Monthly Archives: December 2018

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Irwin knew after Saturday night he had some work to do. The Robertsdale, Ala., steer wrestler has proven that the last two nights of the National Finals Rodeo. On Monday night, Irwin wrestled his steer down in 3.9 seconds to finish in a tie for fourth in the fifth go-round. “I like that,” said Irwin, who now lives in Westville, Fla., with his wife, Randa, and their two children. “I went out of the average in the third round, so now we’ve got to get them check for check, round for round. I have never placed in the fifth round, so that’s two nights in a row that I did that since I first qualified for the finals. I like that. “I’ve just got to keep chopping away at them and placing again tomorrow night. I’m going to win a round before it’s over with. I came here to win money, and that is what we are going to do.” A round win is worth $26,231 each night, and it gives the winners in each event a chance to receive more hardware – a go-round buckle courtesy of Montana Silversmiths, which has the nightly buckle presentation at the South Point showroom stage. “I want to take my boy on stage with me,” he said of Tripp, who will turn 2 in January. “We are going to get there. He’s having a blast. He can’t say ‘back number,’ but he takes it to me every morning and wants me to put it on his PJs. He likes to day bulldog, and he will run over to my wife’s leg or my leg and pull and twist. “I will say bulldog, and he will run over there and get it. We are having a good time.” That’s important, because family time is special. Irwin was on the bubble to make the NFR at the end of the regular season, and he made it home just in time on the final day of the 2018 campaign to see the birth of his daughter, Ellie. Enjoying two children under the age of 2 is special, and over 10 days in Las Vegas, he can compete for the biggest money in the game and have his family with him. By now, though, Irwin is a veteran. This marks his fourth trip to Sin City for this championship, so he knows his way around town and the Thomas & Mack Center. So far through five nights, he has pocketed just shy of $53,000 and has moved up seven spots to seventh in the world standings with $128,275. “I feel like it has gotten a different feel to it than even it did last year,” said Irwin, who attended Western Oklahoma State College and Northwestern Oklahoma State University on rodeo scholarships. “It’s still prestigious, but I’m more comfortable and calm. It comes from experience. “I’m just trying to make the runs I know I can make and not get in a hurry and not get in my own way.”

Rutkowski, Hill come out on top in 1st day of BFO Preliminary Rounds LAS VEGAS – Weston Rutkowski is the bullfighters’ version of a Masked Avenger. After taking a shot during last week’s Roughy Cup to start the Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship, the Texan suffered three facial fractures. Instead of bowing out and sitting on the injured reserve, Rutkowski worked with the Fit N Wise Sports Medicine team to come up with a solution that will allow him to compete. On Monday afternoon, he tied for the highest score in Pool A’s first Flexfit Preliminary Round with fellow veteran Ross Hill. Both men scored 84 points, which will go a long way toward advancing to the Hooey Championship Round Saturday. “This is just adversity, but any kid that wants to be a world champion in anything knows it comes with a price,” said Rutkowski, the two-time reigning world champion from Haskell, Texas. “If you’re not willing to go past something that pushes you mentally and physically, you’ll never be able to be at the top of any sport. “This is a good start, but it’s one bull. I’ve got three more to fight to win that world title.” Monday featured Pool A in the opening day of the preliminaries. They will return to fight their second bulls on Wednesday. The nine men in Pool B will kick off their round at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The top two-fight aggregate scores will advance to the final day of the year. The others will move on to Friday’s Wild Card Round. “Today, I was 84 points, but I should have been 90,” said Hill of Muscle Shoals, Ala. “I let that bull get ahold of me and put some horns on me. However, I’m good to go and healthy. I’m ready for Wednesday. I’m not going to worry about where I am in the aggregate, because that could change with the guys in my round. It’s 100 percent talent at this bullfight. “It’s just me against the bull from here on out.” That’s the case in any man vs. beast competition, but it’s especially true in bullfighting. The men in the game can’t worry about the others; if they do, their focus isn’t on the animal where it should be, and that could be a dangerous situation in a hurry. “This is a surreal experience for me. Doing this for 15 years and being able to step into the arena with kids that are a whole different generation than I am,” Hill said. “It’s just amazing to be fighting bulls with 18 and 19-year-old kids.” This is just the next step in the race for the BFO world championship. Rutkowski is the only man in the game to have ever won that title, and he’s done it twice. He’s looking for the trifecta this week. “This sport is what Weston Rutkowski is,” he said. “I eat, sleep and breath this. I don’t take it lightly. I don’t like losing. So what if I have a few broken bones. If you’re willing to lay it all out there in the arena, there’s no way you’ll ever succeed.”

