Monthly Archives: December 2019

LAS VEGAS – With just three days remaining on the 2019 ProRodeo season, the races for the world championships are coming down to the wire. For Tuf Cooper of Decatur, Texas, he is in the middle of a sprint to the finish for both the tie-down roping and all-around titles. On Wednesday night during the seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo, Cooper roped and tied his calf in 8.2 seconds to finish third. That was worth $15,654. That pushed his NFR earnings to $62,885 and upped his season pay to $168,477. He still trails the tie-down roping leader, Shane Hanchey, by $41,451, but he has a few advantages. Cooper is in a good spot in the average race, and Hanchey sits ninth, out of the chance for money right now. “It’s just a blessing to be in these races,” said Cooper, who owns three tie-down roping titles and the 2017 Montana Silversmiths all-around gold buckle. “This is why you compete in rodeo. This is why you want to be in Las Vegas, to give yourself a chance to win the title(s).” Roughstock cowboy Stetson Wright leads the all-around race with $247,576, and he’s qualified for the NFR in bull riding. He’s followed by team roper Clay Smith with $245,402, and Cooper has $222,640. The main differences between the three come in the aggregate standings. Cooper is the No. 2 tie-down roper behind NFR rookie Haven Meged, the latter of whom has roped and tied seven calves in a cumulative time of 60.2 seconds. Cooper is just a second behind and could easily make up that ground over the next three rounds. The average payouts are $67,269 to the winner and $54,577 to the No. 2 man when the NFR concludes. It’s an incredible bonus that goes to the contestants with the best aggregate times and scores over the 10-day championship. Smith sits fourth in the heading aggregate, which would pay $31,731, while Wright is sixth in bull riding, worth $16,500. That could make a big difference when the dust clears in Sin City on Saturday night. Plus, there are three more opportunities to earn more cash in the go-rounds. With winners pocketing $26,231 each night, many things can change before the season concludes. That’s what makes it fun for competitors who crave gold buckles and for the fans who flock to Las Vegas to watch it.

LAS VEGAS – Time flies when a person is having fun. The National Finals Rodeo has flown by for bareback Orin Larsen, who has had as much fun as anybody as he chases a world championship. “I feel like three days ago was Dec. 1 when we showed up,” said Larsen, a five-time NFR qualifier from Inglis, Manitoba, now living in Gering, Nebraska. “I just try to slow everything down as much as I can. I need to remember to just enjoy it; it’s not going to last forever. There’s going to be a day when this is just going to be a memory for me. I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can as often as I can.” He should. Over the course of the first seven rounds, he has placed on five nights, including the fourth-round victory. He has posted three rides of at least 90 points, with the most recent happening in Wednesday’s seventh round. He posted a 90-point ride on Big Stone Rodeo’s Mayhem to finish second, pocketing another $20,731. Actually, Mayhem was Larsen’s second horse of the night. He was originally mounted on Kesler Rodeo’s Uptown Flash, but the paint didn’t have a good trip. Larsen took his re-ride opportunity and made the most of it. “I don’t now what happened; the horse just had a bad day,” he said. “Tim (O’Connell) rode that horse and was 89.5. The re-ride worked out good.” That’s a bit of an understatement. He has earned $80,231 through seven nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale and has pushed his season earnings to $253,673. He is No. 2 in the world standings behind leader Clayton Biglow, but Larsen is still very much in the world-title race with three rounds remaining in the 2019 season. “When you are 90 points three times during the finals and only won one round, it’s a pretty salty bareback riding,” Larsen said. “It’s just a great group of guys. Everyone is just hammering horses and doing good. It’s so fun to see. When you get to see everyone riding this good, there’s nothing more fun.”

LAS VEGAS – Tim O’Connell’s confidence continues to soar at the National Finals Rodeo, and there is a good reason. He has placed in five of seven rounds, scored big points and earned $68,385, the latest coming Wednesday night when he was 87.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Fever. He tied for fourth place in the seventh round and earned $8,885. “I can’t do any more than what I’m doing,” said O’Connell, the three-time reigning world champion bareback rider from Zwingle, Iowa, now living in Marshall, Missouri. “I’m making good rides on great bucking horses. I think I’m on pace to break the average record. Obviously, Clayton (Biglow) is on pace to break the average record. It is what it is.” In his bid for a fourth straight Montana Silversmiths gold buckle, O’Connell is in a street fight with all the other bareback riders at this year’s championship. It’s been seven days of hard-charging, fantastic rides on incredible bucking beasts. Biglow leads the aggregate standings with seven rides for a cumulative total of 615 points. O’Connell is second in the average with 609. The average winner will pocket more than $67,000, something the Iowa cowboy knows a little about. He has won at least a share of the average crown each of the previous three seasons. If he stays where he is in the average, O’Connell will add $54,577 at the NFR’s conclusion. Through the first seven nights, there has only been one where a score of 90 wasn’t produced, and that came in Tuesday’s sixth round. In all, a dozen rides have been marked 90 points or better, which is an incredible statement on the status of the game today. “This was the second time I had that horse,” O’Connell said of Scarlet Fever. “I spurred over the neck the first time I got on her, and it probably cost me winning Fort Worth for third time in a row. I was excited about having that horse. She has proven herself in that pen, and she was good today. “Sometimes you have to take what you are getting. Being the second guy out of the chutes and being 87.5 is not bad.” He sits seventh in the world standings with $181,553 and trails Biglow in the race for the world title by $111,233. Still, he remains positive that another buckle can be heading back home next week. “I’ve still got three rounds, and I can still win the world,” he said. “I don’t doubt in my mind, and I won’t doubt until it’s over. If somebody else thinks it is locked up, they better watch out.” Sharing this moment with his family has also been a big part of his excitement in Las Vegas. They take photos every night, and they enjoy the moment for what it is. O’Connell has earned most of his money in the last six months because he sat out the first half of the season with an injured riding shoulder that required surgery. “This is a celebration, because this could have just as easily been taken away from me as being a world-title race. It really made me appreciate this rodeo. It made me see the bigger picture. I’ve really enjoyed this year’s NFR more than I have the past three. You’d say, ‘That’s crazy; you’ve won three world titles.’ “When you only think about world titles, you lose the love of the game and what all comes with it. I’m enjoying it. I’m loving it. I’m enjoying riding bucking horses.” It’s that love affair, that passion, that has drawn him to this game. Riding bareback horses isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes a wild nature and an unbreakable will to perform on the back of a bucking horse, and O’Connell’s got that. “What I’ve done is big, but I don’t see it in my mind as anything special yet,” he said. “I will look back on it when this thing is over and see how special the year was. I still have goals and aspirations for leaving here as the four-time world champion. It’s not done.”

