Monthly Archives: December 2024

LAS VEGAS – The bright lights of Las Vegas can be blinding for newcomers to the National Finals Rodeo. Though saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper is a veteran, now with five straight qualifications, he found out first-hand what Sin City can do during Saturday’s third go-round. Matched with Diamond G Rodeo’s Thunder Rollz, the horse  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Slowly but surely, steer wrestler J.D. Struxness is making his way through the rigors of the National Finals Rodeo. After a no-time in the opening round, Struxness has found his way to the pay window in the next two nights, finishing in a tie for third Friday and placing fourth during Saturday’s  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – For 10 minutes after his Saturday night ride during the third round of the National Finals Rodeo, Cole Franks felt amazing. On Minute 11, he started to feel the affects of being in a Las Vegas prize fight, the after-effects of a battle with one of the rankest bucking horses in ProRodeo.  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope takes his job as a rodeo cowboy seriously. Late every night, the cowboys receive a text message that provides them with the next night’s horses they have had drawn for them. When he and his wife, Sydney, get back to their room, they start doing research on what he might  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks wasn’t yet born when his dad was battling for rodeo’s gold. Bret Franks last qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in 2000; Cole came along two months later. The lessons came not from watching his father but listening to him. Now, Cole Franks is one of the elite bronc busters  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Prior to Friday’s second go-round of the National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper celebrated his little girl. Cheyenne Casper had just turned 5 years old, and the family was in Las Vegas. It was the perfect way to spend a day before getting on a bucking horse that evening. “We  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Taylor Broussard is a cowboy. He’s also a politician of sorts. He’s not running for Congress or any public office, but when he felt the need to voice his opinion prior to the National Finals Rodeo, he made sure he was heard. Case in point: Burch Rodeo’s Bunk House Mouse, a powerful  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Coleman Proctor had a chance to win Friday’s second round of the National Finals Rodeo. “I was trying to win good the round, and I thought we made a good run,” Proctor said, referring to him and his heeler, Logan Medlin. “I kind of fouled up the finish a little bit. I  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope’s scrambling season may have followed him to the National Finals Rodeo. He started the year slow, then made a mad dash as the campaign came to a close to enter ProRodeo’s grand finale sixth in the world standings. After a less-than-par score on opening night guided by a horse that  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The pressure valve for rodeo’s biggest stars gets turned up a notch or two when they arrive at the National Finals Rodeo. There’s a $14.2 million purse on the line, and that’s enough to pack in the nerves. The 120 contestants have worked all year in order to be in this magical  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo can be a bit of a blur. Saddle bronc rider Brody Wells – competing at the championship for the first time – found that out early. There’s mystique surrounding this 10-day affair, a celebration of the year’s greatness in rodeo. Most in the field have spent a lifetime  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – It’s becoming a reality now for bareback rider Bradlee Miller. After finding his opening night of his first National Finals Rodeo a bit surreal, the stakes amped up a bit more on Night 2, when he rode Wayne Vold Rodeo’s True Grit for 86.5 points to win Friday’s second round. That was  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Somebody may want to pinch Bradlee Miller. Competing at the National Finals Rodeo for the first time, Miller didn’t show any newcomer nerves. In fact, he rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Shady Nights for 86.5 points to finish second during Thursday’s first round, just a half-point behind the winner, Weston Timberman. Miller was  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks arrived in the City of Entertainment with dreams on his mind and a big-ticket item. “When you’re going to the big show, you’ve got to make big moves,” said Franks, a 23-year-old bareback rider from Clarendon, Texas, now competing for the third time at the National Finals Rodeo. In a  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – When Taylor Broussard realized he needed to make some changes to his lifestyle, he knew the benefits would come. He proved it during Thursday’s opening night of the National Finals Rodeo, riding Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Land of Fancy for 85 points to finish in a tie for fourth place  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – His two weeks in the Nevada desert are part of a business trip for team roping header Coleman Proctor. So far, he’s taking care of business. Proctor and his heeling partner, Logan Medlin of Tatum, New Mexico, roped their first steer in 4.0 seconds Thursday night to finish third and collect checks  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – Weston Timberman is mature beyond his 20 years. In his first go-round at his first National Finals Rodeo, Timberman scored 87 points on J Bar J’s Drunk Bunny to win the night of bareback riding and $33,687. He moved up four spots to third in the world standings, sitting at $197,787, and  Continue Reading »

I walked through the executive offices of the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time 23 years ago as the rodeo beat writer for The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. I was ignorant of the ways things worked at my first National Finals Rodeo. I arrived from my hotel in what I thought was plenty  Continue Reading »