, I have to go back and forth to a lot of rodeos,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So I get to spend a lot of time on the road. But I like it. I like traveling by myself.&#8221;</p><p>With nearly $12,000 in prize money available in each event, there&#8217;s a lot riding on this weekend&#8217;s championship.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">PRAIRIE CIRCUIT FINALS RODEO </span></strong><br /> American Royal, Kemper Arena</p><p><strong>&#8226;WHAT:</strong> A four-round championship to the Prairie Circuit&#8217;s 2008 season featuring the top 12 contestants in each event.</p><p><strong>&#8226;WHEN:</strong> Tickets available for performances beginning at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday for $22-$88. Go to ticketmaster.com. Thursday night and Saturday afternoon performances are sold out.</p><p><strong>&#8226;ABOUT THE FINALS: </strong>The qualifying contestants earned their championship money at rodeos primarily at events in Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.</p><p></div>