Monthly Archives: December 2025

Rodeo announcer Scott Grover will conduct the Big Top Rodeo Announcer & Music Director Seminar from Feb. 20-22 at the Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Airport as a way to give others the insights he didn’t have when he began his career. He will be working with noted sound director Jesse Knudsen through the three-day seminar. (PHOTO BY ROBBY FREEMAN)   Seminar will help rodeo announcers, sound directors improve KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Like most things, Scott Grover’s idea of Big Top Rodeo has evolved over time. The foundation remains the same. A lifelong cowboy who has a way with words, Grover has always wanted to give back to the sport. He’s one of the elite announcers in rodeo, and his credentials speak to that, but his heart goes well beyond serving as the sport’s emcee. That’s what led to the creation of his special project. “Our original thought was to help athletes get ready for interviews, scholarships or public speaking and maybe what they’re going to do after rodeo,” said Grover, who operates the business with his wife, Becky. “One day, I had an announcer reach out that had questions, so I told him that I was doing some one-on-one Zooms with athletes and that we could do one, too.” The adjustment was made, and Grover began doing seminars to help others involved with the game. He and good friend Jesse Knudsen will conduct the Big Top Rodeo Announcer & Music Director Seminar, set for Feb. 20-22 at the Four Points by Sheraton Kansas City Airport. “I had that announcer send me some video, and we broke down his opening ceremony and talked for about an hour, and then I had another guy do the same,” Grover said. “All of the sudden, we realized that there weren’t announcing schools anymore. We thought I’ve been doing this long enough and with my teaching background that maybe I could do it. “I got all that figured out and the curriculum written, and then I was like, ‘Well, music directors and announcers work hand-in-hand, so it would be good to have a music director seminar at the same time.’ ” Those credentials? Grover has been named the WPRA’s Announcer of the Year, has worked the PBR World Finals eight times and has been one of the voices at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping three times, including each of the past two years. He’s also the voice of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and one of the emcees at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, just to name a couple of the many rodeos he works annually. “I want these people to invest in themselves,” he said. “I’m doing this to help you, because nobody helped me.” Enter Knudsen, who has been part of rodeo most of his life. He was a competitor before becoming an announcer and sound director. His behind-the-scenes work is well known in the business, and the respect he’s achieved is recognized in his position as the announcer/music director representative for the PRCA’s executive council. “These seminars help people advance in their careers,” said Knudsen of Manawa, Wisconsin. “When I started, it was all trial and error. I didn’t have anybody to sit down and show me how to set up my computer. I didn’t have anybody show me that this is what you look for to help your announcer or help your clown as a music director. For most of us, we didn’t have anybody to show us the ropes. “The seminars are so important now, because when a young music director or a young announcer is starting, we’ve been able to show them stuff to look for. We can eliminate a lot of the learning process. “A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a genius learns from another man’s mistakes.” Originally from the tiny town of Morrowville, Kansas, Grover lives near Weston, Missouri, with his wife and their three children. He attended Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska, then graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in agriculture education. Teaching high school students and advising the FFA program was a full-time job, but announcing was the dream. He chased it, but that teacher’s training has never left. Grover and Knudsen typically work with a dozen and a half every seminar. “We’ve been averaging about 10 announcers and between six and eight music directors every time,” Grover said. “I had a crash course in rodeo, and I didn’t want everyone to do that. I was going to as many rodeos as I could just to listen to guys and try to figure out who Scott Grover was behind the microphone.” He’s still doing a crash course, but it’s done over a long weekend in February. Grover has matured in his voice and in his presentation, from announcing small events to being the face of the PBR on CBS Sports and PBR’s Ride Pass. “We cover a pretty wide gamut of stuff, from how to write a production log so that you can help your committees and your stock contractors maybe be better to how to write contracts, the business side of things,” he said. “We also talk about voice control and pausing in the right spot and how to write an opening ceremony, how to write a script when the committee brings you a list of 20 businesses and says, ‘Here’s out sponsor list.’ ” It’s an extension of professionalism that is vital in today’s world of rodeo production. It’s more than having a strong voice and the ability to call the action in the arena. It’s more than playing a song through the speakers. For those that have done it, continuing education is also a way to sharpen skills. “When I rode bulls, I loved going to schools because it got you back to the basics,” Knudsen said. “I think I get a lot out of teaching as much as the students, because it  Continue Reading »