LAS VEGAS – As the eighth bareback rider to compete Wednesday night, Tanner Aus posted a magical score of 88 points. He was in the cat birdseat as the seventh-round leader. He started thinking about a round-winning celebratory dinner. Then the last two guys rode, and things changed. First, Clayton Biglow scored 91.5 points to push Aus to second, then Orin Larsen was 90. Prime rib quickly turned to a ribeye sandwich. Still, Aus’ ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s South Point Gambler was worth another $15,654. “I watched video of Kaycee (Feild’s) ride on that horse in the first half of the week and found a couple other videos,” he said. “He’s pretty hard to ride. From the video, it looked like he was going to have a couple pretty big swoops that might knock your feet out. He didn’t do that for me. I can’t wait to watch it. It was a good round of bucking horses again. “It has been so much fun to watch, so much fun to be part of. Everything happens so fast that you don’t always get to watch as close as you’d like, but we always go back and watch the replays.” Great rides and big scores have been the common theme in bareback riding at the NFR, and Aus has done well. He’s earned just shy of $60,000 in seven nights and has pushed his season earnings to more than $140,000. “I feel great,” said Aus of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “I think it has to do with the process leading up to the finals. I put in a lot of time in the gym. My focus was on being strong and being healthy, feeling good and doing the right thing. I hope it carries me through right through the 10th round. “We are still having fun. This week just goes so fast. I can’t believe we’re seven down, three to go. It just flies by.” Part of the joy is spending these magical 10 days with his family, including his wife, Lonissa, and their 18-month-old daughter, Bristol, who is experiencing the Nevada desert for the first time. “It has been so much fun having her here,” he said. “I get done riding, and no matter how it goes, I go upstairs (at the Thomas & Mack Center) and meet the family. She will find me from across the room and make a bee line for me, come and give me a big hug. “It’s hard to beat the rush of the NFR, but if anything is going to top it, it is that right there. I am pretty thankful.”

LAS VEGAS – Through the first seven nights of the National Finals Rodeo, J.D. Struxness has taken himself to the pay window six times. It’s adding up fast. On Wednesday night, he wrestled his steer to the ground in 3.9 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for third place, pocketing $11,141 in the process and moving his Las Vegas earnings to $91,654. “We just keep doing what we’re doing and trying to be aggressive at the barrier,” said Struxness, 25, of Milan, Minnesota, now living in Alva, Oklahoma. “I liked the steer we had tonight, but this was a more electric herd; we should be faster on these, and everybody was tonight.” He has earned more money over the last seven days than he did through the regular season. He had collected $82,829 through Sept. 30, and with his run in Vegas, he has pushed his annual income to $174,483. He sits third in the world standings with three nights remaining. “I say that $100,000 is the minimum I want to win out here,” he said. “Of course, we can set our goals a lot higher than that, but to come out here and win that kind of money is great. We’re going to be able to do some stuff and take care of that baby.” Everlee Struxness turned a month old in Las Vegas, and he has kept himself and his family away from the strip and at a resort best fitting for them. “It’s a bit more relaxed for her, and it’s away from the hustle and bustle,” Struxness said. “She is at ease, and it takes the stress off me. I’ve been able to come out here and do my job.” By placing in the rounds, he continues to be dominant in earnings, but a missed opportunity in the fifth round has left him behind. World standings leader Tyler Waguespack leads the aggregate race; if the reigning world champion holds on to that, then he will add more than $67,000. That’s a distinct advantage. “I’ll just take care of what I can take care of, and we’ll go from there,” Struxness said. As he looked over photographs of his previous runs, there was a common theme. Each action image looked the same as the one before. That’s a good thing. The proof is a 3.8-second run in the first round and three more 3.9s to follow “That is what we practice for out here,” he said. “If you can set it up, it is more of a reaction when it comes to having to throw steers in 3 seconds. The more you can set up the same, the better it is. You are just making the same run over and over. Our run has been 3.9.”

LAS VEGAS – Clayton Biglow continued his winning ways during Wednesday’s seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo, but he did it in an unconventional fashion. He rode Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter for 91.5 points, but it wasn’t the classic spurring motion and bucking style that he has shown through the first six rounds of ProRodeo’s grand championship. Ankle Biter spun while she kicked, and it made for a whirlwind bareback ride inside the Thomas & Mack Center. “I was telling everyone that’s the best bull ride I have ever made,” said Biglow, who last tried his hand at bull riding half a decade ago when he was in high school. “You have to spur through that. Your feet are your pedals, and you have to have forward momentum. If you don’t, you will get left behind. “When horses turn back like that, it is pretty hard. You’ve got to use your feet, but you also really have to use your upper body to make corners like that. I had to pull the old bull-riding moves out for sure. It came in handy.” With that ride, and the $26,231 he earned for winning his third round in a row, he extended his lead in the NFR aggregate race and the world standings. He has pocketed $110,833 in Sin City, which has pushed his season earnings to $292,786. He has a $39,000 lead over the No. 2 man, Canadian Orin Larsen, as they head into the final three nights of the 2019 season. “I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff,” said Biglow, 23, of Clements, California. “Whether I have a $200,000 lead or a $1,000 lead, I’m coming in every night like it’s a one-header. I’m telling myself that they are right on my heels, and I need to ride up every single night. “I’m especially not one to pay attention to the standings. What it says on paper means nothing to me. It’s how I ride and what I feel like when I get done riding. I try to do the same thing every time I nod my head.” It’s working, and it’s working in the most magical place in ProRodeo. The NFR offers a $10 million purse paid out over 10 December nights in Las Vegas. He’s earned a great living in just seven days, and there is nearly $79,000 up for grabs in first-place money alone.

