Monthly Archives: December 2024

LAS VEGAS – The two years he spent at Clarendon (Texas) College taught bareback rider Weston Timberman a lot about life, gave him experiences to cherish and prepared him for a career in professional rodeo. He continued his education over the past two weeks during his inaugural qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, where the sport’s elite play for the biggest pay in the sport. He also figured out a way to ride bucking horses while in considerable pain and still earned nearly $140,000 for 10 days of work in Las Vegas. Timberman wrapped the championship with an 88-point ride on J Bar J Rodeo’s Damn Straight to place for the sixth time during Saturday’s 10th round. He finished in a three-way tie for third place, pocketing $14,308. He also finished fourth in the aggregate race with a 10-ride cumulative sore of 848.5 points, worth another $41,000. Early in the go-rounds, he began experiencing pain in his left arm, the same one in which he wedges his hand into a bareback rigging to secure himself onto a bucking bronc. Diagnosed with forearm splints (similar to shin splints), he received treatment from the Justin Sportsmedicine Team. After opening the NFR with a win in the first round, Timberman failed to snag a check on the second and third nights, then placed fifth in Round 4. He reached the pay window again in the sixth round with a sixth-place finish, then jumped up to third in the seventh round. Round 8 was another turning point for the Wyoming-born cowboy now living in Columbus, Montana. His horse went down in the chute after he’d put his hand into the rigging, torquing Timberman’s wrist. The animal then failed to perform well one the chute was opened, and judges awarded him with a re-ride opportunity. Despite the pain in his forearm, wrist and hand, Timberman took the chance, scoring 84.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks and scored another sixth-place payday. Learning to play through the pain can be a valuable asset for cowboys, especially those that compete in bareback riding, the most physically demanding event in rodeo. When his time in Las Vegas came to a close Saturday night, he had accumulated $38,410 in NFR money. He finished the regular season seventh in the world standings with $292,509. It was a great conclusion to an incredible inaugural season in ProRodeo, one in which he was named the Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year.                                                  

LAS VEGAS – Looking at the final numbers, Cole Franks had a fantastic run at the National Finals Rodeo. He led the aggregate standings most of the way, only to be surpassed on the final night by world champion Dean Thompson, but Franks still produced at a high rate over the 10-day championship. He finished second in the average, worth more than $70,000, and placed seven times, earning $156,340 in Las Vegas. “It was really good on paper,” said Franks, a three-time NFR qualifier from Clarendon, Texas. “A couple more points here and there would have been great; about one and a half points would have been great.” He rode 10 horses for a cumulative score of 853.5 points, a half point behind Thompson. That extra he had hoped for would have earned Franks the coveted average championship and another $16,000. Still, he finished the campaign sixth in the world standings with $295,896. “It was a good week, but that title would have been the cherry on top,” Franks said. He wrapped his 2024 campaign with an 87-point ride n Frontier Rodeo’s Breaking News, which earned him a tie for sixth place with Jess Pope. Each man earned $2,717 for that. In fact, it’s serving as motivation for him to build toward next season. His plan is to return to the bright lights of Las Vegas and contend for the world championship. His immediate goal, though, is to finally win a round. Through 30 nights of competing at the NFR, he has yet to win a round, which also means he collects the lion’s share of the money on that night. Round winners are also celebrated at the South Point Hotel and Casino for a nightly presentation and receive a Montana Silversmiths buckle for the honor. “It’s going to take me 31 rounds, the first round next year I’m getting that,” he said. “I’ve got five days before I’m off to my next one, so I just want to keep it rolling.” If he had the chance, Franks would get on 10 more bucking horses in a row. He’ll have to wait until next December, and he has a plan to make everything happen.

LAS VEGAS – The big, bad gray gelding, Virgil, was named the Bareback Horse of the National Finals Rodeo. Jess Pope can testify to the incredible power the two-time bucking horse of the year possesses. Pope rode the C5 Rodeo horse for 87 points to close out his fifth straight NFR during Saturday’s 10th round and add another paycheck to his 2024 income. He shared sixth place with Cole Franks, worth $2,717. “There aren’t very many people that ride Virgil on the trip he had right there,” said Pope, who rode 10 broncs for a cumulative score of 846.5 points to finish fifth in the aggregate race and earn $29,340. He left town with $139,953 n Las Vegas money and finished the season fifth in the world standings with $307,108. He also scored big points on two of the toughest horses in ProRodeo, Virgil and Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, the latter of which helped Pope to a 90-point ride during the fifth round. He finished third that night in what the cowboys call the “TV pen,” a grouping of the most electric broncs in the sport. There are 105 bareback horses placed in five pens. The fifth and 10th rounds are the electric horses, the ones everyone wants to watch. The “eliminator pen” is featured in Rounds 3 and 8. That’s where the bareback riders face the dragons, the nastiest broncs. Virgil was eliminating Saturday night. “That was extremely hard and difficult,” said Pope, the 2022 world champion from Waverly, Kansas. “Every single jump, he dinged. He could have bucked me off in any given second.” The NFR was a microcosm of his regular season. He struggled to be matched with the kinds of horses that gave him a chance to earn money, but he showed signs of the brilliance he’s had the previous four years. “For the year I’ve had, I was excited to be at the NFR,” he said. “My September and August were just banger. Coming out here, it seemed like my year was the same way. Show up but can’t draw the ones I need to win. When I had a chance to win money, I feel like I did everything I could to take advantage of it. “I’m extremely blessed and grateful to be here.” There’s a resurgence of young cowboys involved in bareback riding, the most physically demanding event in rodeo. At 26, Pope was the elder statesman of the cowboys who finished among the top five; the other four – world champion Dean Thompson, Rocker Steiner, Keenan Hayes and Bradlee Miller – average 21.25 years old. “This has been a really unique and cool top 15,” Pope said. “It’s been an extremely cool battle on who I thought was going to come in here, dominate and really kick butt throughout the week. “To see Dean win a world title is pretty dang cool. He sure enough is an animal, and he’s going to wear that pure gold buckle really good.” The next step is to build toward next season with rodeo gold on his mind. “I’m going to go home, get healthy and just keep doing me,” he said. I pride myself as the bareback rider and the person that I am, and I don’t plan on changing anything.”