LAS VEGAS – Slowly but surely, bareback rider Richmond Champion is making his presence known at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. On Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Texan found his way toward the top of the nightly standings with an 88.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Good Time Charlie to finish second in the fifth go-round, adding $20,731 to his annual paycheck. “He’s so flashy,” Champion said of the powerful sorrel gelding. “He’s 16 years old; he’s just an old man that loves to buck. That’s the coolest thing. There’s nothing new to him. The fireworks go off in the opening, and he just hangs out there in the chute. Nothing is going to rattle him.” Monday’s meeting marked the third time in his career that Champion has matched moves with Good Time Charlie. The first came in 2011, when was competing on his PRCA permit and just 19 years old. “I was 89 points on him in Shreveport, La.,” said Champion, 25, of The Woodlands, Texas. I made the whistle, but right after the whistle, my hand came out, and he humped me ahead, took me for a flip, and I landed on my head and knocked myself out, so I don’t remember any of it.” He also had the sorrel at The American and found that to his liking. “There’s an opportunity when you see you’ve drawn him,” he said. “The week has been anti-climactic. To get on one where you know you’ve got a chance is nice. I was almost more calm because I didn’t need to do anything other than just make my ride on him. What he does is perfect.” Through five night of ProRodeo’s grand finale, Champion has earned $37,500. While that’s still a good paycheck, it’s a far cry from where he wants to be. Part of that comes in the scores, and half that comes from the animal. When he’s been matched with a solid bronc, he’s proven to be in the money. “I feel like I’m riding fine,” Champion said. “You find points in the summer where you draw these kinds of animals. You never hope to draw them here, because its under such a magnifying glass. Getting on horses and having bad days … that’s rodeo. I’m just trying to keep that mindset. Just because here doesn’t mean that rodeo stops. You just have to deal with it.” While he didn’t have the biggest score of the night, Champion was excited to be on the back of the bucking chutes to watch Clayton Biglow’s record-breaking 93-point ride on the two-time horse of the year, Virgil. There is a kinship that happens among bareback riders, and it shows in everything they do. “Clayton is bad to the bone,” Champion said. “You have that around you, and it’s cool. He just set the arena record, and he was just sitting there quiet hanging out. It was just another day. That’s why this sport is so special. I’m grateful that I’m in a sort that is like that. “The engines are hot now. We just keep rolling. We’re exactly have way through the NFR. There is so much time to really make an impact.”

LAS VEGAS – The facts were simple: Ryan Jarrett was not having any good fortune for the first four rounds of the National Finals Rodeo. Lady Luck found him Monday, and it finally paid off. He roped and tied his calf in 7.5 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for first place in the fifth round. That was worth $20,872. “The biggest change was my mindset more than anything,” said Jarrett, a 12-time NFR qualifier from Comanche, Okla., and the 2005 all-around world champion. “I felt like I was prepared for the first couple of rounds, but I couldn’t get the ball rolling.” He suffered three straight no-times to kick off ProRodeo’s grand finale. He finally secured qualified time on Sunday night but was way out of the money. Going the first four rounds without a paycheck was tough on the Georgia-born cowboy. “I drew one or two calves that I should have won money on an didn’t,” he said. “The calf I ran (Monday), they actually two-looped him and got no money. I just felt like the calf was a chance though.” Having a good draw is important. While the pens are set up to be as even as possible, every animal is different; without being matched with a decent calf via the random draw for half the first four rounds, Jarrett’s job was different. Still, he said, there were missed opportunities. “I did what I know how to do: I roped him and tied him down and got some of the prize money,” Jarrett said. “It gets a little frustrating, just thinking, ‘Do I really deserve to be here?’ and ‘Can I rope with these guys?’ Obviously, all of us are in the top 15 in the world or we wouldn’t be here.” So, he worked through the issues and figured out the hitch in his step in time to cash in. Now he’ll try to do more of that over the final five nights of this year’s NFR. “You get some things weighing on your shoulders when you’re not having luck,” he said. “When one thing doesn’t go right, 10 others follow suit. You got to get headed in the right direction. “Hopefully I can still come out of here with a good chunk of change to go back home with.”

LAS VEGAS – The fifth and 10th rounds of the National Finals Rodeo feature the most electric and exciting bucking animals in the sport. It showed Monday night, and Orin Larsen of Inglis, Manitoba, was in the middle of a world-championship prize fight. He tested his talents with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Painted River, and the two danced across the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 87 points. Despite that high score, which would win almost any rodeo, Larsen’s score was sixth best. That means it took 87 or higher to earn money on the fifth night of this year’s championship. For his part, the Manitoba cowboy pocketed $4,231 and moved his NFR earnings to $34,962. “They don’t call it the TV pen for nothing,” he said. “Everyone dreams of getting on these horses. There is not a horse you’d say no to. To just come here and make it this far is a huge blessing.” On a night when the bareback riding arena record was broken, Larsen had his hands full with Painted River, a second-generation bucking horse whose sire and dam both bucked at the NFR. That’s exactly what he needed, since it marked just the second time in five nights that he has earned a paycheck in Vegas. “It’s always fun here, whether you’re hurt or healthy,” said Larsen, who suffered a knee injury late in the regular season and is still hampered by it. “Pain wise, it feels as well as it has been, but it’s really big, puffy and swollen.” That’s where members of the Justin Sportsmedicine Team have come in. He spends four hours a day getting different levels of treatment to make sure he can ride each night. “I can’t say enough about the sports med,” he said. “They have done amazing. They spend a ton of time with me, and I’m very fortunate. The sports med is a war zone. It is very busy right now.” That’s a good thing, especially for Larsen, who lives with his wife, Alexa, in Gering, Neb. Now he’s taking the momentum he gained Monday and pushing it toward the final five nights of the ProRodeo season. “My confidence after the second night wasn’t really there,” Larsen said, referring to a big-time buckoff Friday night. “I’m pretty excited for where things area going to go for the next five rounds.”