Bareback riding: 1. Clayton Biglow, 91.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter, $26,231; 2. Orin Larsen, 90, $20,731; 3. Tanner Aus, 88, $15,654; 4. (tie) Richmond Champion and Tim O’Connell, 87.5, $8,885 each; 6. (tie) Clint Laye and Jake Brown, 86.5, $2,115 each. Steer wrestling: 1. Stetson Jorgensen, 3.4 seconds, $26,231; 2. Tyler Pearson, 3.8, $20,731; 3. (tie) Ty Erickson, J.D. Stuxness and Matt Reeves, 3.9, $11,141 each; 6. Cameron Moorman, 4.0, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. Ty Blasingame/Travis Graves, 4.2, $20,731; 3. Tate Kirchenschlager/Tyler Worley, 4.3, $15,654; 4. Luke Brown/Paul Eaves, 5.0, $11,000; 5. Matt Sherwood/Hunter Koch, 7.5, $6,769; 6. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 9.0, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Zeke Thurston, 92.5 points on Northcott Macza’s Get Smart, $26,231; 2. Ryder Wright, 88.5, $20,731; 3. Jake Watson, 87.5, $15,654; 4. Brody Cress, 86, $11,000; 5. Chase Brooks, 84.5, $6,769; 6. Spencer Wright, 78, $4,231. Tie-down roping: 1. Tyler Milligan, 7.5 seconds, $26,231; 2. Adam Gray, 7.7, $20,731; 3. Tuf Cooper, 8.2, $15,653; 4. Riley Pruitt, 8.4, $11,000; 5. Caleb Smidt, 9.6, $6,769; 6. Haven Meged, 9.8, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 13.60 seconds, $26,231; 2. Jessica Routier, 13.72, $20,731; 3. (tie) Nellie Miller and Lacinda Rose, 13.79, $13,326 each; 5. Ivy Conrado-Saebens, 13.83, $6,769; 6. Shali Lord, 13.89. $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Sage Kimzey, 90 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Smoke Wagon, $33,564; 2. Boudreaux Campbell, 87, $28,064; 3. Tyler Bingham, 83.5, $22,987; no other qualified rides.

LAS VEGAS – When J.D. Struxness didn’t get a time in Monday’s fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo, some saw it as a devastating situation. Struxness saw it as a hiccup. “I got an outstanding start, and that steer fell to the right like they do here when you do that,” he said. “I tried reaching out there, and I couldn’t get my hands on him. We just shrug that one off. There are still nine other rounds, and we knew we had five more chances. We came back (Tuesday) night, and we were able to place again.” He did in a big way. He wrestled his steer to the ground in 3.9 seconds to finish in a tie for second place in the sixth round. That $18,192 pushed his NFR earnings to $80,513. He sits third in the world standings with $163,342 and trails the leader, reigning world champion Tyler Waguespack, by less than $14,000. “After what happened (Monday), we just needed a good, honest steer like that to come back and get our confidence back,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota, now living in Alva, Oklahoma. “We came back, got a good start and did our job. We won second, and we will keep moving on during the week. Hopefully we keep pulling checks in the rounds. “(Monday) was frustrating. There were some things I could have done different to make sure I caught that one. It happened, and there isn’t any looking back when there is $26,000 on the line the next night. You just have to shrug it off, come back and stay aggressive, and try to get all the money you can in the rounds.” He has a great deal of help, whether it’s the family in the Nevada desert supporting him or leaning on his hazer, Stockton Graves, one of his traveling partners who was his former coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Struxness became the university’s first national champion in 2016, winning the aggregate title at the College National Finals Rodeo that June – the Rangers snagged two more titlists in 2010 when breakaway roper Taylor Munsell and steer wrestler Bridger Anderson found success in Casper, Wyoming. As he has done all summer, he is riding Graves’ horse, Freeway, and trusts Graves to keep the steers aligned to make solid runs. “We are going to be aggressive again,” Struxness said of the team’s approach to the final four nights of the 2019 ProRodeo campaign. “We’ll go out there, make good runs and use the animals they draw us the best we can.”

LAS VEGAS – Saddle bronc rider Colt Gordon and Outlawbuckers Rodeo’s Little Muffin have a good history, which repeated itself Tuesday night. Gordon and the bay bucking horse matched moves for 85 points to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place in the sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo, and the Oklahoma cowboy pocketed another $7,333. “I got on him in the short round at Pendleton this year,” said Gordon, who was 89 points to win that round and the average title at the big, Oregon rodeo in September. “It went really well there. I was expecting a lot better today, but the flank wrapped around my foot coming around the corner, and it popped me out of (the saddle). “I got to finish him how I wanted, got some money, and that’s all that matters right now.” It marked the second straight night he’d cashed in at the NFR. He has pushed his Vegas winnings to $19,449 and moved his season earnings to $110,519. Better yet, he has four more rounds remaining on the 2019 season to keep adding to those totals. “All the bugs are out now,” said Gordon, 22, of Comanche, Oklahoma, now competing in ProRodeo’s premier event for the first time in his young career. “I’m ready to get everything rolling. Coming into that first day, I was moving around a little too much. I was wanting to do so good that I was just overthinking everything. “You don’t realize how much pressure is here until you are a couple of days in and everything gets set in, and you get it figured out.” It will get a bit tougher on the bronc riders Wednesday and Thursday. They face the “Eliminator Pen” in Round 7 – only four cowboys earned qualified rides the first time that group of horses were out – and the semi-eliminators Thursday. Gordon isn’t concerned, though. “Those horses fit me a little more,” he said. “They don’t let you think about things. On horses that are a little nicer, a guy can get to thinking about it. With those that buck, you just have to hope for the best.” He also has something different in his back pocket than the first time he faced the rank broncs. “My confidence is way up from the first couple of rounds,” Gordon said. “I feel back to my old self. We are ready to go.”