LAS VEGAS – There’s a lot to being a rodeo cowboy. It’s not just riding or roping. It’s being a businessman, knowing how to plan a schedule and take care of all the little things that come with it. It’s being a driver, someone who travels tens of thousands of miles to get from one event to another. For Brody Wells, it’s all part of being a saddle bronc rider, those men who ride equine sticks of dynamite to make a living. For the first time in his career, the 23-year-old man was shown on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, the National Finals Rodeo. It was a chance to shine, but it was also an opportunity to learn. “The biggest thing I did this week that helped me was just ignore some of the big stuff and just keep it simple,” said Wells of Powell, Wyoming. “It’s just bronc riding at the end of the day. I’ve learned so much about the other stuff, to not let your schedule get so packed. There are so many little things, like trying to make sure you try to eat good a couple of times and do all the things to try not to get sick. “There are so many little factors that come into play. I’ve just been watching the guys that have been here a bunch of times and dominated here, but at the same time, I just had fun and rode broncs.” He finished the 10-day championship with an 86.5-point ride on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Cat Walk, which resulted in a four-way tie for sixth place worth $1,358. He earned $94,761 in Las Vegas and ended the 2024 season 10th in the world standings with $230,546. “That’s a sweet horse,” he said of Cat Walk. “It’s nice to get on a Wyoming born and raised bucking horse, and it was awesome. “It’s been a great 10 days, and I’m super pumped for how it went. It makes me want to be back here a bunch. I’m just getting rolling here, just getting started.” Wells was one of five cowboys who attended Clarendon (Texas) College. Combined, Wells, fellow bronc rider Wyatt Casper, bareback riders Weston Timberman and Cole Franks and bull rider Wacey Schalla earned nearly $673,000. “Wacey picked it up there at the end, and he’s one of the best bull riders here,” Wells said. “He struggled for whatever reason, but he ended up riding great. Everybody was riding great and getting checks.” He plans to utilize the momentum he gained during his first venture to Las Vegas as he prepares for next year. “Coming here made me realize how much potential I have, and it’s a boost to my confidence,” he said. “We have the Chase Hawks (Memorial Rough Stock Rodeo) next weekend, so I’m rolling right into it. I’m going to keep rolling, because I want a gold buckle.” Those only go to world champions, so his sights are set high.

LAS VEGAS – Wyatt Casper didn’t have a lot of time to reflect, but he knew he’d just done something special. He closed out his fifth National Finals Rodeo with an 85.5-point ride on Kirsten Vold’s Captain Hook. Though he didn’t place in the 10th round, he did finish the rodeo with a cumulative score of 853 points and staked claim to the second most prestigious title in ProRodeo: the NFR average championship. “I came up a little short on the overall goal,” said Casper, who was shooting for the world championship, which went to Utah cowboy Ryder Wright. “I knocked out one of my goals for this year, and that was to come here and be the best on 10 head. I’m excited for it.” He should be. The aggregate winners in each event earn an extra $86,391 for accomplishing that feat. It increased his Las Vegas earnings to just shy of $220,000. Casper finished third in the world standings with $439,332. Captain Hook, which helped Wright to a share of the fifth-round title with an 89.5-point ride, didn’t have the same trip Saturday night. With half the score coming from the bronc, Casper needed another point to place in the round. “I feel like I came up short on the drawing end of it, but that’s part of bronc riding,” he said. “It’s going to happen.” So are victories, and he had his share of them this year. He entered the NFR fourth in the world standings, then doubled his money in a week and a half of work. He has plenty of things from which to build toward next season. “I’ll just use this to light a fire in me,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “Every year you come out here, you want to come back next year and do even better, so that’s what I’m going to strive for, what I’m going to push for this year. “It’s been a remarkable season. I owe a lot to my great family, my great friends and a lot of fans out there. I’m just glad to be able to get it done this year and come back and do even better next year.”

LAS VEGAS – The tiny town of Altamont, Utah, has plenty of reason to celebrate. Two of its 249 inhabitants came away from the National Finals Rodeo with two major titles and a boatload of money. Bareback rider Dean Thompson won the NFR aggregate title and the world championship, while steer wrestler Cash Robb staked claim to the average crown in his first appearance on ProRodeo’s grandest stage. “That’s insane,” said Thompson, who utilized an 88.5-point ride on J Bar J Rodeo’s Straight Stick for a second-place finish in Saturday’s 10th round to earn $26,624 and added a payday of $86,391 from the average title to slip past Texan Rocker Steiner by $18,000. “That’s one of my best friends. “We grew up bulldogging together, and this kid’s a mile from my house. I just call him ‘C Money,’ because it’s Cash Money Robb. He’s the best.” Thompson placed in eight of 10 rounds and finished with a cumulative score of 854.5 points and earned $239,924. He finished the season with $412,121. “I wish I could take you back to how I felt before I got on tonight,” said Thompson, who won the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in just his second full season in ProRodeo and after competing at his second NFR. “It was kind of terrifying again. In the first round, you get some insane nerves, and they climb until it seems like the fifth round for me. Then they waned until this 10th round, and it was like they came back with a vengeance. “When I got (to the locker room), I had gotten warmed up and was dripping sweat off my nose. The emotions now are just sheer joy.” His week was strong already, but he put an exclamation point on everything with his final ride of the 2024 season. “Straight Stick is one of the best animals I’ve ever known, one of the best I’ve ever been on,” said Thompson, who attended Western Texas College on a rodeo scholarship. “She packed me to a couple really good checks this year, and I was really tickled to have that horse. I was really tickled for her to have just a stellar day.” It was a stellar season for Thompson. He entered the NFR fourth in the world standings and rode the waves that come over that magical 10-day stretch. He would fourth heading into the final night, then he stayed steady and consistent through each ride. Now, he’s in the ProRodeo history books as the 2024 world champ.