Cinch cowboy Riley Webb secured his third straight world championship at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, becoming the first tie-down roper in more than 40 years to win at least three consecutive gold buckles. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   Cinch tie-down roper claims his 3rd straight world championship Four years ago, little went right for then-19-year-old Riley Webb during his first venture to the National Finals Rodeo. He placed in five rounds but finished no higher than third, which happened during the fourth night of the 2022 championship. He finished that 10-day affair with three straight no-times. The Resistol Tie-Down Roping Rookie of the Year left the Nevada desert with $71,092. “My rookie year here in ’22 was rough,” Webb told CalfRoping.com. “But when I left here, it lit a fire under me, and that fire’s still burning.” Yes, it is, and it might be hotter than ever. Webb has placed himself in rare company with three straight world championships, having earned $1,483,610 during that stretch. He became the first calf roper to win at least three consecutive titles since “Super Looper” Roy Cooper did it 41 years ago; Cooper won five straight starting in 1980, as did Dean Oliver from 1960-64. Don McLaughlin had four in a row from 1951-54 and Toots Mansfield (1939-41) had three. “I feel great,” Webb told the PRCA. “The Lord gave me the ability and talent to shine for Him. I try to emulate that every day.” If shouting scripture from the mountaintop is the best way to preach, then Webb is in the right place to share his sermon. He just happens to do his with a rope, a heavy dose of athleticism and the 2025 Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year in Rudy, a 12-year-old sorrel gelding sired by Metallic Cat out of HA Gay Freckles. “That horse, Rudy, is so special,” he said. “I’ve talked about him the last three years here. He just lets me win.” A Cinch endorsee, Webb won his first Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in 2023, finishing the year with $452,852 – $172,000 came at the NFR. A year later, he pocketed nearly $260,000 in Las Vegas to claim the title with $475,214. This year, he earned another $250,000 at the NFR but finished the year with $555,533. Of that, $94,000 came in the form of his second straight average title, which he earned by placing in seven go-rounds, including the third-round win. It’s just part of a magical journey he began after his inaugural business trip to Las Vegas. “It’s special to be the first person to (threepeat) since Roy Cooper,” said Webb, 22, of Denton, Texas. “Roy passed away this year, but he was instrumental for me growing up. I was lucky enough to rope with him and his family. It was a huge part of my roping career, and I’m honored to sit alongside him in the record books.” There were a lot of consecutive marks for the young Texan. He established a single-season earnings mark in 2024, then he obliterated it in 2025. That comes from a combination of rodeos increasing their purses across North America and the roper’s winning formula. In addition to winning the NFR, Webb also earned titles at 12 other rodeos, including Houston; Puyallup, Washington; Hermiston, Oregon; Reno, Nevada; and the Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo. He entered the NFR No. 1 in the world standings with more than $300,000 in earnings. Once he arrived in Sin City, he ran away with the title. The No. 2 cowboy in the final world standings was world champion Shad Mayfield of Clovis, New Mexico, who won the 2020 tie-down roping crown and the 2024 all-around title. Mayfield finished the year $167,000 behind Webb. It was a profitable year for the world’s best tie-down ropers. The top six finished the season with more than $300,000 in earnings, and Webb lapped the field. The No. 3 man, Kincade Henry of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, more than $200k behind his buddy. It’s just further proof of the Lone Star State’s dominance in calf roping. Over the last five years, just two men have won rodeo’s gold, Webb and four-time titlist Caleb Smidt, who won his final two crowns in 2021-22. Four others with Texas addresses have also added their name on the gold buckles since 2010: Trevor Brazile, Tuf Cooper, Tyson Durfey and Brazilian Marcos Costa, who was living in Childress at the time of his 2017 championship. This season, though, was all about the boy from Denton who has spent his lifetime as a tie-down roper. He rode the sport’s best horse, won the sport’s best rodeo and put a new shine on a new piece of golden hardware that he’ll either wear or put in his elaborate trophy case. This was the season was about Riley Webb, who won more money in 2025 than any other single-event cowboy and provided more proof why he will be enshrined in rodeo halls of fame for eternity.