LAS VEGAS – The new National Finals Rodeo arena record in bareback riding belongs to a 22-year-old Californian. Clayton Biglow of Clements matched every bucking motion C5 Rodeo’s Virgil threw at him, countering with solid spur strokes for eight seconds during Monday’s fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo. The result was 93 points, a point and a half better than the old marking set five times by four cowboys. “That horse was trying his butt off every time his feet hit the ground,” Clements said of the powerful gray. “I knew I had a shot at the round, and the arena record was dang sure in the back of my mind. I knew if he had his trip and I had my good trip, anything is possible on him.” Virgil is the two-time reigning PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year, and he showed why tonight. Every bareback rider in this field dreams of having the chance to ride him for the biggest bucks in the game. That came true for Biglow, who pocketed $26,23. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “Honestly, it was like a blur, but then again, I remember feeling it the entire time. I just remember him dropping out of the sky and thinking, ‘You better put ’em back in his neck before you hit the ground, because you’re going to be in the dirt, Cowboy.’ “I was pure pumped up. I knew Virgil was out in this round and I thought, ‘I hope to God I get him.’ ” His prayer was answered, but it was also a premonition made by his girlfriend, who had told him before the NFR that he was going to have the opportunity to ride him in Las Vegas. “In the back of my mind, I was hoping it would come true,” Biglow said. “I saw the draw, and I was standing up above the grandstands with them. I just turned the phone, and my dad and her were standing there. They both just started whooping and hollering. It was just a cool feeling.” So was spurring the massive mount. Clements has proven himself to be one of the best at it in the game today, having earned three straight qualifications to the NFR. Over his first five nights in Sin City, he has earned $57,385 and has pushed his 2018 income to $192,551. Monday was a bit of redemption for Biglow, who failed to earn a qualified on another rank horse, Beutler & Son’s Killer Bee, during Saturday’s third performance. “I had some anger after that third round, getting bucked off Killer Bee,” he said. “I wanted to get that one rode; I wanted to get all of them rode. After the third round, I was really bummed out. “I told myself that it’s time to win some money and win as much as I possibly can. Then in the fourth round, (a 77-point ride) really bugged me, so when I saw I had Virgil tonight, I thought, ‘I’m turning this around right now.’ ” He did and in record-setting fashion.

Bareback riding: 1. Clayton Biglow, 93 points on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil, $26,231; 2. Richmond Champion, 88.5, $20,731; 3. (tie) Bill Tutor and Steven Dent, 88, $13,327 each; 5. Mason Clements, 87.5, $6,770; 6. Orin Larsen, 87, $4,231. Steer wrestling: 1. Will Lummus, 3.3 seconds, $26,231; 2. Tyler Waguespack, 3.5, $20,731; 3. Bridger Chambers, 3.7, $15,654; 4. (tie) Riley Duvall and Kyle Irwin, 3.9, $8,885 each; 6. Hunter Cure, 4.0, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 3.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 3.9, $20,731; 3. (tie) Dustin Egusquiza/Kory Koontz and Erich Rogers/Clint Summers, 4.0, $13,327 each; 5. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4.1, $6,769; 6. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 5.2, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Wade Sundell, 92 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman, $26,231; 2. Ryder Wright, 91, $20,731; 3. Rusty Wright, 90.5, $15,654; 4. Zeke Thurston, 90, $11,000; 5. Clay Elliott, 89.5, $6,769; 6. Chase Brooks, 88, $4.231. Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Ryan Jarrett, Trevor Brazile and Reese Riemer, 7.5 seconds, $20,871 each; 4. Matt Shiozawa, 8.1, $11,000; 5. Caleb Smidt, 8.5, $6,769; 6. Ryle Smith, 8.9, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Ivy Conrado, 13.49 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Hailey Kinsel and Kelly Bruner, 13.59, $18,193 each; 4. Taci Bettis, 13.65, $11,000; 5. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 13.81, $6,770; 6. Jessica Routier, 13.85, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Eli Vastbinder, 91 points on Beutler & Son’s Record Rack’s Shootin’ Stars, $27,077; 2. Garrett Tribble, 89.5, $21,577; 3. (tie) Jeff Askey and Koby Radley, 87, $14,173 each; 5. Sage Kimzey, 78, $7,615; no other qualified rides.

LAS VEGAS – Kyle Irwin wasn’t a big fan of the steer he had drawn for Sunday’s fourth round of the National Finals Rodeo. That didn’t stop him from taking care of business. Irwin stopped the clock in 3.7 seconds to finish as the runner-up in the round, pocketing $20,731 in the process. He has moved up six spots to eighth in the steer wrestling world standings. “That wasn’t the steer with the most action, but we are professionals at a professional level,” said Irwin, 28, a four-time NFR qualifier from Robertsdale, Ala. “I slowed down and made a good, clean run. We’ve got to remember that, to not be in a hurry and not worry about what everybody else is doing. “You can get caught up in that, but you can take steers you don’t like and make good runs on them if you do it right. Last night was a good reminder.” It was a nice recovery from his Round 3 no-time. After placing in the opening round Thursday, he made a solid run Friday. Saturday, though, provided a bit of a hiccup. “It was good to rebound from the night before,” he said. “It was good to put some money in my pocket and build on the momentum. I’d just had two good rounds, then I struggled, but that’s the first time I’ve ever placed in the fourth round. His Sunday night run pushed his NFR earnings to more than $44,000 and scooted his season money to nearly $120,000. That’s a nice start, and he knows he has six more nights to wrestle more Las Vegas cash. “That money is where we want to be,” said Irwin, who attended Western Oklahoma State College and the Northwestern Oklahoma State University on rodeo scholarships. “I would love to win second the rest of the time. I don’t want to sound greedy, but I’m going to get greedy and win as much as I can while I’m out here. “When we get to Vegas, we’re pretty much broke even, and this is where we make our money. Right now, I’m about $34,000 in the green, and I’d like to be $134,000 in the green by the time we’re done, so we’ve got a long way to go.” Things are considerably different for him than they were four Decembers ago, when he arrived in Sin City for the first time. He’s now a married man and a father to Tripp, who will turn 2 in mid-January, and Ellie, who I just 2 months old. Thankfully his wife, Randa, and both mothers have been big helps during their first week in Las Vegas. “This is a lot different than the first trip,” he said. “My mother just went home, and my mother-in-law is staying all 10 rounds. They’ve been a tremendous help for Randa and me, especially Randa. Having two kids under 2 in Vegas is a handful. “One of the differences I really like is like the night I missed the steer. Randa sent me a video of Tripp in the stands, and he was cheering for me, even though I missed my steer. When I got back to the room, he was wearing his back number. … It keeps me grounded, and it reminds me of home. Nothing’s changed, and that’s the way I like it.” It doesn’t hurt that he’s riding Scooter, the reigning two-time Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year that he and fellow bulldogger Tyler Pearson own together. “He’s like one of the guys,” Irwin said of the talented sorrel gelding. “He’ll have fun. Last night he and one of the other horses we brought were nipping at each other and playing with each other. When we start to saddle him, he gets in a zone. He gets relaxed. When we get on him and start warming him up, you can feel him get stronger, and you can hear him breathing. It sounds like a freight train. “He cuts up and has a good time, but when it’s time to get serious, he does.” Las Vegas is the perfect place to do both for cowboys and their horses.