LAS VEGAS – Most of the time in Las Vegas, the smart money is on the safe bet. Don’t hit when the dealer is showing a bust hand in blackjack. Bet odds or evens, maybe red or black, instead of putting all your chips on a specific number in roulette. Sometimes, though, the rewards are greater when taking a chance. J.D. Struxness went all in on taking extra chances after he failed to secure a time on opening night. It paid off in his first Montana Silversmiths gold buckle for winning the world championship with another aggressive run during Saturday’s 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo. “We really liked my steer tonight,” said Struxness, who stopped the clock in 3.6 seconds to finish second in the round, worth $26,624; he also finished eighth in the average race, worth another $8,150. “They’d done good on him in Round 7. We knew that steer ran, though, so it wasn’t a steer you could back off or think it was a day off. We knew we needed to maximize the (barrier), and then go out there and really hang it on him and let it hang out a little bit.” His team included fellow bulldoggers Rowdy Parrott and Ty Erickson – the latter of whom owns the horse, Crush, that all three ride – and their hazer, Matt Reeves, an NFR veteran who rides Kirk, owned by his wife, Savannah. “We were talking before, and we liked him because he gave us the opportunity to open up and be aggressive all the way through the run and just go out there and see what we can do and let the chips fall where they do,” Struxness said. They fell right into his lap. He finished the 10-day championship with $151,955, which increased his 2024 earnings to $309,220. He edged Will Lummus by just $1,500. “Those horses are what gave us the opportunity to compete and do what we do this week,” said Struxness, from Milan, Minnesota, but now living in Perrin, Texas. It’s been eight years since he first qualified for ProRodeo’s grand championship. He won the intercollegiate title in 2016 while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, then had a successful NFR that December. This was his sixth trip to Las Vegas, and he joins his old teammate, Jacob Edler, as world champions – Edler won the 2020 title in his only NFR qualification so far. “There are quite a few good bulldoggers that come out of there,” Struxness said. “Stockton Graves (an eight-time NFR qualifier) did a great job when he was there, and he churned out some bulldoggers. Hopefully they keep the reputation alive.” The reputation is strong, because the Steer Wrestling Capital of College Rodeo has another world champion.

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo is a roller coaster of emotions. There are peaks and valleys, and the climb is sometimes the best part. Bareback rider Richmond Champion is still hoping for a ride to the top. He rode Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Risky Business for 86 points to finish in a three-way tie for third place during Friday’s ninth round, but it was just his second payday of the NFR so far. “I don’t place a whole lot in the ‘hopper rounds,’ ” Champion, a nine-time NFR qualifier from Stevensville, Montana, said of the Round 9 pen of broncs. “I feel really good about that, because it’s another check and am still solid in the average. Life is good.” He has pocketed just $28,435 in go-round checks, but he’s ridden nine horses for a cumulative score of 750 points to sit eighth in the average. Should he remain there when the 10th round concludes Saturday night, he’ll pad his earnings to the tune of $8,150. If he moves up a spot to seventh, it’s worth $14,670. He will enter the final night of the 2024 campaign 13th in the world standings with $167,400. “Eighth in the average is money, and I don’t want to leave anything on the table that I have an opportunity for,” he said. “I feel like I haven’t had a lot of opportunities this week. I’ve played the cards I’ve been dealt, and here we are with one more opportunity. “Technically, it’s two big opportunities with the average, so I’m pumped. This is the best I’ve ever felt coming into Round 9.” That’s saying something, because bareback riding is brutal. Cowboys wear specially designed gloves with binds in them, then wedge their riding hands into a rigging that is strapped tightly around the horse. They are locked onto a 1,200-pound bucking machine. The men are also only half the score. The animal, and the way it bucks, is a big part of the equation. The cowboy is marked by how well he spurs the horse from in front of its shoulders back to the rigging in rhythm with the bucking motion. If the horse isn’t having a great day, it affects the overall score. “Drawing well is part of it,” Champion said. “I don’t actually know how you train for that, but I’ll figure it out before next year.” Champion has a plan of attack, and he hopes to finish strong at this year’s finale and carry that momentum into the 2025 campaign.

LAS VEGAS – He’s not wearing camouflage, but J.D. Struxness is definitely a hunter. He’s not trapsing through the woods in search of food; he’s in Las Vegas, and his prey is the steer wrestling world standings. He’s been stalking for nine nights, and he’s closing in on his target with one round remaining at the National Finals Rodeo. Struxness struck again during Friday’s ninth round, grappling his steer to the ground in 4.0 seconds to finish in a tie for second place worth $23,364. He also moved up a spot to eighth in the NFR aggregate race with an eight-run cumulative time of 32.4 seconds while earning more than $127,000. Should he remain in that spot in the average, Struxness will add $8,150 Saturday night. He trails the world-standings leader, Nevadan Dakota Eldridge, by $13,351. Eldridge also was 4.0 seconds Friday, so no ground was made up. “He’s wanting to keep it interesting at the end there and not let me get the head start on him,” said Struxness, who has season earnings of $274,446. “It wouldn’t be the first time I came from behind of Dakota. “It’s one of those endings where it’s stressful, but it’s fun. We’re in position where we have to cut loose and open up and try things, because we’re needing to place good every night to even have a chance. That makes it fun, because we’re cutting loose wide open, trying to set things up, trying to be as fast as we can, taking chances. We’re doing things on steers that are making the steers better and doing things that are going our way on these steers.” The trump card in this race is NFR veteran Will Lummus, who is third in the world standings and trails Struxness by nearly $37,000. Lummus, though, is second in the average race and could win $70,000 by finishing in that position when the curtain closes Saturday night. “We’re just backing in there,” Struxness said. “The horses are still locked in. They’ve been doing great all week, and they’re taking it well. We jut rock and roll, go out there and open up and try to do our job. We just try to keep placing high “We’re in one of those situations where we have nothing to lose. We need to capitalize, maximize and over-maximize our steers we have, then we’ll sit back and watch how it shakes out after that.”