T.J. Gray placed on all seven bulls he rode during the National Finals Rodeo. He won the average championship, which included a $94,000 payday, and earned $295,665 during his 10-day stay in Las Vegas to also win the Top Gun award. He finished his second straight NFR as the reserve world champion bull rider. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   Oregon bull rider pockets nearly $300k in 10 days at NFR T.J. Gray has had a December to remember. Gray was a magician on the backs of some of the rankest bulls in professional rodeo during the week and a half of the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale at Las Vegas. He tested his skills and his mental approach over 10 rides and came out as the best of them all over that stretch. “I was a little more relaxed and had a lot more fun,” said Gray, 24, of Dairy, Oregon. “I think having fun works for me.” It certainly did in Sin City. He rode seven bulls for a cumulative score of 610.5 points to win the NFR average title, with a bonus of $94,000. He won three rounds and finished no worse than fourth over the other four nights in which he had a qualified eight-second ride. For all that, he finished the championship with $295,665 in Las Vegas earnings. He did that in just 10 days and finished the season second in the world standings with $513,810, about $33,000 behind the world champion, Utah cowboy Stetson Wright. Gray also won the Top Gun award for having the highest earnings in a single event, beating out a field of 118 cowboys and cowgirls competing in a variety of disciplines; he also snagged some nice gifts with the Top Gun, including a $20,000 voucher to be used toward a new vehicle. “I’m not going to complain about winning money, but I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily money driven,” Gray said. “It’s not the money that excites me about it, but more, I just love the competition. That’s what drives me. However, Chase Dougherty won the Top Gun in 2018. When he did it, I thought, ‘I’ve got to do that one day.’ “Chase is another Oregon cowboy, and I thought it was very cool. It’s a very prestigious award, because not only are you the best bull rider that week, but you are making more than all the other events. I’m pretty proud of that one, too.” He got there by riding the most animals of any bull rider, which is no small feat. Their bovine counterparts are athletic, too, and outweigh the cowboys by 1,400 to 1,800 pounds. Three men rode six bulls, while there were three others that rode five. “Riding only seven bulls leaves room for improvement,” he said. “We’ll see what next year brings.” The top bulls make things more difficult, even for rodeo’s elite. Only three men have ridden all 10 at the NFR since its inception in 1959, and the last to do it was Brazilian Adriano Moraes in 1994. “Quite a bit of people also agreed that we had a pretty good NFR as far as having a lot of guys staying on in most rounds,” said Gray, who also secured bigger paychecks in certain rounds because of ground money; the NFR pays out more than $118,000 per night over six placings, and if only a handful of cowboys ride, the rest of the money goes to those that made the whistle. “That makes me happy that the competition was as good as it was. To be able to stay on more than anyone else is pretty cool.” There were three go-rounds that featured fewer than six qualified rides, and Gray won two of them. Only two cowboys rode in Round 7, when the Oregon cowboy matched moves with McCoy Rodeo’s Blue Duck for 90.5 points; Gray earned $63,000. Only four cowboys made it in Round 9, when he was 78.75 points on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Mellow Yellow to finish fourth worth $19,000, and four more made it when he won Round 10 with an 89.5-point ride on Rosser Rodeo’s Mr. Priefert, valued at $40,512. When he rode, he placed, which is why he cornered the market inside the Thomas & Mack Center. He did have a lonely stretch, though, bucking off in Rounds 3-5. “The first two were legit buck-offs,” he said. “The third one, I got in my head, and I started trying to overcomplicate it. Fortunately, I picked up on what I was doing. You’ve got to have fun and quit thinking about it.” He reeled off five checks in a row to close his 2025 campaign. In that stretch along, he earned $174,764 in go-round money. “It helps to not overthink things,” Gray said. “Don’t worry about the outcome. I told myself, ‘I don’t care if I fall of the next five, we’re just going to enjoy it no matter what,’ and it turned around pretty fast.” As with any athlete, a good mental approach is vital when doing things physically. The muscle memory and fundamentals are already in place, so taking a simplified approach to business is the best way to handle the tasks at hand. Consider this: Gray did all this while competing with an ankle injury that pestered him half the year. In early June, he was hung up to Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Tiny Tornado at the Sisters (Oregon) Rodeo Xtreme Bull Riding, and the bull stepped on his lower leg. Gray suffered a crack in his fibula in his ankle, and two weeks later, surgeons place a metal plate and screws to stabilize the fracture. He went back to riding and earned enough to qualify for the NFR for the second straight year, but there was something else wrong. Gray contracted an infection in that ankle. He had surgery after the finale to remove the infection, but he was still slowed a little by the swelling caused by the  Continue Reading »