LAS VEGAS – Tim O’Connell is having a pretty solid National Finals Rodeo. He’d like it to be exceptional. That’s what it’s going to take over the final four nights of the season if he hopes to win a fourth straight bareback riding world championship. “This field is rank,” said O’Connell, who rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet’s Web for 88 points to finish fourth in Tuesday’s sixth round and pocket $11,000. “I’m trying my guts out, and an 88-point ride places fourth. That score will win any rodeo in the United States by a landslide, but not here, not against these guys. “I’m doing my job. I’m leaving it out there every night. I’m making smart rides.” He sits seventh in the world standings with $172,668, $59,500 of which has come in Las Vegas. His Tuesday ride featured a talented bay mare that’s been to the NFR 13 times; this is just the sixth trip for O’Connell. “That horse looks like a grizzly bear,” he said of Scarlet’s Web. “Being from Texas, she has here winter hair. She’s been so good for so long, and she was great tonight. She was awesome, and she gave me a chance to go after the round tonight.” Instead, a trio of cowboys – Clayton Biglow, Tilden Hooper and Caleb Bennett – beat O’Connell by a half point. Now the cowboy from Zwingle, Iowa, trails Biglow, the world standings leader, by almost $94,000. Biglow also leads the average race with a cumulative score of 523.5 points on six rides, while O’Connell is two points behind in second place. “I care about the average, but I don’t care about it right now,” O’Connell said. “I’m worried about winning rounds right now. I’m going to start taking more chances the next few nights. I’m here to win a world title. I do understand the average will win you the world, per say, but I need to shut this gap on Clayton. “I know what I’m capable of. We’ve got four rounds left to do it, and there is probably $170,000 up for grabs when it’s all said and done. Anybody who thinks it’s over is a fool.” The average is big, because the winner will pocket $67,269 for having the best aggregate score after 10 rounds. Second place pays $54,577, so that difference could be the world title. The bareback riders will face the rank horses Wednesday, then will be back in the “Eliminator Pen” on Thursday. “I train for these next two rounds, the ones I feel are my strongest, the buckers and the eliminators,” he said. “When you put us on the bigger, stronger horses, that is where I shine. I’ve always said the world title is on in Round 6, 7 and 8. “I know how important these next two rounds are. I’ve put in the work at home for these next two rounds.”

LAS VEGAS – Jordan Spears has quietly had a pretty good run at the National Finals Rodeo. It’s about to get pretty loud. He has ridden four bulls but didn’t earn a payday until the fifth round. On Tuesday night, he matched moves with Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Hou’s Bad News for 90 points to finish second in the sixth round. That was worth $20,731 and pushed his NFR earnings to $36,231. “My dad always told me to finish strong,” said Spears, a four-time NFR qualifier from Redding, California, now living in Caldwell, Idaho. “I usually finish the NFR pretty strong, and I’ve had a better first half than I’ve ever had in the past. “If you watched a Jordan on that bull, you can have pretty good luck. Jordan Hansen was 89.5 on him in the first round. To be matched with the bull was great. That bull bucked me off pretty easily in Puyallup (Washington), and I’ve been pretty excited to get back on him and to get revenge on him.” Mission accomplished. He made several moves with the spotted bull to keep himself in the right position, and it paid off. “I don’t seem to sit in one spot very long,” Spears said. “I talked to Jordan Hansen, and he said the bull is always moving away from you and that you have to keep hustling. I thought he fit my style pretty good.” He sits 11th in the world standings, but that can change. There are $26,231 that will be paid to the winners of each of the next four go-rounds, so Spears has a chance to really cash in before the NFR concludes Saturday night. In addition, he sits fourth in the average race, having ridden four bulls for a cumulative score of 342.5 points. “That’s why every guy rodeos,” he said. “You want to get here at the NFR, because of the amount of money you can win. If you can have an outstanding finals, win a few rounds and place high in the average, it is life-changing money. You can set yourself up for the future and be pretty comfortable with the amount of money you can win. “Someone told me the NFR is pretty much just 10 one-headers. As much money as you can win at one time, you’ve got to take it one bull at a time, because you could not ride a single bull, then all of the sudden ride one and win more money than you usually do all year.”

LAS VEGAS – The South Point Hotel Casino and Spa is home of the nightly Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation, an hour of fun that features the winning contestants from each night of the National Finals Rodeo. In just his fourth year competing in Sin City, Clayton Biglow knows his way to the showroom quite well. He’s won at least a share of six NFR go-rounds, including the last two at the 2019 championship. “I’m going to go to the South Point tonight and enjoy it, then get ready for another one tomorrow night,” he said. His most recent came Tuesday night when he rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog for 88.5 points to share the sixth-round title with Tilden Hooper and Caleb Bennett. “It’s really cool, especially with those guys,” said Biglow, 23, of Clements, California. “It doesn’t really matter who I split it with, but Caleb and Tilden are pretty fun. “This was pretty similar to last night, because I got on another Pickett horse. I’ve seen it a bunch and knew it was good. I just knew I had to do my job.” He’s done his job better than any other bareback rider this week. He is the No. 1 man in the world standings with $266,555 and has a lead of nearly $34,000 over the second-place cowboy, Canadian Orin Larsen. He is No. 1 in the average race with a cumulative score of 523.5 points on six rides. He’s also earned $84,603 in just six nights in Las Vegas. “I don’t take any ride any differently,” Biglow said. “I do my homework a little, but you always have that in the back of your mind that this is a horse, and it can do whatever it wants. Basically, just come out and do your job: Make a strong markout and get it going right out of there, and then finish your ride. “The first two jumps are the most important jumps there are. Your markout is the most important thing. You have to get a strong markout to get you there, especially in bareback riding. If you don’t get a strong markout, you are going to be left beind.” Biglow is behind nobody at this NFR, and it shows every time the chute gates open.