LAS VEGAS – The truth for bareback rider Bradlee Miller is that he has to play the game he loves in some serious pain. He suffered a neck injury during his fifth-round ride, and it’s cause extreme discomfort. As with anything to do with the spine, there are some side affects that aren’t helping either. “It’s getting pretty bad,” said Miller, 21, of Huntsville, Texas. “The last few nights, it was only my right side that was going numb and hurting me. The last two days, my left arm has completely went limp.” He’s blocking out the pain and unpleasantness during his inaugural National Finals Rodeo. Whatever is ailing him didn’t show during Friday’s ninth round when he rode Macza Pro Rodeo’s Side Show for 86 points to finish in a three-way tie for third place. He earned $14,308 and increased his NFR payroll to $212,848. He’s done that in just nine nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, placing eight times with three round victories. He’s jumped to No. 2 in the world standings with $350,213 and is firmly in contention for the world championship. Yes, he’s in a position he never considered when he first arrived n Las Vegas less than two weeks ago. He trails fellow Texan Rocker Steiner by less than $30,000 with one night remaining in the 2024 ProRodeo season. “About halfway through the ride, she set off a pretty bad stinger in my neck,” Miller said of Side Show. “I had no control of my left arm whatsoever.” Miller rides right-handed, but his free-arm helps him maintain control on the bucking horses. It’s a scary situation to have an extremity go numb while trying to take care of business. He’s been able to maintain excellence despite his situation. “You now, for $34,000 a night, you can push through some things that you never thought were possible,” Miller said of the nightly payouts to round winners. “Right now is a testament to that. If it was a regular-season rodeo, I’d probably go home for a little while. Here at the National Finals, there’s nothing going to slow me down.”

LAS VEGAS – With the right horses under him, 2022 world champion bareback rider Jess Pope shines, especially at the National Finals Rodeo. He’s a three-time winner of the NFR’s average championship and finished second a year ago. The computer-generated drawing system hasn’t been quite as kind to Pope in 2024. He’s had two rounds where his score didn’t reach 80 points, which is a big reason why he’s sixth in the aggregate race, seven points behind the leader. The drawing gods looked out for him for Friday’s ninth round, though. Pope matched moves with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Secrets Out for 89.5 points to win the night and collect another payday worth nearly $34,000. “I thought that (horse) was kind of lay-up in this pen,” he said, referring to the electric nature of the 6-year-old bay mare’s bucking style, which was highlighted in a grouping of horses considered the easiest to ride. “I told (fellow bareback riders) after the fourth round that I thought we had that horse mispenned, but there’s really no way we could move here around.” “I think next year it’ll be penned differently, and I was kicking myself in the butt when I said that. When I saw the draw last night, I thought, ‘Boy, I’m glad nobody went through with this.’ ” This is the first time to Las Vegas for the mare, but she’s excelled in the Thomas & Mack Center, the NFR’s home since 1985. She guided Texan Bradlee Miller to the Round 4 victory. In two nights of performing, she’s helped two cowboys earn more than $67,000. Being the beneficiary of that, Pope increased his Sin City earnings to $106,896. He’s fifth in the world standings with $275,050 and has one night left on his 2024 season He is matched with C5 Rodeo’s Virgil for Saturday’s 10th round; the bronc is a two-time PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year and joins Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire as the Bareback Horses of this year’s NFR. Pope finished third after posting a 90-point ride on Gun Fire on Night 5. “I know I’m riding good,” said Pope of Waverly, Kansas. “I’ve had a lot of people ask me today what I thought of my draw, and I finally just got to a point where I started telling people that I have no expectations. We’re going to have fun the last two rounds. We’re not going to worry about it and just enjoy the time that I get to be here.”

LAS VEGAS – The first thing header Coleman Proctor must do after he backs into the timed-event box is get a good start; it’s a vital piece of the puzzle that is team roping. Sometimes, though, it’s more about the finish. “I’ve taken a lot of great tarts here and not finished very well, and it’s cost me a lot,” said Proctor of Pryor, Oklahoma. “(His horse) Heisman got me out of the barrier, and I felt like I was right next to the steer. It probably affected some of those guys behind me because sometimes when you get such a great start, it shows them there’s more stretch in the barrier than they think, and there’s a few guys that got the barrier tonight that we haven’t seen.” As the 11th team to rope, Proctor and his heeling partner, Logan Medlin, posted the fastest run of the night, a 3.8-second run to win Friday’s ninth round, adding another $33,687 to each of their coffers. They have roped seven of nine steers for a cumulative time of 28.5 seconds and sit fourth in the aggregate race, and each man has earned nearly $141,000 in Las Vegas. Friday was a big move for the tandem. Proctor moved to second in the heading world standings at $296,736, $38,000 behind Tyler Wade, but Wade and his partner, Wesley Thorp, have times on just five steers. That’s where a solid average check can come into play. In addition, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield, who led the all-around standings heading into Friday, had to use two loops and settled for a 14.9-second run. That moved Proctor into the lead in the all-around race with $326,648, and he has a $31,924 advantage over Mayfield and a $33,607 lead over the No. 3 man, heeler Junior Nogueira. “I’ve had a lot of people ask me this week about what it’s like heeling for somebody that’s chasing the all-around buckle, and he’s busted his butt all year for this to give himself a chance for this,” said Medlin of Tatum, New Mexico. “Just to be along or the ride, to play a role in that, I just feel honored to be a part.” It’s the combination of teamwork and perseverance for both men. Proctor also competes in steer roping and finished 17th in the standings. That’s one of the reasons he’s in this position. “Logan has been part of almost every major all-around title in my career, so this is nothing new to him,” Proctor said. There have been a mix of emotions throughout the first nine days. They went through a stretch in Rounds 3-5 that took them off the mountaintop, then they started riding the train back up. They returned to the pay window on Night 6, then won Round 7, finished second on the eighth night and won again Friday. “We should know it’s going to be a roller coaster of emotions,” Proctor said. “We all plan on dominating from Round 1, so it does hit you. It’s hit me this week, and I’m a nine-time veteran, and it’s still the same roller-coaster ride, and it’s also the fun of it, too.” Medin is also in contention for the heeling world title, so he’s invested just as much. “This is tones of fun,” he said. “This is what I dreamed of as a kid, getting to wine these go-rounds and just being able to bring people to their feet and bring a sense of excitement for the sport of team roping. “I think this week of team roping has been amazing. There are so many people that have told me it’s been their favorite event to watch this week, and I think that just shows how competitive it is and how tough it is to win. There’s no greater feeling than tonight to beat the 14 best teams in the world and come out on top tonight.” The NFR is rodeo’s Super Bowl and World Series wrapped up in a 10-day championship. It features only the best from the regular season, and they’re all battling for rodeo’s gold. Fans pack into the Thomas & Mack Center and help create an atmosphere that is nothing short of electric. “We’re excited about it, and there’s no better feeling in the world like just making 19,000 people start standing up and screaming for you,” Proctor said.