LAS VEGAS – Some people may have thought Blake Mindemann’s chances at the National Finals Rodeo faltered Saturday night when he failed to finish a qualifying run. Fortunately for the Blanchard, Okla., cowboy, those thoughts never entered his mind. “We had a little hiccup last night, but I just took 20 minutes; after that, I moved on,” said Mindemann, a first-time NFR qualifier who grew up in Apache, Okla. “There’s too much money to be worrying about the night before. We just go to the next round and run at that money.” That’s the perfect philosophy in Las Vegas, especially considering the NFR’s $10 million purse. On Sunday night, he threw his steer down in 3.8 seconds to finish the fourth round in a tie for third place. For that, he pocketed $13,327 and pushed his NFR earnings to $28,827. “Blake Knowles ran that steer the first round and was 3.8 on him as well,” he said. “He was just a good, honest steer, and Blake made a good run on him. I knew he was a good chance coming in.” Because of his third-round no-time, Mindemann is 13th in the average race, which pays a bonus to the top scores on a 10-round aggregate. The chances of him winning the prestigious title race are slim, but the Oklahoma cowboy still likes his chances to move up in the aggregate standings. “There are about nine no-times, and some guys have been long,” Mindemann said, referring to slower times. “It’s a long 10 days, so I’m just going to keep knocking them down and see what happens. Maybe I can still slip in there for some of it.” He knows he has the right partners to help get him there. He’s traveled this season with two-time world champion Hunter Cure of Holliday, Texas, and the two keep each other excited for each day’s festivities. The other partners are his trusty horse, Django, and his hazer, Matt Reeves, an NFR veteran. “Hunter is the main one, the one who keeps me doing what I need to do,” he said. “We keep each other pumped up and positive and move forward each day to get the money.” Django and Reeves keep putting the steers in position for Mindemann to make the runs necessary. “The first two nights, Django was a little behind,” said Mindeamnn, who has pushed his season earnings to $106,919. “Tonight, he was outstanding. The hazing horses is one Matt calls Kirk, and it is his first time here. The horse is doing good. He’s nice, and that’s why we’ve got him out here.”

LAS VEGAS – Two-time reigning world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell knows there’s a giant target on his back and 14 men with their crosshairs pointed in his direction. He’s OK with it, too. “Oh, I feel pressure,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa. “I knew there was going to be more pressure this year with me not having the lead I had. You look through that list of bareback riders and tell me who you wouldn’t feel pressure from. He smiled. “I feel good about it. It’s just part of the game,” he said. O’Connell matched moves with Burch Rodeo’s Pip Squeak for 84.5 points on Sunday night to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place in the fourth round. He pocketed $3,667, which is important. The No. 2 man in the standings, Caleb Bennett, won the round and made a move on O’Connell for the No. 1 spot in the world standings. Still, the Iowan kept a distance between him and the runner-up. Prior to this year’s championship, O’Connell held a $15,000 lead. Through four nights of ProRodeo’s grand championship, he still owns a $13,000 advantage. Both men have earned more than $200,000 for the year, with O’Connell’s pushed to $227,147. “I’ve had a great NFR so far,” he said, noting that he has earned just shy of $40,000 so far. “I’m just used to placing more often than two out of four nights. I felt good about my draw tonight, and I knew I had an outside shot at (winning) the round. I took advantage of what I had and caught a hole in the payout. “I’m just trying to hunt down those guys in the average now. I put myself in a hole the first two nights by not placing. I’m the chaser in the average, and they’re the chasers trying to catch me for the world title. Let’s get it on; we have six more nights to go.” That mentality is what’s kept him as the top man for much of the past three seasons – he has earned more than $900,000 in that time alone. He’ll have a chance to add to it during Monday night’s fifth round, which has been referred to as the TV pen of bucking animals because of the electric style in which they buck. The fifth- and 10th-round pen of horses allows for the cowboys to produce high scores. “You’re going to see some fireworks,” O’Connell said. “That is an amazing list of horses. It’s going to be a tough round tomorrow. I can guarantee it’s going to be just like last year when it takes an 87 just to place in the top six. “Those are great horses, and the guys are riding really good. It’s going to be really fun to watch.” So is Tim O’Connell.