LAS VEGAS – While his body and soul were in the Nevada desert competing for a world championship, Orin Larsen’s heart and mind were 2,400 miles away with his brother and sister-in-law. Tyrel and Chaney Larsen are at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where Chaney underwent in-utero surgery Tuesday to provide some help to their baby, who was diagnosed with spina bifida while in pregnancy. “The baby and mom are doing really well,” Orin Larsen said. “The surgery went awesome. The surgeons are more than happy with how things went. We are really thankful. We are counting our blessings for that. Now, we are just waiting for a baby boy.” The news sent a dose of relief to the entire family, including his mother, Wanda, who flew across the country after Monday’s round to be in Baltimore for the surgery. Meanwhile, Orin Larsen didn’t let any of it bother him as he competed Tuesday night, riding Calgary Stampede’s Arbitrator Joe for 87.5 points, good enough to tie for fifth in the sixth round. That was worth $5,500 and pushed his Vegas earnings to $59,500. “Every penny counts, and we’ll just keep chasing those dollars until Saturday,” he said. “We will keep rocking.” In rodeo, money not only covers expenses and pays bills, but dollars equal championship points. The cowboys in each event who finish the 2019 campaign with the most money will be crowned world champions and will be awarded with that coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. “I’ve got a chance,” he said. Yes, he does. He has earned $232,942 this season and sits second in the world standings. He trails the leader, Clayton Biglow, by nearly $34,000, but he has four more nights to make up that ground. “Everyone is just riding good,” said Larsen of Inglis, Manitoba, now living in Gering, Nebraska. “It’s hard to beat guys anywhere, especially here. The horses are on top of their game; the horses are just bucking. It is the perfect storm right now.” So is his riding. He’s placed in four of six rounds so far and has been consistent. With go-round winners earning $26,231 per night, he has four more chances to make a significant move. “I haven’t had this much confidence in my riding ability for a long time,” he said. “It is stellar.”

Bareback riding: 1. (tie) Caleb Bennett, on Calgary Stampede’s You See Me, Clayton Biglow, on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Freckled Frog, and Tilden Hooper, on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Ain’t No Angel, 88.5 points, $20,872 each; 4. Tim O’Connell, 88, $11,000; 5. (tie) Orin Larsen and Austin Foss, 87.5, $5,500 each. Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Scott Guenthner and J.D. Struxness, 3.9, $18,192 each; 4. Bridger Chambers, 4.0, $11,000; 5. (tie) Cameron Morman and Will Lummus, 4.1, $5,500 each. Team roping: 1. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.0 seconds, $26,231; 2. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.2, $20,731; 3. (tie) Clay Tryan/Jake Long and Erich Rogers/Kyle Lockett, 4.3, $13,327 each; 5. Matt Sherwood/Hunter Koch, 4.6, $6,769; 6. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 4.9, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Dawson Hay, 88.5 points on Mo Betta Rodeo’s Sue City Sue, $26,231; 2. (tie) Sterling Crawley and Jacobs Crawley, 85.5, $18,192 each; 4. (tie) Chase Brooks, Brody Cress and Colt Gordon, 85, $7,333 each. Tie-down roping: 1. Ty Harris, 7.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. Riley Pruitt, 7.3, $20,731; 3. Tyson Durfey, 7.4, $15,654; 4. (tie) Shane Hanchey and Marty Yates, $8,885; 6. Tyler Milligan, 7.8, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Amberleigh Moore, 13.55 seconds, $26,231; 2. Ivy Conrado-Saebens, 13.69, $20,731; 3. Hailey Kinsel, 13.70, $15,654; 4. Shali Lord, 13.85, $11,000; 5. Cheyenne Wimberley, 13.87, $6,769; 6. Nellie Miller, 13.88, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Boudreaux Campbell, 92.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Tequila Worm, $26,231; 2. Jordan Spears, 90, $20,731; 3. Sage Kimzey, 89.5, $15,654; 4. Daylon Swearingen, 88, $11,000; 5. Tyler Bingham, 87, $6,769; 6. (tie) Stetson Wright and Trevor Kastner, 86, $2,115.

LAS VEGAS – Monday was a magical night for the bareback riders at the National Finals Rodeo. The fifth round in Sin City is called the “TV Pen,” featuring the most electric bucking horses in the business. Matched with the top 15 cowboys in the sport, it was a sparkling night of big-time rides, highlighted by four rides that were at least 90 points. “Four 90s in one performance … holy cow,” said Orin Larsen, who was 91 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire to finish third in the fifth go-round, worth $15,654. “Anyone who went could definitely be 90. That is one of the best pens of horses I have seen in a very long time. “Everyone is riding really good. The horses just love this arena, so it was pretty spectacular.” The world standings leader, Clayton Biglow, posted the biggest score of the night with a 92.5-point ride, just a half point off the arena record. Tilden Hooper was 92, and Larsen jumped in with his score to catch his third payday through five rounds of action inside the Thomas & Mack Center. “I knew Gun Fire was definitely going to be the horsepower,” said Larsen of Inglis, Manitoba, now living in Gering, Nebraska. “That horse rides like a Cadillac until he goes straight, then he feels like a Mack truck.” He has a little history with Gun Fire, though the two hadn’t been matched together before. At the Cody (Wyoming) Stampede earlier this year, Larsen led through most of the rodeo, then was upset on the final day. “I was 93 on (C5 Rodeo’s) Make Up Face, then Caleb Bennett was 93.5 on Gun Fire,” he said. “You can’t say enough about that horse. He is one of my favorite horses to get on now.” Through five nights in Las Vegas, Larsen has pocketed $54,000 and has moved to No. 2 in the world standings. He is a little more than $18,000 behind Biglow with five nights left in the 2019 season. “Now we’ve got things clicking the way they should be,” Larsen said. “We will just carry on to the 10th round.”