LAS VEGAS – This is exactly what Wyatt Casper has been looking for. He’s a five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier whose inaugural run at ProRodeo’s championship event took place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, during COVID. This year marks his fourth trip to Las Vegas for the NFR, and it’s the best finale he’s experienced since 2020. It might just be his best ever. “I’ve kind of struggled out here the last three or four years,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “To finally be able to capitalize on ones like I wanted, it’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders. I didn’t know it was possible to come here and have a good NFR, but we’re finally making it happen. “It’s a lot of fun.” Winning makes it even better. Casper rode Frontier Rodeo’s Yellowstone for 86.5 points to finish third in Thursday’s eighth round, adding $20,104. He has pushed his NFR earnings to $133,157. Oh, and there are two rounds remaining. Casper leads the all-important aggregate race with a cumulative score of 687 points. He’s six ahead of Canadian Dawson Hay. “We thought that horse was at the top end of our ‘hopper pen,’ so we wanted to pen him up a little bit,” Casper said. “He fits in the (‘souped-up hopper pen’) pretty good with all those other horses. I was glad to have him. “That was a nice horse, and I’ve been on him three or four times now. He seems to do almost the same thing every time. He will come around to the left, and he’s up under himself. It makes it a lot of fun.” His work in Las Vegas has increased his annual salary to $352,941, and he is second on the money list. While he trails two-time world champ Ryder Wright of Beaver, Utah, by $59,000, Casper’s spot in the aggregate race could play into the final outcome. The average winner will add $86,391 after the show closes Saturday night. Thursday’s round was an opportunity to shine. The horses were the type that cowboys should ride. In fact, just one was bucked off. They’ll be matched Friday with the “eliminator pen,” which features the most difficult broncs in ProRodeo. Scoring high on the “souped-up hoppers” is a chance to be refreshed as they get ready for battle. “That kind of ride helps your confidence a bunch,” Casper said. “You’re going to have a shot to show off in front of those judges and show them what you can do on that horse. “I think I need to keep placing in those rounds. I’ll just try to win the rounds, and everything will fall where it needs to fall.” As he prepares for Friday night, e will be matched with Calgary Stampede’s Freedom Express, which bucked off Logan Hay on Sunday.  “I feel good; I feel confident,” he said. “I’ve got a pretty good horse, so I’m pretty excited. He’s damn sure a bucker, but I think he’s a chance to maybe do something in the round and get some more points in that average.”

LAS VEGAS – Cliffhanger was not in a mood to play, and Weston Timberman might have gotten the worst of the ordeal. During Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo, the Beutler & Son Rodeo bronc slid down and turned in the chute after Timberman had wedged his left hand into the rigging. Already aching because of forearm splits (similar to shin splints), his wrist torqued. When he finally freed himself from the predicament, Timberman gathered his composure, remounted the horse and tried it again. Cliffhanger was just having a bad day, and it continued once the chute opened. Part of the “eliminator pen” of bareback horses, he didn’t perform up to capacity. The result was an option for a re-ride for Timberman, a first-time NFR qualifier from Columbus, Montana. He took the chance, and it paid off. He then rode Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks for 84.5 points to finish sixth in the round, worth $5,433. It was his fifth payday of the NFR and increased his Las Vegas earnings to more than $83,000. He’s also ridden eight broncs for a cumulative score of 678 points and sits fourth in the average race. Should he hold that position, he will add another $41,000 Saturday night. Timberman is just a point behind reigning world champion Keenan Hayes in the aggregate race. Should Timberman move into that spot, it would be worth more than $55,000, so every ride counts over the final two days. He sits sixth in the world standings with $237,451, which is a big move for the 2024 PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year who also earned his second straight intercollegiate title this past June while competing for Clarendon (Texas) College. Timberman still has an outside shot to win the world championship, but things are going to have to go his way over the final two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale.

LAS VEGAS – It’s sometimes hard to figure how J.D. Struxness never won a state wrestling championship while at Lac qui Parle Valley High School in Madison, Minnesota He was a two-time runner up, settling for silver instead of gold, but he’s trying to make up for lost time at the National Finals Rodeo. He made another strong move Thursday, wrestling his steer to the ground in 3.9 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for second place during the eighth round. That was worth $20,285 and pushed his Las Vegas earnings past the $100,000 mark with two days remaining. “Coming into tonight with what they’ve done on that steer previously, he was not one of my picks to run out here,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota, now living in Perrin, Texas. “You can’t change what you have, so we came up with a game plan. It was one of those nights where we needed to let it all hang out if we wanted to have any sort of chance at all. The horses were great, and we got a great start. “We made a pretty darn good run on the ground, and we were able to speed that steer up a lot where we placed on him, which was the plan. It’s hard, but when you know you have a steer like that, you’ve got to do some extra work.” He is No. 2 in the world standings with $251,083 and trails leader Dakota Eldridge by $13,351. Struxness needs to continue to earn big paydays over the final two go-rounds if he has a chance to take the coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to the world champion. While he owns a slim lead over the No. 3 cowboy, Will Lummus, the latter is second in the aggregate race. The top eight cowboys based on 10-round cumulative times earn hefty bonuses, and the winner will pocket more than $86,000. That will go a long way toward crowing the titlist. Struxness has battled his way back after suffering a no-time on opening night, but he is ninth in the average. That’s why the final few nights of the NFR have been so vital to him. “This time of the week, we have to open up and take chances, so it’s first or last right now,” Struxness said. “We opened up tonight, took a chance on one we didn’t like very much at all, and it worked out.” That process includes working with his team, including fellow NFR bulldoggers Rowdy Parrott and Ty Erickson – who won the eighth round – and their hazer, Matt Reeves. They come up with an idea of what techniques to use. Most importantly is getting a good start, and having Erickson’s horse, Crush, in the mix helps; he’s the 2024 PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. “Matt takes care of things until after that head catch, and I needed to get out in front of the steer to try to speed him up on the ground, be over him and have all my power there to clean him up,” he said. “This is one of those nights when the game plan got executed perfectly.” Struxness has wrestled for titles before. He knows the pressure that comes with it, but he also understands that performing at an optimum level is crucial. That’s been his plan since Day 1, and he’s just amping up the pressure on the field.

