Monthly Archives: December 2021

LAS VEGAS – Not everyone clocks in to work the way Jess Pope does. Most blue-collar workers punch a time clock, labor for eight hours and collect a paycheck at the end of the week. Pope rides bucking horses, and he takes his job seriously. He’s competing this week at the National Finals Rodeo as  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Truth be told, Jess Pope may have had a bit of revenge on his mind during Tuesday’s sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo. He was matched with Irish Eyes of the Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics firm, and the two combatants had a bit of history. “I was excited to  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks entered his first National Finals Rodeo as a rookie. If things continue to go as well as they have, he’ll leave Las Vegas as one of bareback riding’s top players. He rode J Bar J’s Yum Bugs for 85.5 points to finish in a three-way tie for third place during  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – There’s a storm brewing in Las Vegas, and three-time world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell is in the middle of it. After a slow start to this year’s National Finals Rodeo, he started to heat up in Monday’s fifth go-round and continued to simmer on Night 6. He rode the Cervi Brothers  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Even in terms of bareback riders, Garrett Shadbolt is diminutive. He’s of a shorter build and weighs just 125 pounds. He’s strapping himself to 1,200 pounds of bucking dynamite every night of this National Finals Rodeo. His riding arm’s a bit sore, but that comes after six nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Tanner Aus arrives at the Thomas & Mack Center every night with the best of intentions. He rides bucking horses for a living, and he knows there are many variables to go into his sport. His plan is to win each night and, if not, at least cash big checks during his  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Orin Larsen would love to get off to a faster start at the National Finals Rodeo. He’d prefer to not wait until the sixth round to start earning Vegas cash. He’ll take it, though. Larsen rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Gazer for 91 points to win Tuesday’s sixth go-round, collecting $26,997 in  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – An equipment change is coming for Clayton Biglow. Even after earning just his second paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo, the 2019 bareback riding world champion knows there’s something funky going on. “My rigging is feeling a little bit dead right now,” Biglow said after Monday’s 86.5-point ride on Harper &  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – With every nod of is head at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper is gaining confidence. He rode Korkow Rodeo’s Onion Ring for 88.5 points during Monday’s tough fifth round. That score would win most rodeos, but not the “TV Pen” of bucking horses at the NFR; Casper  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – How good has the first five days of the National Finals Rodeo gone for bareback rider Jess Pope? He finished out on the money Sunday, then took his smallest paycheck of the week by finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place during Monday’s fifth round. Yet, he’s still smiling. He knows  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – It took a 19-year-old bucking horse to get things lined out for three-time bareback riding world champion Tim O’Connell. “Thank God for that old man, because I needed him to get this thing rolling,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa, now living in Marshall, Missouri. “It was starting to get very frustrating. I’ve  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – It’s 920 miles from Cole Franks’ place in tiny Clarendon, Texas, to the bright lights of Las Vegas, but he’s feeling very much at home during this year’s National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed in four of five bareback riding rounds and was just a spur stroke away from winning Monday’s fifth round,  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks seems to be a young man on a mission. Still two months away from his 21st birthday, the bareback rider from Clarendon, Texas, has placed in three of the first four rounds of the National Finals Rodeo and pocketed $37,759. On Sunday night during the fourth round, he rode J-Bar-J’s  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Garrett Shadbolt had a pretty good idea of what to expect during his first trip to Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. Now, he’s hoping it continues to pay off. He’s placed in two of the first four rounds, most recently riding Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Guardian Angel for 86 points to  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – In the City of Lights, something finally clicked for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper. “I was excited for the first round, and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, and neither did two or three,” said Casper, who suffered no-scores in the first three rounds. “I feel like we’ve  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The competition is often brilliant at the National Finals Rodeo, which offers a purse of more than $10 million spread over 10 December night. It’s the combination of both that drives the cowboys. Just ask bareback rider Richmond Champion, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Stevensville, Montana. He rode Calgary Stampede’s Arbitrator Joe  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Brothers Bill and Roy Duvall have seen many runs at the Thomas & Mack Center. What they’re seeing on television might be the best they’ve seen in decades. Bill’s grandson, Riley, is having a heck of a time at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. On Sunday night, he stopped the clock in  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Tim O’Connell was in a bit of a different situation at the National Finals Rodeo; he didn’t earn any money in the opening two rounds of this year’s championship. A three-time world champion who has battled for that coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle for most of his seven previous qualifications to ProRodeo’s  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope has a new title; he’s the No. 1 bareback rider in the world standings. He’s not satisfied with it. “That’s where I wanted to be all year,” said Pope, 23, of Waverly, Kansas. “It’s all in God’s plan. I’m here to do my job for 10 days. It’s out of  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Instead of feeling frustrated that he’d finished just out of the money in the first two nights of the National Finals Rodeo, Richmond Champion relaxed and realized he was still in a good position. He also knew the random draw would work in his favor through the 10 rounds of ProRodeo’s grand  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – To most men, the thought of entering the ring with the greatest heavyweight fighters in the world wouldn’t be considered. Bareback riders aren’t like most men. They don’t mind a prize fight, and Saturday’s third round at the National Finals Rodeo was a 15-round bout. It was Cole Franks’ first foray in  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – With age comes wisdom. Even at age 25, Clayton Biglow is mature beyond his years. He proved it Friday night, riding Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Meat Sweats for 85 points to finish in a tie for fourth place in the second round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was sweet justice after suffering  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The pressure that Riley Duvall usually feels when he arrives at the National Finals Rodeo disappeared. Heck, it may have been gone before he even arrived. His pressure-packed runs in Salinas, California, on the final weekend of the ProRodeo season in August gave him free reign when it came time to compete  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo is always a testament to great athletes with a strong will. Every cowboy in the mix has earned the right to compete at ProRodeo’s grand championship. Once they arrive in Las Vegas for the most popular 10 nights of the year, there are more challenges that come their  Continue Reading »