LAS VEGAS – His right hand and arm are sore, but Mason Clements isn’t letting that hamper him at the National Finals Rodeo. A night after the Northcott Macza horse Spilled Perfume spilled Clements and had him hang off on the side of the animal for several seconds, he rebounded with an 84.5-point ride during Sunday’s fourth go-round to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. “I had to go home and work on my get-off,” he said with a laugh. “You don’t train for those scenarios, but the training, the preparation, the grit and the fight that you need to ride is implemented when those scenarios do happen.” On Sunday night, Clements spurred Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Cactus Black to pocket $3,667. That pushed his NFR earnings to $43,282 and his season total to $142.818. “I knew that was a really nice horse, but I’ve never been on him,” Clements said. “I had a couple guys tell me he was a really nice horse and say the he was going to leave like a rocket and jump back into the chutes. “I was lucky to draw that one and get my feet back under me, get my timing ready for tomorrow and the rest of the week.” The hang-up happened after Spilled Perfume overpowered the Springville, Utah, cowboy and dumped him onto the left side of the horse with his right hand still stuck into the tight rigging. All the horse’s power was twisting and turning on that right hand and arm, but arena personnel eventually got the animal slowed down for Clements to slide to the other side enough to free his hand. The result was a swollen hand that is being treated by the Justin Sportsmedicine Team that’s working the championship. “Nothing has changed in my mind,” Clements said. “Obviously things are a little more sore now, but my mindset hasn’t change; it’s still going for the win. You step on the back of the chutes and you put your rigging back on your horse. You’ll have soreness; you’ll have injuries. “If they’re not going to be life-threatening or career-threatening, things need to be blocked out. This is rodeo, and it’s a tough business. Cowboy up.”

Twenty three-time world champion Trevor Brazile posted the fastest tie-down roping run of this year’s NFR. His 6.8-second run helped guide him to the Round 4 victory. Bareback riding: 1. Caleb Bennett, 86.5 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Just Peachy, $26, 231; 2. Kaycee Feild, 86, $20,731; 3. (tie) Tilden Hooper and Shane O’Connell, 85.5, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Jake Brown, Mason Clements and Tim O’Connell, 84.5, $3,667 each. Steer wrestling: 1. Curtis Cassidy, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. Kyle Irwin, 3.7, $20,731; 3. (tie) Blake Mindemann and Blake Knowles, 3.8, $13,327 each; 5. Scott Guenther, 4.1, $6,770; 6. Ty Erickson, 4.2, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins, 4.1 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Luke Brown/Lake Long and Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4.2, $18,193 each; 4. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueria and Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.3, $8,885 each; 6. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 4.8, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Rusty Wright, 87 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Meat Cracker, $26,231; 2. Jacobs Crawley, 86.5, $20,731; 3. Ryder Wright, 85, $15,654; 4. CoBurn Bradshaw, 80.5, $11,000; 5. Cort Scheer, 78.5, $6,770; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: 1. Trevor Brazile, 6.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. Ryle Smith, 7.1, $20,731; 3. Matt Shiozawa, 7.3, $15,654; 4. Shane Hanchey, 7.4, $11,000; 5. Sterling Smith, 7.6, $6,770; 6. Jake Pratt, 7.7, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Jessie Telford, 13.49 seconds, $26,231; 2. Jessica Routier, 13.58, $20,731; 3. Amberleigh Moore, 13.64, $15,654; 4. Kelly Bruner, 13.71, $11,000; 5. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi,13.74, $6,770; 6. Carman Pozzobon, 13.76, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. 1. Garrett Tribble, 87 points on Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Black Hammer, $33,565; 2. Jeff Askey, 84, $28,065; 3. Parker Breding, 81, $22,988; No other qualified rides.

Team roping: 1. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins, 4.1 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Luke Brown/Lake Long and Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4.2, $18,193 each; 4. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueria and Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.3, $8,885 each; 6. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 4.8, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Rusty Wright, 87 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Meat Cracker, $26,231; 2. Jacobs Crawley, 86.5, $20,731; 3. Ryder Wright, 85, $15,654; 4. CoBurn Bradshaw, 80.5, $11,000; 5. Cort Scheer, 78.5, $6,770; no other qualified rides.

Bareback riding: 1. Caleb Bennett, 86.5 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Just Peachy, $26, 231; 2. Kaycee Feild, 86, $20,731; 3. (tie) Tilden Hooper and Shane O’Connell, 85.5, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Jake Brown, Mason Clements and Tim O’Connell, 84.5, $3,667 each. Steer wrestling: 1. Curtis Cassidy, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. Kyle Irwin, 3.7, $20,731; 3. (tie) Blake Mindemann and Blake Knowles, 3.8, $13,327 each; 5. Scott Guenther, 4.1, $6,770; 6. Ty Erickson, 4.2, $4,231.

LAS VEGAS – Most guys might have a bad attitude if Lady Luck hadn’t found them yet in Sin City. Richmond Champion isn’t most guys. He opened Thursday’s first round by getting on a horse that didn’t have its day, so he was awarded a re-ride. His second horse wasn’t much better, so he failed to place. During the second round, he finished just out of the average. “I’ve been on more horses than anybody, but it’s been anticlimactic,” said Champion, 25, of The Woodlands, Texas. “This is Vegas, so you never know what you’re going to get. You come here and do your job, and you can’t really force it.” He didn’t have to during Saturday’s third round, thanks in large part to his equine partner, a powerful bay stallion that is the perfect fit for the “eliminator” round of bareback horses. “I found out last night that I had Special Delivery,” he said. “That is one off the bucket list for me. I’ve never had that horse, but I’ve been in the same pen with him a million times, so I was excited. Everyone talks about how big he is. You literally sit down on him, and it’s like a table between your legs. He is such a beast, but that’s what you crave.” The two matched moves in the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 83.5 points, and Champion finished fifth in the go-round. His first NFR paycheck of 2018 was worth $6,769. “He didn’t have quite the day I was hoping for, but we broke the ice,” Champion said. “To do that on E-pen night is a good thing.” Every dollar counts in ProRodeo. Not only does it help cover bills and such, but each dollar is a championship point; the contestants in each event who earn the most money at the end of the season will be crowned world champions. Champion understands the ins and outs of ProRodeo’s marquee event. Now in his fourth NFR appearance, he’s seen the good and the bad that comes with playing for the biggest pay in the game. “I always look at the finals as kind of a building experience,” he said. “This is where I strive to have that thought in mind. Every day is just a stepping stone. Don’t get overwhelmed, and don’t freak out if things go bad. “There’s a lot of time left.” Yes, there is. He has seven more nights to cash in, but he finds great comfort in the fact that he found the pay window in the pen of bucking horses that are best known for being the hardest to ride. “That is where the glory is,” Champion said. “It is in these nights where you get on the baddest of the bad on the biggest stage of rodeo. It always feels good whether you are on the pay sheet or got a score. No one comes in the locker room thinking, ‘I’m going to beat you.’ Everyone is thinking about beating that animal. “We feed off each other. If you can knock that one down, then I can knock this one down. That’s what it’s all about.”