LAS VEGAS – There are a lot of rodeos throughout the year where an 84-point saddle bronc ride will win the title. That’s rarely the case at the National Finals Rodeo. Brody Wells of Powell, Wyoming, has ridden strong at his first championship. He matched moves with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Uptuck for 84 points to finish sixth in Thursday’s eighth go-round. That was worth $5,433 and helped him increase his NFR earnings to $93,403. It also marked the fourth time in eight nights that he’s earned a payday in Las Vegas. He won the second round and shared the Round 5 victory with two-time world champion Ryder Wright. Wells – who was part of two intercollegiate men’s team titles at Clarendon (Texas) College in 2021 and Tarleton State University in 2022 – is 10th in the saddle bronc riding world standings with just shy of $230,000. He has moved up two spots to 10th in the world standings. Oh, and he still has two nights remaining on his 2024 campaign. Wells had some big victories through the regular season, which helped him earn a spot in this exclusive field. Only the top 15 contestants in each event earn the right to compete at the NFR, which features the biggest purse of any rodeo in a given year. This has also been a big learning experience for Wells. He spent more time on the rodeo trail this year, and it paid off. He’d finished the previous two seasons 35th on the money list. Where he will wind up this campaign will be decided when the curtain draw to a close Saturday night.

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks has more influence than he thought. When visiting with the rest of the bareback riders about the horses that had been featured the first five nights, he recommended that Championship Pro Rodeo’s Ranch & Crow Interiors be switched from the fifth and 10th rounds’ “TV pens” to the “eliminator pen,” which is featured in the third and eighth rounds. “He just always seemed to me like he was a little too hard to be in the ‘TV pen,’ ” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “We swapped him over to tonight, and I lucked out and drew him.” The result was an 86-point ride, which helped Franks finish fourth in Thursday’s eighth round, worth $14,127. He has ridden eight horses for a cumulative score of 682 points and is first in the all-important aggregate race with two nights left at the NFR. He has also earned $83,532 and has moved to seventh in the world standings with a little more than $223,000. “He was a little bit of a day off in this pen, but he was really good,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, which is a very weird thing to say about the ‘E pen.’ ” The horses that were out Thursday are typically the hardest to ride throughout the season. There were no-scores and low scores, but the right match-ups can pay off. The winning score was 88 points; it took 89.5 points to win the last time the horses were out in Round 3. By now, the bareback riders have worked through the soreness that typically comes early in the 10-day affair. There are a few exceptions, like cowboys with injuries that are receiving treatment. They’ve built their bodies and their minds for this experience, because they know they’ll tangle with the best bucking horses in the PRCA from 2024. Those eight-second rides can be rugged, especially in bareback riding. They face a lot of force from athletic horses that weigh anywhere from 1,000-1,200 pounds – pure bucking muscle. Franks gets as much rest as possible and makes sure to get a hot-tub treatment each night. “That’s a lot on your body, especially 10 days in a row,” he said. “I let my body rest as much as I can.” A world championship is still within reach, but a lot of things must occur for that to happen. He trails the standings leader, traveling partner Rocker Steiner, by more than $100,000 and is $98,000 behind the No. 2 man, Bradlee Miller. But winning the average title can go a long way toward that race and will most certainly catapult Franks up the world standings. He just needs to stay on top by the time the curtain closes Saturday night, and he’ll cash in another $86,391. “It’s a lot of pressure, but I like pressure,” Franks said. “I kind of feed off pressure, so I enjoy being No. 1 in the average right now with two of the funnest pens of horses in the world to get on.”

LAS VEGAS – For a man in a couple of world-title races, Coleman Proctor is focused on something rather sophomoric. “It got pretty simple after we missed the second steer of this week,” said Proctor, who is fourth in the heading standings and third in the all-around hunt. “If we didn’t win, it wasn’t going to matter. I’ve got to be winning first or second, maybe tolerate a third. Our plan stays the same: We’re going to pin our ears back and go hard.” He and his heeler, Logan Medlin, stopped the clock in 4.1 seconds to finish as the runners-up during Thursday’s eighth round, earning $26,624. They have each collected $107,258 so far, and they have two nights remaining to see what else can happen, and a great deal has over the initial eight days. In fact, Proctor and Medlin have shot up to sixth in the aggregate race even though they’ve had two no-times. They have knocked down six steers in 24.7 seconds. That could be a factor when the week is done, because the top eight teams in the average will earn bonuses. The higher the placing, the more money they earn. “When those first few teams went out of the average, I knew we were close, and then they’d had seven caught, and we were only one steer down,” Proctor said. When I watched them struggle, I was sitting right next to (tie-down roper) Shane Hanchey and said, ‘Man, one thing about it; my plan can’t change.’ Thankfully it looked like things took a better turn for us for the overall picture, but none of that matters. It’s team roping.” Proctor sits fourth in the heading world standings with $263,048 and is just $63,000 behind the leader Tyler Wade. Proctor is third in a tight all-around race, but he’s just $1,800 behind the No. 1 man, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield, and just $80 behind the runner-up, heeler Junior Nogueira. Both gold buckles are very much in play. “Luke Branquinho told me best,” Proctor said of the five-time world champion steer wrestler. “He said, ‘You’re the only person that controls that pressure valve. Don’t let anybody get it turned up on you.’ It’s been nice just backing in. We’ve got to go as fast as we can and try to win deep every night. That’s the big thing and just keep trying to do our jobs. The money we’re putting in the bank is just putting pressure on somebody else. “If I can jut keep hammering the barrier and giving my guy looks, I feel like it’s going to go favorable for us toward the end.” The race for a world championship is a marathon that began 14 months ago, but it’s turning into a sprint with two nights left on the 2024 ProRodeo campaign. It’s the last 200 meters of a kilometer run, and Proctor has his gas pedal on the floor. “The main thing is having the experience coming back here nine times,” he said. “I’ve only been in the world-title race one other time, and I’ll never forget that pressure and never forget that feeling. It came hot. It overwhelmed me. I’ve had a lot of growth and maturity that certainly has helped me out a whole lot, but we hope that the gray hairs I’m starting to get from those three little girls will start paying dividends in this roping arena.”

