Monthly Archives: November 2018

CHECOTAH, Okla. – Much has changed since Riley Duvall’s first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo two years ago. “I just feel more experienced heading back to the NFR,” said Duvall, 26, of Checotah. “In 2016, I went out there with a deer-in-the-headlights look. I just wanted to do good and not make myself look  Continue Reading »

MANDAN, N.D. – With a $10 million purse, the National Finals Rodeo offers Ty Breuer a big chance to make some big money over 10 December nights. For him, there’s much more to ProRodeo’s grand finale. “The money’s a plus, but this is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid,” said Breuer,  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The last time Ross Hill fought a bull in Sin City, it was an anomaly for the Alabama man. Hill suffered a devastating knee injury at the BFO Roughy Cup in December 2016, and it kept him out of action for a year and a half as he recovered. Now, Hill returns  Continue Reading »

INGLIS, Manitoba – Orin Larsen knew something was wrong, but he didn’t know just how to fix it. A conversation with his wife, Alexa, and another with his former coach, Cody DeMers, made all the difference in the world. Now the 27-year-old bareback rider from Inglis will return to the National Finals Rodeo for the  Continue Reading »

ZWINGLE, Iowa – Tim and Sami O’Connell are more than husband and wife, more than parents to 9-month-old Hazen. They are business partners, and their business is rodeo. “She’s the business owner, and I’m just the employee of the month,” he said with a laugh. “She’s always been my rock, and she takes so much  Continue Reading »

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – The best part of Richmond Champion’s year came early. “The ring was burning a hole in my pocket,” he said of his near-New Year’s Day proposal to his fiancé, Paige Lawrence. “We were on a ski trip with her family in Kimberley, British Columbia, and I wanted to ask her dad  Continue Reading »

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. – Kyle Irwin had grand plans to finish out his 2018 season and be home in time for the birth of his daughter. He had to alter them in a big way. “When I first found out Randa was pregnant, I developed my plans to have the (National) Finals made by August and  Continue Reading »

COMANCHE, Okla. – Barrel racer Kylie Weast wasn’t born when her mother, Renee Ward, competed at the 1985 National Finals Rodeo. She was a seventh-grader the first of three years her older sister, Janae Ward Massey, qualified for ProRodeo’s grand championship in 2001 and a freshman in high school when Janae won the world title  Continue Reading »

RAMONA, Kan. – As a youngster, Tanner Brunner wanted to be a saddle bronc rider, testing his skills atop wild bucking horses. It wasn’t the right fit for the athletic cowboy who grew up near Ramona, a community of 179 people tucked inside the Kansas Flint Hills. “I’m a little too big for that,” said  Continue Reading »

SPRINGVILLE, Utah – Mason Clements takes the right approach to his everyday life: One can learn from every situation, good or bad. That’s come in handy for the 26-year-old cowboy from Springville, who will take every lesson learned from his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification a year ago into this year’s 10-day championship, which  Continue Reading »

BLANCHARD, Okla. – From the time he was little, Blake Mindemann knew he was going to be a steer wrestler. “I can remember watching my dad and his friends practicing,” said Mindemann, 33, of Blanchard. “There would be guys out there throwing steers down. I roped all the way through college, but I knew I  Continue Reading »

CLEMENTS, Calif. – Clayton Biglow had a great year riding bucking horses. Over the course of the 2018 regular season, he pocketed more than $135,000 and finished the campaign as the No. 3 bareback rider in the world standings. He returns to the National Finals Rodeo for the third straight year; that’s not to shabby  Continue Reading »

COMANCHE, Okla. – On the final day of ProRodeo’s regular season, Ryan Jarrett was 15 hours away from home in Kingman, Ariz. A tie-down roper from Comanche, he was trying to scrape together enough money to earn his 12th qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale that takes place Dec. 6-15 in  Continue Reading »

Bullfighters Only to add seating and activities during Las Vegas Championship   LAS VEGAS – In less than a month, Bullfighters Only will once again award a $50,000 bonus to the 2018 BFO world champion upon the completion of the company’s Las Vegas Championship – scheduled for Dec. 6-15 at the Tropicana Casino and Resort  Continue Reading »

DALLAS – In the last month, the rodeo community has come together strongly for J.R. Vezain and his wife, Shelby. Now Pete Carr Pro Rodeo and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association are calling on rodeo committees across the country to give to the Vezains. The PRCA has created a link to giving so committees and  Continue Reading »