LAS VEGAS – When it comes to taking care of Hell on the Red, Kylie Weast is not pulling any punches. She has an army of people at the ready, because Reddy deserves it. From having the right blanket to keeping the sorrel mare’s legs wrapped right, every minute detail is covered. It’s paying off. Weast and Reddy have found the pay window at the National Finals Rodeo during the first three rounds and have earned $36,654 in the process – $6,769 of came during Saturday’s third round, when the tandem rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 13.70 seconds. That marked the second straight night the two finished with the exact same time, which is good. “We’re making the same run every time, and we’re looking at this like it’s a different rodeo every night,” said Weast of Comanche, Okla. “I have a game plan every time I go down that alleyway, and she’s being responsive to my game plan.” What’s most interesting is that Reddy is just 6 years old, but she has solid genetics. That’s being proven inside the Thomas & Mack Center, home to ProRodeo’s grand finale. This is a rough place to play the game, with fast turns and tight corners in an arena roughly the size of a hockey rink. Five of the 15 cowgirls in the mix have failed to finish among the top six through three nights, and Weast is one of just two ladies who have earned money in each round. “I feel confident in my mare,” she said. “She’s still sound, and I feel she’s feeling well. We’ve just got to do everything during the day to prep for each night. Right now, everything is working, and we’re probably not going to change it.” Her mother, Renee Ward, rides Reddy when Weast can’t. Every chance they get, they try to make sure the red mare is in the right frame of mind when it’s time to make a run. “I try to get out there every day, but like (Sunday), Mom is actually riding and tuning,” Weast said. “We need to make little adjustments.” She trusts her family and their expertise. The family operates Youree Barrel Horses, which raises and trains horses for these types of races. Her mother qualified for the NFR in 1985, the first year the championship took place in Las Vegas. Her grandmother qualified multiple times, and her sister, Janae Ward Massey, was a three-time qualifier in the early 2000s and won the world title in 2003. They know the game as well as any person in this 15-lady field. “It’s wonderful,” she said. “I’m so excited that all my family is going to be here (Sunday). It’s put a little pep in my step.” What also has her excited is what they see in every run they’ve made in Sin City. “We don’t really know how fast we’re going, but we know when we make a good run,” Weast said. “(Saturday) night, I had a little bobble that probably cost me a 10th of a second. I knew exactly where I lost my time.” Each hundredth of a second matters. Had she improved by a 10th of a second, she would have finished second instead of fifth, the difference of nearly $14,000. That can change in a heartbeat, especially with the preparation Weast and her family are putting in on a daily basis.

LAS VEGAS – After entering the National Finals Rodeo with a banged up left knee, Orin Larsen needed all the luck Las Vegas could give him. That didn’t happen over the first two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, but he more than made up for it Saturday night. He rode Calgary Stampede’s Trail Dust for 87 points to finish as the runner-up in the third go-round, pocketing $20,731 in the process. It is his first paycheck of his year’s championship. “This is the third time I’ve been on that horse this year,” said Larsen, 27, of Inglis, Manitoba. “That horse is pretty reliable. He just bucks down the chutes. I’ve won a bunch of money on him, and I was happy to have him. No matter how my physical appearance may look, it was pretty nice to have that one.” With his knee wrapped in ice and a significant limp, Larsen was all smiles as he walked out of the arena. He conquered a beast in the toughest pen of bareback horses in the world – the third round features the “eliminator” horses, known for being the toughest to ride. Special Delivery is definitely that. It also provides grand momentum for the cowboy now living in Gering, Neb., with his wife, Alexa. He also has seven more nights to earn as much Las Vegas cash as possible. “I wanted it sooner than later, but I’m pretty greedy,” he said with a smile. “I wanted the first round, and I wanted last night, too. At this point, I know I’m out of the average, so I’ll take whatever I can get.” The average is based on the best score through 10 rides. The top eight cumulative scores when the NFR concludes next week will earn bonus money. After being bucked off Friday night during the second round, Larsen has put himself on the outside looking in regarding an average payout. That means he will need to earn money through the go-rounds. By doing so on Saturday night, Larsen pushed his season total to $161,386. He knows the rest of his 2018 season will be done with pain in his knee, but he has grown accustomed to it in his career – two years ago, he placed in the final five rounds despite having a serious rib injury. “It’s going to be really sweet when I don’t have to ride with pain at the NFR,” he said. “Hopefully that will be next year. The Justin Sportsmedicine Team has done an awesome job with me. I use them as much as I can.” The tape may keep his knee in place, but it’s that focused demeanor that will pave the way for more money to come his way over the next seven rounds.