LAS VEGAS – If the National Finals Rodeo was a class, Dean Thompson would be a straight-A student. He’s not just in town to ride bucking horses; he’s paying attention to all the details. This is the sport’s championship event, and he understands the business that goes into it isn’t just spurring broncs. He didn’t know much about the horse he had drawn for Thursday’s eighth round, so he began the work necessary. “I haven’t been on that horse, but I’ve been doing some studying, though,” said Thompson, who won the round on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dusty Roads with an 88-point ride, worth $33,687. “I saw Bradlee (Miller) go 86 on it, I saw Tanner (Aus) go 83 on it, I saw Rocker (Steiner) go 84 on it and I saw Orin (Larsen) get bucked off. “When Orin bucked off that thing, I knew I had a real chance because it was bucking.” It certainly was in Las Vegas. With half the score coming from the animal, Thompson needed some help to post a marking like that, especially in the grouping of horses the cowboys call the “eliminator pen.” Many of the bronc busters fret the toughest-to-ride horses, but Thompson has figured out how to make it all work. “Last year it was definitely a restless night,” said Thompson of Altamont, Utah. “I probably didn’t sleep 30 minutes last year during the ‘E pen,’ but this year, I have changed my attitude, and it’s changed the amount of nerves I feel going on to a ride. I walk in there with zero expectations.” He placed each of the first five nights, including a share of the Round 5 win. He missed the pay window two nights in a row, then returned with a vengeance. He has ridden eight horses for a cumulative score of 680.5 points and is second in the aggregate race, a point and a half behind Cole Franks. Thompson has earned $121,746 over eight nights and sits fourth in the world standings with $293,672. “That Dusty Roads is a great horse,” he said. “That was a top-five pick for me, so to get a round win on that thing is just awesome. If I would have let my expectations get ahold of me, they would have said, ‘You shouldn’t place more than fifth on that horse,’ and they might have held me back. “I try to drop my expectations completely, go in there and give it all I’ve got. I just want to make great spur rides. You expect it to be difficult, especially in the “eliminator” round. That’s the only expectation you can have, so you have to try really hard and basically flex every single muscle in your body.” He entered the first round of the NFR with great confidence, and it hasn’t diminished, but he’s hoping it will continue to build toward a crescendo come Saturday night. The bareback riders will go from the toughest horses to the ones considered the easiest, so it should be a spurring contest on Night 9. “It’s going to be fantastic,” Thompson said. “The only thing you can do wrong is underestimate those horses, and that’s an easy thing to do. I’m going to expect my horse to buck, and the rest I’ll take care of myself.”

LAS VEGAS – In his first week of competition in Sin City, J.C. Yeahquo has learned that there’s a lot more to do than gamble and party. “It’s been fun out here,” said Yeahquo, a first-time National Finals Rodeo qualifying header from Stephenville, Texas. “When I’m riding into the box, that’s the most fun I have at night. “I might be wrong, but if I was doing bad, I’d probably say I was still having fun because I get to be out here. It’s very enjoyable. I’ve got all my family out here, and we’re all just hanging out every day and taking it easy. It’s been good.” So has Yeahquo. He’s placed five straight nights. His most recent came with a 4.1-second run to finish fifth in Wednesday’s seventh round, worth $8,700. He his heeler, Buddy Hawkins, were saddled with a no-time on Night 1, and they suffered a five-second penalty in the second round. They’ve placed every night since and have a six-run cumulative time of 30.9 seconds. They are third in the aggregate race with three rounds remaining for this NFR and have each roped $88,513. Yeahquo is sixth in the heading world standings with $214,808, but there’s a ton of money still up for grabs over the coming nights. Should the team remain third in the aggregate race, each will add a bonus of more than $55,000 when the championship concludes Saturday night. If they move up one spot, it’ll pay $70,000. There’s a ton of confidence coming out of the North Dakota-born cowboy, and a good portion of that rests on El Chapo, a 14-year-old sorrel gelding. Yeahquo relies on the red racer to put him in position, then he trusts Hawkins to finish stopping the clock. “El Chapo is a finished horse,” he said. “I don’t know that I could do anything now to make him any better than he is. I think he’s right the way he is now, and I think he’ll always be. He’s perfect for this setup, and he does a great job of pulling the cow and letting the cow’s hip swing just perfect for Buddy to be able to heel him. He definitely loves it.” Every team roping tandem has a quarterback, and oftentimes it’s the header because he’s the cowboy that must start in time with the steer and secure the first loop. That’s not the case with Hawkins and Yeahquo, the latter of whom understands his job. “I try to make it happen and let Buddy finish,” Yeahquo said. “I try to make it to where we can be fast. I told him when we started roping that I’d feel more comfortable going further across the arena than down the arena. If I can hit him fast and let Buddy do the tracking, that’s what feels best for me. Buddy has been teeing off on them.” It’s working, and that’s a valuable asset in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – The race for a world championship is more of a marathon, a year-long battle that began in October 2023. The track meanders across North America at outposts like Gillette, Wyoming; Salinas, California; and Regina, Saskatchewan. Those are just a few of the places Wyatt Casper won titles in 2024, and they’re a big reason why he’s in the hunt for a world championship at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. The finish line is Las Vegas, and the competitors are on the final straightaway with a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in sight. He’s second in the world standings with $332,837, about $45,000 behind two-time titlist Ryder Wright, but Casper has an ace up his sleeve; he leads the aggregate race with a seven-ride cumulative score of 600.5 points. Casper added to that Wednesday night, riding Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Foul Motion for 87 points to finish in a three-way tie for second. That was worth more than $20,000, and it pushed his NFR earnings to $113,054. He owns a 6.5-point aggregate leader over a couple of Canadians, Zeke Thurston and Dawson Hay. The average winner will add more than $86,000 when Saturday’s 10th round concludes. “It’s pretty cool to have so much won by now,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “I’m just enjoying it. I’m trying to not let the pressure get to me. I try not to get all caught up in the hopping and hollering. I just try to take it one horse at a time, and the cards will fall where they’re going to fall.” Making significant rides on a horse like Foul Motion is a big step in the process. The animal’s sire was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2019. “I’ve seen him a bunch, and this is my fourth time getting on him,” Casper said. “It felt really good. That’s a bucking sucker. He was a little tougher than I’ve had him in the past, but every time that dud’s going to fire, so it was a lot of fun.” Until it wasn’t. After the ride, the cowboy got off on the pickup man, but when he settled into the dirt, Casper sprained his left ankle. He has received treatment by the Justin Sportsmedicine Team and will continue to battle for the final three nights of the 2024 campaign. He’ll push the pain aside and focus on the business of winning rodeo’s gold. “I’ve been in positions like this before,” he said. “I do this day in and day out rodeoing all year. You just try not to make it more than what it is.”

