Monthly Archives: December 2025

Weston Patterson made his first ride at his first National Finals Rodeo count, scoring 88.5 points on Cervi’s Womanizer to finish second during Thursday’s opening round. (PRCA PHOTO BY MALLORY BEINBORN)   LAS VEGAS – A few minutes after his opening-round ride at the National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc rider Weston Patterson was looking for video. “I literally blacked out and don’t remember my ride until the whistle blew,” said Patterson, a first-time NFR qualifier from Waverly, Kansas. “I got off on the pickup man, got down and just heard the crowd. That was pretty cool.” Yes, it was. It was just as exciting to watch the replay on Snapchat. He matched moves with Cervi Brothers’ Womanizer for 88.5 points to finish as the runner-up on Night 1 of ProRodeo’s grand championship. For that, Patterson pocketed $28,280 and moved from 11th to eighth in the world standings. “That’s just a really good horse,” Patterson said of the 2020 PRCA Saddle Bronc of the Year. “That’s really the one you want. I knew it was going to be a good chance to do something if he had his day.” The powerful paint did, and so did Patterson, a College National Finals Rodeo qualifier while competing at Clarendon (Texas) College. It was a big move on the first night of his first NFR. “I wasn’t really nervous tonight,” he said. “I was just excited to get this started.” There’s a lot of new when it comes to competing on the sport’s biggest stage. This is where every young cowboy dreams of being, which offers a purse of $17.5 million. By the time the 10-day championship comes to a close Dec. 13, the world champions will be crowned. Patterson has increased his season earnings to $212,715, with nearly $40,000 coming during the opening week in Las Vegas. In addition to the money earned Thursday, each qualifier earns $10,000 for advancing to the championship. “Probably the coolest thing I’ve gotten to experience is just hearing that crowd when I got off that horse,” said Patterson, who finished the 2021 intercollegiate campaign as the reserve champion and was part of men’s team title at Clarendon. The last time he was in competition was the Sept. 30, and he won the bronc-riding in Roggen, Colorado. He decided to knock the rust off his riding skills a couple weeks ago. “It went OK, but I got bucked off two of the three horses I got on,” he said with a laugh. “It didn’t really affect my confidence, though. I just thought, ‘You rode well enough to get there, so just go out there and have fun.’ ” It’s working so far.

Jess Pope, the 2022 world champion bareback rider, returned to his home turf at the National Finals Rodeo, scoring a third-place finish during Thursday’s opening round of the National Finals Rodeo. (PRCA PHOTO BY MALLORY BEINBORN)   LAS VEGAS – Home for Jess Pope is a nice place in the Kansas Flint Hills that he shares with his wife, but he’s made quite a second residence in Sin City. He proved it again during Thursday’s first go-round of the National Finals Rodeo, riding the Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics bronc Land of Fancy for 86.5 points to finish in third place, collecting $21,882. He moved from fourth to second in the bareback riding world standings with $235,512. “That’s one I’ve really been wanting to get on,” said Pope, the 2022 world champion from Waverly, Kansas. “I got on her in the short round of Pendleton (Oregon). She kind of dragged her nose on the ground when I got on her the first time, and I ended up third on her. When I saw that draw out for today, I was pretty damned tickled.” He proved why. The bay mare allowed Pope to show off his spur stroke, which is why the two matched for a high finish and big bucks. “She’s one of the younger horses, and last year was the first year we brought her to the finals,” he said, pointing out that the bareback riders select the top 105 horses from throughout the season to be part of the 10-day championship. “When you go to one of the (Sankey) rodeos, she’s definitely one of the ones you want.” It also helps that Pope is riding a wave of confidence. This marks the sixth straight NFR qualification for the cowboy who competed in intercollegiate rodeo at Missouri Valley College. He is a three-time NFR average champion; he had the best 10-ride cumulative score in 2020, ’21 and ’22. He’s comfortable competing on ProRodeo’s biggest stage. The NFR features only the top 15 contestants in each event from the given regular season. The men and women who compete in Las Vegas have earned the right to battle for rodeo’s gold. “Everybody’s got a different way of looking in our locker room,” Pope said, referring to the 14 other bareback riders. “The only thing that everybody has the same thing for is the respect, because it takes a hell of a lot of work to get there. Everybody respects everybody that’s sitting in there. Everybody just handles everything different. “The young guys are wound tighter than a clock, and then you’ve got me and Tilden (Hooper) that are just cracking dad jokes and hanging out just laughing and having fun. But we all love riding bucking horses and have mad respect for how you get to that room.” Make no mistake, this event has a level of magnitude that is unmatched in rodeo. There can be a lot of emotions involved with playing in the sport’s World Series. “It all just seems surreal,” he said. “Just showing up, I think, ‘Wow, I’m actually here.’ It’s weird, because the last couple of years, I’ve gotten calmer and calmer coming into Round 1, but tonight, I was about freaking myself out thinking, ‘Golly, should I be a little bit more wound up than this?’ I’m back there yawning and singing the national anthem and just kind of hanging out, but I think it’s good. “When I crawl in that bucking chute, it’s time to go.” It’s the NFR, so it’s always go-time for Pope.

