Monthly Archives: December 2021

LAS VEGAS – When the 2021 ProRodeo season came to a close with the 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo on Saturday night, Richmond Champion bowed his head a bit. He realized that placing in just three rounds wasn’t what he expected at this year’s NFR, the sport’s championship event that has a purse  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Coleman Proctor had a message for his supporters after closing out his seventh qualification to the National Finals Rodeo. “Enjoy not being stressed on this 10th round, because it’s not going to be that way next year,” he said, pointing to his goal of being in the world-championship hunt for 2022. “This  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – If he could go back in time, tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett would love to have figured things out at the National Finals Rodeo a little sooner. He started off hot, finishing third in the opening round to collect more than $16,000. Then things went cold. He wasn’t getting a good start out  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Garrett Shadbolt was the odd man out during the bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo. He placed five times, all in Rounds 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. “Every other round, I’d win a check, then I’d win nothing, then win a check, then nothing,” said Shadbolt, 25, of Merriman, Nebraska.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – For the second straight year, Jess Pope has been crowned the average champion at the National Finals Rodeo. It’s quite a feat. He scored 873 cumulative points on 10 rides, which is a difficult task in any event, even harder in bareback riding, which takes a toll on one’s body every jump.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks is pretty reserved on a daily basis. He doesn’t have a lot to say, but even the news he learned at the National Finals Rodeo left him virtually speechless. “Wow,” he said after learning that he finished his rookie season with $227,422 in earnings. “That’s crazy.” He sat stunned after  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The pressure to win at the National Finals Rodeo is intense, and a field of the 15 best bareback riders doesn’t make it easy on any bronc buster, even if he owns a world championship. Clayton Biglow can testify to that. He’s struggled at his sixth straight NFR, and he’s not afraid  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – With one night remaining in the 2021 ProRodeo season, Tim O’Connell has a realistic look at his run through the first nine nights of the National Finals Rodeo. “It hasn’t been that tough, but it hasn’t been that good,” said O’Connell, a three-time world champion from Zwingle, Iowa. “At my first NFR  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Jarrett is feeling a little more comfortable in the saddle. He started off this year’s National Finals Rodeo in fine fashion, placing third in the opening round. Then things went downhill after that. He failed to catch a check for six nights before returning to the pay window on Night 8.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Most Canadians celebrated their special night at the National Finals Rodeo on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Bareback rider Orin Larsen, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Inglis, Manitoba, opted to wait 24 hours. He rode Calgary Stampede’s Arbitrator Joe for 85 points to finish fifth in Friday’s ninth go-round, pocketing  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The winter and early spring were a bit dry for bareback rider Cole Franks. As a PRCA rookie, he was trying to make a name for himself but wasn’t having much luck. He had entered the rodeo in his birth home in Guymon, Oklahoma, but he didn’t get to ride because he  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Coleman Proctor has a way of finding the bright spots on cloudy days. His attitude toward his job as one of the elite headers in ProRodeo has served him well, and it was magnified over the first nine nights of this National Finals Rodeo. He and his heeler, New Mexican Logan Medlin,  Continue Reading »

CLARENDON, Texas – Wyatt Smith has always been an athlete and a winner, and he’s taking that characteristic with him to his new post as the women’s rodeo coach at Clarendon College, where he also will be an assistant for the men’s program. Smith won national titles at the high school and college levels, and  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope had to get on two of the hardest-to-ride horses in the PRCA during Thursday’s eighth round. His first, C5 Rodeo’s Black Eye, didn’t perform up to its typical style, so Pope was awarded a re-ride on Five Star Rodeo’s Deep Springs. The big gray also didn’t have a great trip,  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Cimarron Jack has been a winner over the years. The big bay has helped cowboys win rounds at the National Finals Rodeo before. That didn’t happen with Wyatt Casper during Thursday’s eighth round, but it worked well enough for the Texas cowboy. He and Cimarron Jack matched moves  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – In his 12 years riding bareback horses in the PRCA, Orin Larsen is known for riding rank broncs. He proved it Thursday with an 84.5-point ride on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Mr. Harry to finish fourth in the eighth go-round. That was worth $11,321 and proved that when the Canadian cowboy gains  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – With every ride he makes, Cole Franks is becoming more of a bareback riding veteran. He takes the good with the bad, which is what happens in rodeo. He found a lot of good with an 87-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Anything Goes to finish a close second in Thursday’s  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – For eight seconds of Garrett Shadbolt’s bareback ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s San Angelo Sam, everything went great. At 8.1 seconds, all hell broke loose. He spurred over the paint horse’s neck, got tossed away from his riding hand, which oftentimes results in a nasty hang-up, and crashed to the ground.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – In a couple of months Jurnee Jarrett will turn 3 years old, but she wants everyone to know she can do big-girl stuff. The biggest thing she’s doing in Sin City this week is keep her daddy, tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett, content through each day as he prepares to compete at his  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Clayton Biglow doesn’t have to worry about his place in ProRodeo history. At just 25 years old, he’s a six-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier. He’s not had the run in Las Vegas that he’d like, but he keeps plugging along. That, in an essence, might be the definition of a cowboy. Sometimes  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Orin Larsen virtually blanked in the opening half of the National Finals Rodeo, earning only the $10,000 bonus for qualifying that every contestant gets. He’s made up for it in the two nights since the second half has started. He’s collected $31,351, most of which came with his win in Round 6.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Slowly but surely, bareback rider Richmond Champion is getting to where he wants. He just wanted to do it a bit faster. After all, the National Finals Rodeo has a payout of more than $10 million, and he wanted his fair share of it. “I’ve just been building,” said Champion, 28, a  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – In his fourth trip to ProRodeo’s grand finale, steer wrestler Riley Duvall is officially having his best National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed in four of seven nights, including a share of two go-round wins. His most recent came in Wednesday’s seventh round, when he dropped his steer in 3.9 seconds to finish  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – It may have taken three rounds, by Wyatt Casper has found his comfort zone in Sin City. He’s put together four solid rides in a row, placing in three of them and just missing out on payday on Night 6. He rode Big Bend’s Broken Camp for 89 points to win Wednesday’s  Continue Reading »