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes the penny slots cans still offer nice rewards. After failing to find the pay window for three rounds at the National Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Cole Franks pulled the handle on an old campaigner and came up winner. It may not have been three 7s as he’d hoped, but his 84.5-point ride on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter helped him to a $4,709 payday for finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in Wednesday’s seventh round. “I got on him in the second round the last time I was here in 2022,” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “I was one point higher than I was the first time I got on him, but I placed both times.” He has ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 596 points and is second in the aggregate race, just a point and a half behind the leader, reigning world champion Keenan Hayes. Franks has earned just shy of $70,000 at this year’s NFR and is eighth in the world standings with $209,000.  “That horse leaves (the chute) a little funky,” Franks said. “He leaves hard and a little back and forth, which is kind of hard to keep up with. Then once he starts angling to the left, it’s a lot of fun. It’s hard, but it’s still a lot of fun. I really didn’t know what he was going to do, because every now and then, he’ll turn back and spin like a bull almost.” Did having familiarity with Ankle Biter help? “It depends on the horse, but it’s a lot better going in knowing what the horse is, knowing how it fit and how it feels,” he said. “I’d never been on my first five horses before, and it keeps you guessing. You don’t know what to expect. I’ve been on these last two horses before, so it’s a little better going into it.” That hasn’t really seemed to matter to Franks. He’s been consistent through seven nights, and he has three more rounds in this 2024 ProRodeo season to see what will happen. It’s all part of the process. His goal is to continue to remain on task. Winning the average championship would add more than $86,000 to his pocketbook and provide him with the second-most prestigious title in ProRodeo. “It’s just a matter of staying consistent and trying to take advantage of situations when I can,” said Franks, the bareback riding and all-around intercollegiate champion and the PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year in 2021. “You just take each round for what it is and see where it all falls.”

LAS VEGAS – Professional athletes have been known to play with pain. Bareback rider Weston Timberman is proving that during his first National Finals Rodeo. “In the second round, I acquired some pretty gnarly forearm splits; it’s like shin splits in your forearm,” said Timberman, 20, of Columbus, Montana. “It’s been a pretty serious thing for me the last couple of rounds, but it’s just something you’ve got to really fight through and deal with. “At the end of the day, you’ve still got a bucking horse to ride, and that’s what we’re doing.” His mental game is a big reason why he scored 86 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Fox Hole Gunner, good enough for third place during Wednesday’s seventh round and worth $20,104. He’s ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 593.5 points and is third in the aggregate race. He’s collected $77,918 in Las Vegas, and if his status in the average holds up could add another $55,000 when Saturday’s final round ends. Fox Hole Gunner has been selected to perform at the NFR two times. The 11-year-old gray bronc is part of the “semi-eliminator pen” of bucking horses, and the animal proved his place in the round. “I’ve seen that horse a couple of times, and I knew that if he did his job, it was going to be a big score,” said Timberman, a two-time intercollegiate titlist at Clarendon (Texas) College who earned the PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year title in 2024. “I was just going to have to match him.” He’s sixth in the world standings with $232,017. He was hoping that match-up would be worth a first-place payday, but he understands just how difficult it is to win rounds in Las Vegas. He won the title on opening night and has now placed four times in seven days. “You can’t be too mad when you’re making $20,000 in a night,” he said with a grin. To score big at the NFR, it takes extreme talent, a good match via the random draw and a little bit of luck. For Timberman, he’s having to administer a mental pain block to make sure he’s at peak form. He’s chasing every dollar the City of Entertainment has to offer. “I think I’ve come out here proving my point, and I’m just here to take one horse at a time, keep doing my job and keep chasing that (world) title,” Timberman said. “It’s not over until it’s over, and I feel like I still have a pretty good shot.”

LAS VEGAS – It’s hard to not be frustrated when things aren’t going right. Richmond Champion has battled that during his ninth National Finals Rodeo. He’s been angered to a point but continued to remind himself that he’s earned the right to be in Las Vegas for the 10-round affair and that some things are just out of his control. “Now, we’re rolling,” said Champion, who scored 85 points on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s True Grit to finish fourth in Wednesday’s seventh round to earn $14,127 – it was his first payday since receiving a $10,000 qualification bonus. “It’s been a very long week up to this point, but also a very short week where you feel like you’re just trying to hang on to time and slow things down. You want to go back and have things be different. Meanwhile, it’s doing Vegas things, and it’s rolling by faster than ever, and it felt so good just to break the ice.” With is, he moved up one spot to 14th in the world standings with $153,092. Every streak starts with one, so he’s hoping to cash in over the final three nights of the season. He’s in Sin City to handle business, but sometimes the register doesn’t ring as much as he’d like. “I’m so happy, and that’s the first thing me and (wife) Paige talk about every morning,” said Champion of Stevensville, Montana. “The plan is working. I feel like I’m riding at my best, and I just haven’t really drawn the right horses. Sometimes luck isn’t on your side, but they give you 10, so it can’t be like that 10 times in a row.” Over his trips to the NFR, Champion has had similar moments. In his first qualification a decade ago, he didn’t earn a payday until the fifth round but still earned more than $100,000 over the final six nights. “It can go a lot of different ways,” he said, noting that several in Las Vegas have asked about his situation and asking what’s behind his struggles. “We get dealt 10 cards, every single one of us. Sometimes they’re a flop. That’s what they were for me. This is the most competitive the sport’s ever been.” “It’s the best horses that have ever been. There’s always going to be a top and a bottom when you bring in the very best. As much as there were times where I was just so frustrated, I couldn’t see that. I’ve had those moments, but it’s going to turn. Those great horses are also here for me; it’s not just everybody else. I’m just doing my job, so it’s going to come together.” Champion has had some considerable history on True Grit, and that was a strong factor in how they both performed Wednesday. “That was the sixth time I got on her,” he said. “She’s just super solid. You just have so much confidence in them that they’re going to do their job, and all you have to do is yours, because they’re definitely going to take care of their end.”