Defending steer wrestling world champion J.D. Struxness kicked off his 2025 National Finals Rodeo by finishing in a three-way tie for second place in Thursday’s first round. (PRCA PHOTO BY MALLORY BEINBORN)   LAS VEGAS – The money in ProRodeo has changed considerably since J.D. Struxness first started his career. Nine years ago, he earned $26,000 for winning a round at the National Finals Rodeo. On Thursday night, he collected $22,080 for finishing in a three-way tie for second place in the opening night of ProRodeo’s Super Bowl. It’s a good time to be competing in the grand championship, and it’s an important start to his NFR. He grappled his steer to the ground in 4.2 seconds, sharing that runner-up spot in the round with fellow bulldoggers Ty Erickson and Kyle Irwin. “This is definitely how we want to start it,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota. “We’ll take a big win tonight. These two horses have been doing a really good job this year, but it’s their first year rodeoing and their first year out here. “I thought the horses were good. They handled the pressure very well, so we’re going to be very excited moving forward.” Ike and Jenny are new to the team this year. Ike is a 7-year-old gray gelding that moved from backup to the first squad after Struxness’ good horse, Izzy, suffered an injury earlier this year. Jenny is a 6-year-old hazing horse ridden by veteran hazer Matt Reeves to help keep the steers lined out and to allow for faster times. Speed is the name of the game. Struxness knows that as well as anyone. He is the reigning world champion steer wrestler who is playing on the grandest stage in rodeo for the seventh time. He understands the magnitude of playing the game at this level, but he had to just trust the nerves of his equine partners. Fortunately, he used both at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in October and the Hondo Rodeo last month. “They locked in right away, and they worked great,” said Struxness, the 2016 intercollegiate champion while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “For them to be able to do that the first night is great. It’s a loud, small building, bright lights. You have nerves on the first night, but you have to remind yourself of how many big rodeos we’ve won on them this year. It is a relief to get them out here and get that first run out of the way and know they work. We’re excited about that, and now we’ll just keep building confidence on top of that.” With his winnings, the Minnesota cowboy now living in Perrin, Texas, increased his season hearings to $170,752 and moved up one spot to fourth in the world standings. He trails the leader, Mississippi cowboy Will Lummus, by $34,000 with nine nights remaining in the world’s richest rodeo. Struxness has been down this road. He knew how to prepare himself, but he’s taken the last few weeks to make sure Ike and Jenny were ready. “We made sure we took the start you need out here right away, because that’s the most important thing, and made sure they would go fast,” he said. “They’ve been handling everything with stride and have stepped up in a big way this year.” So has Struxness.

Bradlee Miller rides Championship Pro Rodeo’s Sweet Tequila for 86 points to finish fifth during Thursday’s first round of the National Finals Rodeo at Las Vegas. (PRCA PHOTO BY MALLORY BEINBORN)   LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo offers tremendous challenges that cowboys and cowgirls must overcome. Bradlee Miller experienced a new one on Thursday’s opening night when he arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center for his rematch with Championship Pro Rodeo’s Sweet Tequila. “I was the last person to get on Sweet Tequila,” Miller said of that September ride in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he posted an 86.75 marking on the Oklahoma horse. “The funny thing was I’ve been on that horse, but I had never been on a horse in any of the gear other than my spurs today.” Bareback riders are decked out, some of it in the style necessary to ride bucking horses, and some of it out of necessity. The riggin’ is important, made specifically for each man. So is the neck roll, which protects the spine as much as possible during the intense action of a ride. Miller didn’t arrive at the arena with everything. “I have brand new chaps, a brand new glove, a new rigging, and then I happened to forget my arm brace (which is attached on his right riding arm), which is possibly the second most important thing I have,” he said. “Thankfully, (fellow bareback rider) Mason Clements had one that was close to fit, so I guess it worked.” It did. Miller and Sweet Tequila danced across the arena dirt for 86 points, which was good enough for fifth place in the first round, worth $9,463. The cowboy increased his season earnings to $226,937 and is fourth in the world standings. “That horse is awesome,” said Miller, 22, of Huntsville, Texas. “If you look at the stats, a lot of people had trouble this year, but that horse has had a different trip with me the last two times than it has with anybody else. It was nearly identical to Sioux Falls. “I knew if I could get ahold of her (with his spurring motion) right out of the chute that we could get her to stay closer to the bucking chutes than he wants to. He wants to be picked up like that, but you just have to ask.” Cowboys have always used various techniques to get horses to perform, whether it’s vocal calls or coaxing the animal with the heels of their boots. When it comes to bucking horses, the men that ride them utilize those foot skills to make things happen. With half the score coming from how well the bronc performs, it’s a vital piece of any ride. The ride also set a tone Miller wants to take for the remainder of the 10-day championship. “The money at this rodeo is unreal to anywhere else we go,” he said. “To win fifth and almost win a $10,000 check, that’s a huge win at a huge rodeo during the regular season.” There is a lot riding on every go-round performance. Nightly winners will pocket nearly $37,000 in each event. With dollars equaling championship points, every nickel counts, which just adds to the pressure of competing at ProRodeo’s biggest event. “I was more nervous this year than I was last year,” said Miller, competing in Las Vegas for the second straight season. “Last year when I showed up, I had nothing to lose and everything to prove. After a good performance last year, I feel like I have to do better to achieve my personal goals.” He’s off on the right foot toward that at this NFR, and he has nine nights to exceed it.