LAS VEGAS – It seems as though bareback rider Tanner Aus is going to have to be close to 90 points at this year’s National Finals Rodeo if he intends to win any money. “I knew it was going to be like this,” said Aus, a four-time NFR qualifier from Granite Falls, Minnesota. “It is taking 90 or better to win every round. This is the cream of the crop.” On Monday night, he rode Three Hills Rodeo’s Weenie for 89.5 points to finish fifth in the fifth round. That was worth $6,769 and pushed his NFR earnings to $43,000. He sits 10th in the world standings with just shy of $125,000. At most rodeos, and even at most rounds of the NFR, Aus’ 89.5 would have been enough to win. Not at this NFR, though. There were four rides in the 90s on Monday night alone, taking the total to 10 through the first five rounds of his year’s championship. “That is what we call the ‘TV pen,’ ” Aus said. “Of course, every horse deserves to be there, but those are the ones we really hold out for. Those are the ones when we show up to big rodeos throughout the season, we’ve got our fingers crossed to draw then. “It doesn’t get any better than that. If we could do 10 nights like this, we would. It is tough. I was just hanging on for a check tonight with an 89.5, and I’m thankful for every cent I make here. It’s tougher all the time, and after five nights, everyone is still just amped up and ready to go.” That means there are five nights remaining in the 2019 season, five more opportunities to cash in at the richest rodeo in the world. Aus won the third round with a 90-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Full Baggage, which paid him $26,231. He’d like to do that a few more times over the next few days. He knew there was a good chance to make some money when he arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday. “Weenie is a great horse,” he said. “She has a little bit of a reputation for being psychotic in the chute. (Three Hills owners) Dave and Jake Morehead were both there when I got back with my rigging, and we were all loving up on her a little bit, keeping her calm. “She’s always good, always performs in the arena. The Moreheads have gotten to be great friends of mine. They have helped me out a lot.” That help has paid off over the years, and he hopes it continues through the rest of this campaign.

LAS VEGAS – It’s been almost nine years since Richmond Champion first rode Picket Pro Rodeo’s great horse, Top Flight, an electric bay that has led many cowboys to the pay window. Champion revisited his old friend on Monday night, and the two danced across the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 89 points to finish sixth in the fifth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. “I won my first rodeo on her at the rodeo in Belton, Texas, and I was 89 points on her that day,” he said. “I was 89 on here eight years later here at the NFR. “That’s just a cool horse. She is a veteran. She loves it. She’s done it before. The horseman in me likes that part. When you get back on the bucking chutes, you go to battle. It was really fun, and I was happy with how it went.” At most rodeos, and even in most rounds at the NFR, an 89-point ride is a winner, but that’s not happening at this NFR. On Monday night alone, there were four scores in the 90s, so Champion’s great ride fell to sixth place in the round. Still, it was worth $4,231. “I was happy to place,” said Champion of The Woodlands, Texas, now living in Stevensville, Montana. “I had a couple of dry rounds. The ‘E (Eliminator) Pen’ didn’t go the way I wanted it, but it woke me up, too. I was in a little daze and having fun. I had one test me, and I had to go back to the basics.” He kicked off his NFR run with by winning the opening round after receiving a re-ride. That 91.5-point ride opened the flood gates, and bareback riders have posted 10 rides of 90 points or better in the first five rounds. Still, that was a test of his endurance and training. “When you get on two in the first round, you are feeling it the next day,” he said. “It seemed like whenever I got off the third round, I started feeling better the next morning. That’s the way it goes from out here. You feel consistent the last five horses you get on. Your body is changing through the beginning, then you hit that spot where, as long as nothing crazy happens, you just stay that way. That is where we are now.” When these bareback riders are feeling that way and getting on this caliber of horses, big things are bound to happen. “At this point, I’m expecting nothing but 90s from everybody,” said Champion, who has earned $56,115 in Las Vegas and sits fourth in the world standings with $186,944 in earnings this season.

LAS VEGAS – When prospecting for gold in the Nevada desert, the best tool anyone can half is patience. It can be easy to take a short-cut to find the path, but it’s better to dig through a variety of opportunities to seek out that vein that will reward the sacrifices and provide the biggest bounty. That’s been Tuf Cooper’s approach during the National Finals Rodeo. Patience has been the key. He’s rifled for the gold in recent years, only to find the results sporadic at best. On Monday night, he roped and tied his calf in 8.0 seconds, a strong, consistent run that also paid him $11,000 for finishing fourth in the fifth round. With that, he pushed his Las Vegas earnings to $47,231, aided mightily by his Round 3 victory. But the big move is in the all-important average race, where he sits No. 2 after roping and tying five calves in a cumulative time of 42.0 seconds. He trails the aggregate leader, NFR rookie Taylor Santos, by a second and a half. Besides earning that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle, another goal for cowboys is to win that NFR average title, which will pay the winner more than $67,000 with the finale concludes Saturday night. That could play a roll into everything for Cooper. He continues to be in the hunt for two world championships: the all-around and tie-down roping. It will depend on what happens in Las Vegas to see who is crowned in both. He is third in the all-around, $38,475 behind bull rider Stetson Wright and less than $18,000 behind the runner-up, team roping header Clay Smith. While all three have competed in multiple events all season, only Cooper advanced to the National Finals in two: Two weeks ago, he competed at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, picking up more than $20,000 in Mulvane, Kansas. That means the all-around crown will be decided in Sin City. In tie-down roping, Cooper’s good friend, Shane Hanchey, has parlayed two go-round wins into the lead in the standings. Cooper is fourth but is less than $50,000 behind Hanchey. The difference between the two is their place in the average; while Cooper is second, Hanchey is 10th after suffering a no-time in the second round. As the cowboys look at the final five nights of the 2019 ProRodeo campaign, the races are heating up, just as they should be.

