Monthly Archives: December 2020

ARLINGTON, Texas – For a young man in the middle of a world-title race, Wyatt Casper isn’t too concerned about the things outside of his control. He’s handling it like a veteran, and that’s a good thing. “Toward the beginning of the week, I had been staying focused on the standings, looking at the money,  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Richmond Champion has been here before. Through seven nights of the National Finals Rodeo, he sits in contention for the prize he most covets: a world championship. To look at him, there is no worry or trepidation. He’s a man on a business trip, and his work involves riding bareback horses. He’s  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – John Aus isn’t new to this bareback riding thing; he was a pretty handy cowboy about three decades ago, but he’ll be the first to say good things about his son. Tanner Aus is at the National Finals Rodeo for the fifth time in his career. John never played on a stage  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – It’s taken three nights for Jess Pope to find his way back to the pay window at the National Finals Rodeo. It’s part of being one of the 15 best bareback riders in rodeo; there are 14 other guys chasing those same dollars, and everyone is riding like it. “I feel like  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – No matter what happened during the first six nights of the National Finals Rodeo, Tanner Brunner kept his head in the game. There were three nights when his time was too long for him to cash in. He also suffered a broken barrier, which added a 10-second penalty to an otherwise solid  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – On the eve of Canada Night at the National Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Orin Larsen and a Calgary Stampede bucking horse decided to celebrate early. “I’ve been on that horse in 2018 in the short round of Pendleton (Oregon), and I actually ended up winning Pendleton on him,” said Larsen, who rode  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – The competition featured at the National Finals Rodeo brings out the greatest from the elite field of contestants. That’s especially true in steer wrestling, where most of the field of 15 cowboys still has a chance to win the 2020 world championship. Each dollar makes a difference, but so does each run.  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Like all elite athletes, there are some bucking horses that expel all their energy the first time they perform. At the National Finals Rodeo, most are bucked twice over the 10-day championship, and they may not be quite as special on their second time out of the chutes. Bareback rider Tim O’Connell  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – The proverbial monkey that was on Jace Melvin’s back has left Globe Life Arena, and the South Dakota steer wrestler now living in Stephenville, Texas, is having a ball at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. Being a first-timer on ProRodeo’s grandest stage can be a big nerve-wracking, even if the contestants don’t  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo features the 100 best bucking horses and bulls in the game, but there are still some that are better than others. Out of six nights to open this year’s championship, bareback rider Tanner Aus of Granite Falls, Minnesota, has drawn toward the bottom end four times. The  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – The first time Chad Rutherford rode J Bar J Rodeo’s Yum Bugs, he got just a taste of what the bucking horse could be. “I just got on her in Darby (Montana) at the Riggin’ Ralley in the first round, and she fell on me,” said Rutherford, a bareback rider from Hillsboro,  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – That breeze that blew through Inglis, Manitoba, was actually a huge sigh of relief from Globe Life Field in Arlington. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” said Orin Larsen of Inglis, who earned his first paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo during Tuesday’s sixth round with an 86-point ride on The  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – It turns out that Mabel was just the right fit for Jacob Edler to make a significant change. Garrett Henry’s 9-year-old sorrel mare replaced Ditto – the horse Edler had ridden through the first five rounds of this year’s National Finals Rodeo – in the lineup, and it was a home run  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Steer wrestler Jacob Edler is quietly having a solid run at the National Finals Rodeo. He’d like to make a little more noise. Through the first five rounds, the State Center, Iowa, cowboy has placed three times and earned $35,385 at Globe life Field in Arlington. Part of that came after his  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – This is the Tim O’Connell know about. With a somewhat hard-to-track bucking horse, the three-time world champion proved why he owns so many Montana Silversmiths gold buckles by matching move for move with Brookman Rodeo’s Famous Dex for 87 points to finish fourth in Monday’s fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo.  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Chad Rutherford had a bit of history with Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, a powerful horse that’s been prolific for high scores and wild buckoffs. In July, Rutherford and Gun Fire matched together for 90.5 points to win the Cody (Wyoming) Stampede, one of the many rodeos that helped propel the Hillsboro, Texas,  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – The burn has been slow, but things are starting to heat up for tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett. The Georgia-born cowboy had missed paychecks in each of the first three rounds of this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at Globe Life Field in Arlington, but he’s starting to find his place. On Monday  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Bret Franks is a three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier who coached Wyatt Casper to Clarendon (Texas) College’s first national championship when Casper won the saddle bronc riding title in 2016. Even after graduating, Casper is still receiving lessons from Franks, and they’re just a little part of the mix in the younger  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Maybe Jace Melvin has found the secret to his success. On the eve of this year’s National Finals Rodeo, the Stephenville, Texas, steer wrestler originally from Fort Pierre, South Dakota, slept in his own bed. He got up the next morning and practiced at home before making the commute to Globe Life  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – In a match-ups of world champions, they both came out on top. Reigning bareback riding titlist Clayton Biglow put together a powerful section of spur licks on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight, the 2020 Bareback Horse of the Year, for 89 points to win Sunday’s fifth round of the National Finals Rodeo.  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Most of the time, roller coasters are more fun when the highs are matched with the lows. That’s not the case with reigning bareback riding world champion Clayton Biglow. Twelve months ago, he was riding the highest of highs at the National Finals Rodeo, which culminated in his first Montana Silversmiths gold  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Tim O’Connell knew the 2020 National Finals Rodeo was going to be a battle. Tough bucking horses and 15 great bareback riders are part of the show, and that means every jump out of the chute can be big time for just about anybody. After faltering a bit in the third round,  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Jess Pope was just glad to show off a little. He’s on the biggest stage in rodeo, and Sunday’s group of horses allowed the bareback riders to show every bit of their ability. Pope rode Three Hills Rodeo’s Devil’s Advocate for 85 points to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place  Continue Reading »

ARLINGTON, Texas – Richmond Champion has a pretty nice history of collecting cash in north Texas. Raised in The Woodlands, Texas, and educated at Tarleton State University in nearby Stephenville, Texas, he was the first bareback riding champion at The American in 2014, worth $100,000; as the only qualifier to win, he earned the $1  Continue Reading »