Saddle bronc rider Rusty Allen’s fall in the world standings slowed down Monday night and took a turn in the opposite direction — at least on Tuesday night — as the Lehi, Utah, cowboy rode Bar T Rodeo’s Round Robin to 86.5 points and the sixth round win and $16,394 at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Along with Monday night’s second place, Allen has won $29,351 in two days and is third in the world standings heading into tonight’s seventh round.

“It’s a big relief. I felt like I made quite a few mistakes early on in the week,” Allen said in a PRCA release. “Hopefully, I got those mistakes fixed, and I’m gaining momentum instead of losing it.”

Tuesday could have been a bit better for Allen had Cody Wright and Cody DeMoss – first and second in the world today – not ridden for second and third place behind Allen. Wright sits with $155,894, some $6,300 ahead of DeMoss and $11,600 over Allen, who led the world for most of the year.

Colter Todd and Cesar de la Cruz have started their week very similar to Allen as they too followed up Sunday and Monday’s second place finishes in team roping with Tuesday’s round six win. Their 4.4-second steer was .4 faster than Clay Tryan and Walt Woodard for $16,394.

The only drawback for the duo is the fact that they are ninth in an average that pays eight deep. While plenty can unfold over the next four rounds, they had a no time in round one and they’ll need a few teams ahead of them to miss a steer as well to have a chance at decent average money.

Houston Hutto reclaimed his tie-down roping world lead that he’s battled Trevor Brazile for all year. He split the go-round win with Josh Peek as the two were at least a half second better than anyone else at 7.4 seconds.

“It’s real special, and I have my family and friends here,” Hutto told the PRCA.

Both earned $14,675.

“This win was everything,” Peek also said. “I have waited a long time to get to the National Finals Rodeo. I struggled in the first few rounds and have made some mistakes, but I still have been placing along the way. I have wanted that go-round buckle pretty bad.”

What tonight’s round did was create an even worse – or better if you ask the fans – logjam at the top of the tie-down standings. Hutto is at the top with $147,830.

Brazile is $1,550 behind. Ten grand behind Brazile is Hunter Herrin and Cody Ohl  is just $6,200 behind Herrin and $17,700 behind Hutto — a deficit that could be erased after one round.

Ohl has a pretty decent lead over Hutto (10.1 seconds) and Brazile (13 seconds) in the average. Herrin missed a calf in an earlier round and isn’t a major factor in the average.

There was a mess in steer wrestling, too, as five bulldoggers split sixth, the final place for go-round payout. All pinned their steers in 4.6 seconds and all split $2,644 five ways for $528 each.

At the top for the night was Sean Mulligan who turfed his steer in 3.2 seconds just .2 off of the arena record and .2 ahead of Todd Suhn.

“I maybe didn’t want to get quite as good of a start as I did, I was a little bit scared,” Mulligan said in the news release. “That steer just kind of stepped away from me right in the catch, and I just got over him. Willy (hazer Curtis Cassidy’s horse that Mulligan rides), he can give you such a good go, and it seems like he puts you in the right spot.”

Mulligan is a half second behind average leader Jason Miller.

Jill Moody’s 13.64-second run around the barrels was not only the fastest of the day, but also the fastest of the NFR this year. She beat second-place Tana Poppino by .2 for her second win so far.

She was second last night to Linsday Sears, who was third Tuesday with a 13.91. A blink of an eye behind her was world leader Brittany Pozzi-Pharr.

Pozzi-Pharr still leads the average by a bit more than half a second over Terra Bynum. While both Sears (second in the world) and Moody (third in the world) have significantly cut into Pozzi-Pharr’s lead – they are the top two money earners ($58,702 and $55,529) of the NFR thus far this year — they continue to fight to stay in the top eight of the average that pays $42,043 to the winner and scales down from there.

Bareback rider Tom McFarland got his first win at this year’s NFR, riding Classic Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet’s Web to an 88.5 and $16,394. McFarland’s victory pushed him to third in the world ahead of traveling partner Royce Ford who was last on Tuesday with a 74.5. McFarland is $10,500 behind Justin McDaniel who is $37,200 behind world leader Bobby Mote.

However, both McDaniel and McFarland are ahead of Mote in the coveted average standings.

Another first-time winner at this year’s NFR is bull rider Ted Bert, whose 87-point ride on Four Star Rodeo’s Shake Down netted him $16,394. He was just a half point better than Jarrod Craig – who won Ellensburg’s average this year and the Xtreme Bulls stop in 2006.

Bert and Craig join average leader Wesley Silcox as the only riders to cover four of six bulls thus far this NFR.

“I wasn’t planning on winning any rounds,” Bert said in the PRCA release. “That bull (Shake Down) was here at the Finals last year, and he was outstanding with

me. I’m a big guy, and I don’t make the bulls look pretty, but I get the job done. It worked out well tonight.”

Colbert’s Tyson Durfey split fourth with Jake Hannum in tie-down roping as both were eight seconds flat on Tuesday. They each pocketed $5,553. Durfey has earned $8,200 so far in his first NFR.

Cheney’s Ryan Gray continues to slowly ride out of a sluggish start. Last place in the average after the first two rounds, Gray hasn’t improved much (12th) but

has placed fourth two nights in a row, including another $6,875 for his 85.5-point ride on Wayne Vold’s Centennial. He’s earned $16,658 so far.

Tonight’s round seven begins at 6:45 p.m.