LAS VEGAS – Jordan Spears’ philosophy about riding bulls at the National Finals Rodeo is pretty simple, but it might just work out well for him after all. “My dad always said, ‘If you ride every one, eventually they will have to pay you,’ ” said Spears, originally from Redding, California, now living in Caldwell, Idaho. “It’s great to win money here, but I can’t complain. I’ve not been placing as high as I want, but I have been doing my job. “With bull riding, if you just keep doing your job and staying on, you will get paid eventually.” He earned his first paycheck of the 2019 NFR by riding Flying U Rodeo’s Countin’ Cards for 86 points. With that, he finished in a tie for fifth place in the fifth round and pocketed $5,500. More importantly, it was the third time in five nights he had a qualifying eight-second ride. Now he sits sixth in the all-important average race with a three-ride cumulative score of 252.5 points. That’s big, because none of the cowboys has ridden all five so far and only two have ridden four of five. If Spears can remain consistent and battle to stay on, he can really cash in when the NFR concludes Saturday night. The top aggregate score will pocket a bonus worth $67,269. Of course, it’s nice to be matched with a bull he’s been around. “I’ve seen him quite a few times,” he said of Countin’ Cards. “I was born in Grass Valley, California, which is about an hour from Flying U. I have seen that bull the last couple of years, and I’ve always wanted to get on him. I was really excited about my match-up with him.” It also was proof that the hard work he put in prior to arriving in Las Vegas is paying off. “I went with working out and focusing a little more on being prepared when I got here for the 10 rounds,” Spears said. “Halfway through, I feel as good as I did on Day 1. Physically I am fit and ready for five more bulls. Dedicating myself and putting my all into winning as much money and being as healthy as I can, I can definitely tell a difference. “From being her the last few times, I have learned from it. I’m starting to get a little smarter and just trying to do my job and stay on every bull I can. Being in shape is definitely helping, and being fit is a big part of staying healthy after 10 days in a row. It is a little tough on you.” It also affects the mental aspects of the game. In bull riding, 95 percent of what happens on a bull is based on a mental approach. Riding bulls is muscle memory and reaction, and Spears is working hard to not let the outside stuff affect him. “I’m not worried about the average or winning the round,” Spears said. “I’m just keeping it simple and trying to stay on every bull. I’ve been doing pretty good so far.”

LAS VEGAS – A little history lesson on Monday night helped Coleman Proctor handle his business during the fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo. “I had a steer that was like my first-round steer,” said Proctor, who, with partner Ryan Motes, stopped the clock in 4.4 seconds to share second place on the fifth night of ProRodeo’s championship. “Chad Masters had him and said that the steer didn’t score good and that I needed to take a normal start. That’s what I did. “The great thing about our sport is the comradery; everybody’s trying to help everybody win. I tried to take the right start. Heisman hit the nail on the start. I can’t be an inch closer. That’s Lady Luck right there.” Masters is a two-time world champion who had the steer in Friday’s second round, so his scouting report gave Proctor all the information needed. With that, he earned his second straight paycheck of this year’s NFR, this one worth $18,129. He has pushed his NFR earnings to $48,923 and his season earnings to $153,241. He is fourth in the world standings. “That steer hit wild and was long down the pen, and Motesy did a great job of finishing it off,” said Proctor, a five-time NFR qualifier in heading from Pryor, Oklahoma. “If you’re rockin’ a pink goatee, how can you not be a full-size man when you heel one like that?” Monday’s round was Pink Night at the NFR, a designation to help support the fight against cancer. It’s happened on the fifth night of the finale for more than a decade, and Proctor has had plenty of success in the fifth round; that includes two go-round wins. Motes always dyes his facial hair to go along with the special night. After a slow start in the opening three rounds, Proctor and Motes have cashed in strong each of the past two nights; they were second in the fourth round, too. Both remain in the hunt for a world championship, though Proctor’s focus now is to try to secure that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle for his partner. “I told my wife, ‘Wow, what a difference 48 hours makes,’ ” he said. “I appreciate all the concern and the worrying about me, but our preparation and ground work were laid, and I have played with what brought us here. We stuck to what we do. Motesy is going to have a great chance to win the world at the end of the week. “I’m just sticking to what I know. I knew I was lucky when I started this game, and I feel like everything’s going to go our way these next five rounds.”

LAS VEGAS – Megan Duvall has more influence on her husband than she may think. “My wife made me stay positive,” Riley Duvall said. “I didn’t have a choice, but it worked out good.” Through the first four nights of the National Finals Rodeo, it was hard for him to stay positive. He had thrown down all four steers but was a tad slow to collect Vegas cash. He changed that Monday night with a 4.1-second run, which guided him to a third-place finish in the fifth round. That was worth $15,654. “My goal this year was to start off with a bang; I wanted to place right off the bat,” said Duvall, a three-time NFR qualifier from Checotah, Oklahoma, the Steer Wrestling capital of the World. “My first three steers weren’t bad, but they were toward the bottom of the pen. Things weren’t going very well. “I had a really good one (Sunday) night, and I screwed up pretty bad. I had one I liked (Monday) night, and I just tried to stay positive.” It worked. “I was wanting to whine around and mope last night, and my wife said, “There are six rounds left, so stop being a baby.’ She was right, and I hate to say that.” While he has struggled, throwing down steers is vital. He sits third in the all-important average, which pays out the top eight cumulate times at the end of the 10-round championship. If he were to remain third, Duvall would pocket more than $43,000 when the NFR concludes. Still, go-round winners will earn $26,231 each night, so he has plenty of opportunities before him over the next five rounds. “I just need to make a good run at everything,” he said. “My horse has been working great. Sam (Duvall, his father) is doing a great job hazing. It just wasn’t clicking so we just had to get the ball rolling.”