LAS VEGAS – There is a much different atmosphere to this desert community come early December. It’s not the chill in the air, though it has arrived. Las Vegas becomes a cowboy town for 10 days, whether it’s the dealers wearing boots and hats or the Western-related shops that fill convention centers across town. The National Finals Rodeo brings a different taste to Sin City. Tanner Brunner is taking it all in. Finally, on Saturday night, he cashed in for the first time at the National Finals Rodeo by stopping the clock in 4.6 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place in the third go-round. “This has been great,” said Brunner, 25, of Ramona, Kan. “I’m just trying to enjoy everything and taking it one day at a time, one steer at a time and just having fun the whole time. “It’s always good to get some money going, but there are seven head left. It’s a marathon and not a sprint.” By finishing among the best on the third night of this year’s championship, Brunner pocketed $3,667 and pushed his season earnings to $98,193. More importantly, he’s got some momentum heading into the final seven nights of the rodeo season. He’s got a little help in the form of Miss Kitty, a talented mare owned by fellow bulldogger Sean Mulligan, who also serves as Brunner’s hazer – he helps keep the steer lined out straight to give Brunner the best opportunity possible. “She’s just outstanding,” Brunner said. “She is so sharp and is really good in this building. We were maybe a tick too aggressive the first two (rounds), but she worked great tonight, and the hazing horse has been outstanding as well.” That means a great deal in rodeo. The animals are always half of the equation. Brunner can’t make his move to wrestle the steer to the ground without having the horse to get him there. While there is great pomp and circumstance that comes with the NFR, there is also a different feel inside the arena. It’s pressure-packed and quick, and the 10 December nights can evaporate quickly. “I just have to keep trusting in my starts,” he said. “Don’t back down. It’s a 10-head average, so just keep going at it.” Every night, the NFR’s grand entry introduces every state from which a qualifier lives, so Brunner rides behind the Kansas flag. Born and bred in the Flint Hills and a Kansas State University graduate, he smiles with pride every night as he celebrates before a crowd of about 17,000 people. “It’s a sense of pride that I can represent my home state,” Brunner said. “This is how we make a living, and this is where it all happens. It’s an unbelievable feeling being out here, being able to do this at the pinnacle of your event. “I look forward to hopefully coming back again.”

LAS VEGAS – After two blah rounds to open the 2018 National Finals Rodeo, Tim O’Connell made a mental note that his run for a third-straight world championship would start during Saturday’s third go-round. It was a good choice. O’Connell rode one of the rankest horses in ProRodeo, Powder River Rodeo’s Craig at Midnight, for 88.5 points to win the round and earn his first paycheck of this year’s NFR. Of course, it’s the biggest one can get, $26,231 and pushed his season earnings to $223,481. He now owns a lead of $35,553 over the No. 2 man, Utahan Caleb Bennett. “I’m just really glad that the NFR started, and it only has eight rounds this year,” O’Connell said with a laugh. “I told my wife last night that I really love these rounds. In my training, we work on these rounds, we live in these rounds.” The third and eight rounds in Las Vegas feature the “eliminator” pen of bareback horses, meaning they are the toughest to ride in ProRodeo. Of the 15 men who tried Saturday night, only 11 had qualified rides. That’s tough to do in bareback riding, where a rider’s hand is virtually locked onto the back of a bucking horse. Craig at Midnight gave O’Connell a big test. The big, gray gelding is the 2016 Bareback Horse of the Year, and he proved again Saturday why he is so tough to ride. “He is going to hit you,” said O’Connell, the two-time and reigning world champion from Zwingle, Iowa. “He is going to come at you. He is going to change it up on you. If he feels you getting tapped off, he is going to change the ballgame on you, and he did. He hit me so hard on the back of the head on the fifth jump that I think my neck roll came over the top of my head. He’s just going to do whatever it takes to get you on the ground. You have to be willing to fight.” O’Connell always is, but that’s a mentality that comes with competing in the toughest event on a cowboy’s body. He shares that psychological philosophy with others in the bareback riders locker room. “There are 14 other guys that have no backup in them,” he said. “Every night, you’ve got 14 of the other best guys who have put in the work, have put in the training, and they’re breathing down your neck. The first two nights, I felt like this thing was starting to get away from me. “I decided to call my coach, and we made a rigging change. We just told each other that the NFR was eight rounds this year.” And he rode possibly the biggest horse at this year’s NFR to help get the NFR monkey off his back. A year ago, O’Connell rodeo Craig at Midnight for 85 points while also battling the flu. “I love that animal,” O’Connell said. “He is so big and so strong. He is going to test you. He solidifies all the work you put in is worth it. “I was really excited when I saw my name next to him (on the draw sheet), and it sent a shiver down my spine at the same time. That’s what this pen of horses does. You can look up and down that list, and if you’re comfortable with any of the horses next to your name, I’m not sure if you should be a bareback rider.”

Isaac Diaz became the second saddle bronc rider in two nights to ride for at least 90 points. He won Saturday’s third round. Team roping: 1. Derrick Begay/Cory Petska, 4.0 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates and Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.1, $18,193 each; 4. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 4.2, $11,000; 5. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, Clay Smith/Paul Eaves and Luke Brown/Jake Long, 4.3, $3,667 each. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Isaac Diaz, 90 points on Sutton Rodeo’s South Point, $26,231; 2. Jake Wright, 89.5, $20,731; 3. Chase Brooks, 87, $15,654; 4. CoBurn Bradshaw, 86.5, $11,000; 5. (tie) Zeke Thurston and Wade Sundell, 86, $5,500 each. Tie-down roping: 1. Marty Yates, 7.0 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Sterling Smith, Rhen Richard and Jake Pratt, 7.3, $15,795 each; 5. Ryle Smith, 7.5, $6,770; 6. Caleb Smith, 7.9, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Amberleigh Moore, 13.59 seconds, $26,231; 2. Jessica Routier, 13.62, $20,731; 3. (tie) Stevi Hillman and Hailey Kinsel, 13.67, $13,327 each; 5. Kylie Weast, 3.7, $6,770; 6. Ivy Conrado, 13.74, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. (tie) Sage Kimzey, on Rosser Rodeo’s Custer, and Tyler Bingham, on Salt River Rodeo’s Rocky Road, 88 points, $23,481 each; 3. Dustin Boquet, 84.5, $15,654; 4. Jeff Askey, 83.5, $11,000; 5. Joe Frost, 83, $6,769; 6. Trey Benton III, 81.5, $4,231.