LAS VEGAS – Saddle bronc rider Colt Gordon has quickly learned the lights of Las Vegas can burn pretty bright. “I’m kind of just working into the Vegas atmosphere,” said Gordon, who earned his first paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo on Monday night. “It is not going as I had planned, but it is going to change around toward the end of the week.” It took four days for him to get acclimated to the Nevada desert and all that goes on in Sin City over this magical 10 days. This is ProRodeo’s grand finale, and there’s a pucker factor in the Thomas & Mack Center that can’t be felt at any other rodeo across the country. On Monday night, he matched moves with Frontier Rodeo’s Maple Leaf for 82 points to finish in a tie for sixth place. That was worth $2,115, but it also might be the stepping stone he needs. “That was a really good horse,” said Gordon, 22, of Comanche, Oklahoma. “She’s really strong, slow. I got a little loose there toward the end, but I got to finish it. It got the ball rolling for the rest of the week. Hopefully it keeps leading to good things.” He qualified for the NFR as the No. 14 in the world standings with a little more than $91,000 in regular-season earnings. Only the top 15 contestants in each event graduate to compete in the championship, so it’s a special occasion for the young cowboy to be playing amongst ProRodeo’s elite at its premier event. He still has five more chances to cash in. He may have missed out on opportunities through the first four rounds, but the NFR is at its halfway point. Go-round winners pocket $26,231 each night, so he has a grand chance before him. He found himself on the winning end just in time. “All the horses were extremely good, and there wasn’t one you wouldn’t want to get on,” he said. Maple Leaf is pretty special. She was the 2013 PRCA Saddle Bronc of the Year, so it was a great draw for Gordon. He also leaned on thoughts from one of his traveling partners, Wade Sundell, the reigning world champion who has eight NFR qualifications to his credit. “Actually, he called me (Monday) morning when he found out what I had and told me what to do on her,” Gordon said. “That was a big help. He was the one who told me not to spur her out for two jumps. I was sure glad I didn’t do that.” Sundell also offered other tidbits of advice that became helpful. “It’s just a rodeo and that I shouldn’t try to hard,” Gordon said. “I think those first few rounds, I was trying to make stuff happen instead of just letting things happen. That was the main thing to night, that no matter what happens, just go out and have fun. “When you’re looking at $26,000 a round, you’re thinking you need to do the best you can, but really, you just need to not think about it and just do your job.”

LAS VEGAS – A year ago on the fifth night, Clayton Biglow set a National Finals Rodeo arena record with a 93-point bareback ride. On Monday, he came within half a point of that mark to win the fifth round for the second straight year. He scored 92.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Scarlett Belle to claim the top prize, $26,231. “They’ve won four or five rounds on her before I got her,” said Biglow of Clements, California. “She has tied me; I’ve been on other horses and split two rounds here, and the other guys had Scarlett Belle. I finally got my shot at her. “Every time they nod their head on her, she is going to be great. I think she has a better trip tonight than she usually does. She was outstanding. She rode like a dang Cadillac.” While the powerful mare seemed like a luxury car, the cowboy has been driving like a NASCAR champion. He’s placed in three of five go-rounds, and his victory was the first of this year. Alas, it’s just a continuation of an outstanding regular season that saw him enter his fourth NFR No. 1 in the world standings. He just extended his lead and, almost as importantly, moved into the lead in the average race. He has ridden five horses for a cumulative score of 435 points, a point and a half ahead of Tim O’Connell and Trenton Montero. Another telling statement is he was just the biggest of many big scores. In fact, the fifth round featured four rides that were 90 points or better. At most performances of the NFR, an 89-point score will be the winner, but not in 2019; on Monday night, Richmond Champion’s 89 was good enough for sixth place, the last spot to catch money. “Man, this was so much fun,” Biglow said of his ride on Scarlett Belle. “Virgil was great, but that was just as great. It felt awesome.” Last December, he set the standard on Virgil, a horse of the year from C5 Rodeo. He offered a comparison between the two bucking beasts. “He was more of a bucker than Scarlett Belle, but she was a lot nicer to ride,” he said. “They started out at 89.5, and they could only go up from there.” “All those guys back there knew we had that kind of horsepower. We put these horses together. We know each and every one of them is going to be outstanding. Those guys are so dang good now, the best spur ride is going to win. The match-ups were great tonight.”

Bareback riding: 1. Clayton Biglow, 92.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Scarlett Belle, $26,231; 2. Tilden Hooper, 92, $20,731; 3. Orin Larsen, 91, $15,654; 4. Caleb Bennett, 90, $11,000; 5. Tanner Aus, 89.5, $6,769; 6. Richmond Champion, 89, $4,231. Steer wrestling: 1. Kyle Irwin, 3.7 seconds, $26,231; 2. Dakota Eldridge, 4.0, $20,731; 3. Riley Duvall, 4.1, $15,654; 4. Hunter Cure, 4.2, $11,000; 5. Will Lummus, 4.7, $6,769. Team roping: 1. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4.2 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Coleman Proctor/Ryan Motes and Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.4, $18,192 each; 4. Luke Brown/Paul Eaves, 5.1, $11,000; 5. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 5.3, $6,769; 6. Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan, 6.3, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Jake Watson, 92 points on Burch Rodeo’s Lunatic From Hell, $26,231; 2. Rusty Wright, 90.5, $20,731; 3. Spencer Wright, 89, $15,654; 4. Brody Cress, 88, $11,000; 5. Ryder Wright, 85, $6,769; 6. (tie) Zeke Thurston and Colt Gordon, 82, $2,115 each. Tie-down roping: 1. Ty Harris, 7.4 seconds, $26,231; 2. Riley Pruitt, 7.7, $20,7313; 3. Shane Hanchey, 7.9, $15,654; 4. Tuf Cooper, 8.0, $11,000; 5. (tie) Tyson Durfey and Adam Gray, 8.1, $5,500 each. Barrel racing: 1. Dona Kay Rule, 13.56, $26,231; 2. Amberleight Moore, 13.63, $20,731; 3. Ivy Conrado-Saebens, 13.63, $15,654; 4. Hailey Kinsel, 13.86, $11,000; 5. Jennifer Sharp, 13.88, $4,649; 6. Lacinda Rose, 13.92, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Daylon Swearingen, 92 points on Big Stone Rodeo’s War Cry, $26,231; 2. Koby Radley, 90.5, $20,731; 3. (tie) Tyler Bingham and Sage Kimzey, 89, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Jordan Spears and Clayton Sellars, 85.5, $5,500 each.