1. Scott Guenthner, 3.3 seconds, $26,231; 2. Ty Erickson, 4.0, $20,731; 3. Curtis Cassidy, 4.1, $15,654; 4. Hunter Cure, 4.3, $11,000; 5. (tie) Tanner Brunner, Will Lummus and Nick Guy, 4.6, $3,667 each.

1. Tim O’Connell, 88.5 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Craig at Midnight, $26,231; 2. Orin Larsen, 87, $20,731; 3. Steven Dent, 85.5, $15,654; 4. Bill Tutor, 85, $11,000; 5. Richmond Champion, 83.5, $6,770; 6. Kaycee Feild, 81.5, $4,231.

LAS VEGAS – Reddy was ready when it came to the second go-round of the National Finals Rodeo, and Kylie Weast reaped the rewards. Weast, a first-time NFR qualifier from Comanche, Okla., pushed her season earnings to $131,600 on Friday night by rounding the cloverleaf pattern inside the Thomas & Mack Center in 13.70 seconds to finish third on the second night of ProRodeo’s grand finale. That was worth $15,654 and increased her Vegas cash to a little less than $30,000. That’s not too bad for just two days of work. It marked the second straight night the Prairie Circuit champion has placed and increased her opportunities for more cash over the next eight nights in Sin City. While this is Weast’s first venture to the Nevada desert to compete for the world title, she has some genetic experience. Her grandmother, Florence Youree, was a multiple-time qualifier who was part of the first NFR field in 1959; her mother, Renee Ward, was part of the field in 1985, the first year the championship took place in Las Vegas; and her sister, Janae Ward Massey, was a three-time qualifier in the early 2000s who won the world title in 2003. But the bloodlines don’t stop there. Weast is also carrying on another family tradition with Reddy, which has the registered name Hell on the Red. The 6-year-old sorrel mare is sired by JL Dash Ta Heaven, which carried Benette Little to the NFR in 2012. That stallion’s dam is Dynas Plain Special, Reddy’s grandmother, was the leading force behind Massey’s gold buckle 15 seasons ago. All three talented sorrels helped their jockeys to the NFR pay window. That season, Massey left Las Vegas with just shy of $112,000 in earnings, and that was well before the championship featured a $10 million purse. The key for Weast, as was the case 60 years ago when her grandmother rounded the finale’s cloverleaf pattern, is making sure Reddy is a physically prepared. But the jockey also needs her time to focus and prepare on the task at hand. The Youree clan operates a business centered around raising and training barrel racing horses. Having a solid run through this 10 days in the City of Lights is good for business, but there’s more to it. Weast has ridden all season to earn the right to compete at the NFR, and this is the icing on the cake. Each dollar not only helps make ends meet, but dollars equal championship points; the barrel racer who finishes the campaign with the most money won will earn the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. The family already has one in its trophy case; another would fit in quite nicely.

LAS VEGAS – Mason Clements looked at a green sheet of paper that listed his winnings through two nights at the National Finals Rodeo. “It’s not a bad paycheck so far, but it’s hard for me to look at the dollar amount, especially right now for what my goals are and what I want to accomplish,” said Clements, a bareback rider from Springville, Utah. “Yes, it’s very awesome. I’m still placing, but I’ve got 50-yard targets, and I’ve got to keep knocking them down. “I need to just keep doing my job, keep showing up ready to ride and have some fun.” He certainly did that Friday night, matching moves with Calgary Stampede’s Yippee Kibitz for 85.5 points to finish in a tie for fourth place on the second night of ProRodeo’s grand finale. He pocketed $8,885 and pushed his NFR earnings to $39,615 – not too bad for two days’ work. He entered the NFR 10th in the world standings, moved up to sixth after Thursday’s second-place ride, then fell to seventh Friday. Still, he pushed his annual earnings to more than $139,000 and has nine more nights remaining. “This really feels great,” he said of his NFR experience. “It was cool training this year. It was a bit more relaxed; I still accomplished what I wanted to accomplished. I came to the NFR ready to take it. Bareback riding is a physical sport. You take hits the whole eight seconds, whether it’s a 90-point rodeo or a 60-point ride. “My goal was to be prepared for that, but to relax and have a little bit more fun with the training.” His preparation is paying off. He has made more money than any other bareback rider through the first two rounds. It helped that he knew a little bit about his horse, which he rode to a high-80s score in Ellensburg, Wash., two years ago. “I was the runner-up in Ellensburg, and this trip with him was just as similar to the first time,” Clements said. “He has lots of moves, lots of kicking, lots of jumping ahead and lots of power.” It was a good precursor to Saturday’s third go-round, which features the hardest-to-ride horses inn bareback riding. “I’m excited for the heavy hitters; I love them,” said Clements, who will be matched with Northcott Macza’s Spilled Perfume in the third round. “I want lean, mean fighting machines in horses. That is what I train for.” That plan seems to be working out quite well.