Steer wrestling world champion handles his cow during another solid run at the 2025 National Finals Rodeo. Allen rode Banker, the 2025 Bulldogging Horse of the Year owned by Justin Shaffer, then dominated the 10 days of competition in Las Vegas. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   Cinch bulldogger handles the biggest rodeo test for championship The things in Tucker Allen’s life aren’t really any different than they were a couple weeks ago. He’s trying to figure out a replacement for the pickup truck that was stolen during the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He’s been in contact with law enforcement officials; they say they have a suspect, but that’s about it. The main discrepancy in life would be in the title he now holds. Sure, he’s still a cowboy and a hell of a bulldogger, but he’s added the banner of world champion steer wrestler to his moniker. It’ll never go away, but neither will the little things that need to be dealt with at his home in Ventura, California. “I understand what I’ve done, and even Justin (Shaffer) asked me if I feel any different,” Tucker said of his traveling partner, friend and hazer. “I was like, ‘Honestly, no. I’m back home and have got to do real-life stuff.’ “I’ve got to fix water lines and still pay bills, and I have horses to ride. The day-to-day doesn’t feel any different, but the sense of accomplishment is for sure there. Right after I got that average saddle, that’s when it all set it.” Cowboys dream of being a world champion in their given disciplines. Second on that list is to win the NFR’s average title for having the best 10 days out of all 15 contestants in each event. Allen did that in one fell swoop the first week and a half in December. “That average title sealed the deal,” he said. “Then when I saw Luke (Branquinho) and Dakota (Eldridge) and Bridger (Anderson) all in the hallway, that’s when it really hit me. After I’d made my run, Rowdy (Parrott) and Ty (Erickson), all them guys gave me hugs. “I’m normally not emotional at all, but it got a little emotional there.” Allen had earned the sentimental feelings. He’d accomplished something many mean dream about but few achieve. There were 14 other bulldoggers in the mix, but the Cinch cowboy from a Southern California beachside community outlasted them all. He placed in six go-rounds, including three in which he had the fastest run of the night. He cleared $248,000 over 10 December nights in the Nevada desert; most of that came in the rounds, but there was also a $94,000 bonus paid out on Dec. 13, the final night, for having the best aggregate score. He finished with a cumulative time of 46.4 seconds and won the average by 10.4 seconds. That was a dominant stretch of competition for the 5-foot-10, 180-pound cowboy, who continually overcomes a size disadvantage in comparison to other steer wrestlers to grapple a 600-pound steer to the ground. Will Lummus, for example, stands 6-2 and checks in at 250 pounds. Erickson is 6-5, 240. But just as he learned from California world champions Branquinho and John W. Jones, it takes more than brawn to tip over a farm animal. Proper technique and riding a good horse are critical no matter how big the bulldogger is. “Hopefully the title of world champion will make those announcers and all the other people stop talking about how small I am,” Allen said with a slight grin. “I always like to think I’m last year’s world champion; I’m not this year’s world champion. They’ve still got rodeos to win money at, and I’ve got green horses that I could probably make.” That goes into the horsemanship that’s so valuable. He has some horses that aren’t quite savvy to rodeo and the needs that come with competing at an elite level, so he will “make the green” ones better by taking them through the paces and exposing them to what it takes to be great. “I’m not taking anything for granted,” Allen said. “I know that for whoever I haze for, I want to be better at it. I’ve still got work to do.” For now, though, he’ll enjoy the moments he’s had on Banker, the 2025 AQHA/PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year owned by his friend and traveling partner, Justin Shaffer of Hallsville, Texas. There were five cowboys in the travel group, which also included Holden Myers, Jace Melvin and Jesse Brown, the latter of whom joined Shaffer and Allen at the NFR. In fact, those three cowboys that rode Banker earned more than $529,000 in Las Vegas. “He for sure got a big hug from me,” Allen said of the athletic bay gelding. “Even when I went to Justin’s (after the NFR) to practice, Banker was out in the pasture, and I had to stop and take a look at him. I was like, ‘God, you’re cool. You let me accomplish my dreams.’ “We took pictures of him the next morning, and I put the world champion saddle on him because, to me, he’s the champ. Without that horse, I don’t win that gold buckle, so that horse is pretty impressive.” So is Allen, who had to clear many hurdles en route to rodeo’s gold. First, he had to earn a spot in the Las Vegas field, which features only the elite at the end of the regular season. He then had to battle through 10 grueling go-rounds at the sport’s premier event. He was in contention for the world title midway through the NFR, and it was his to lose after the ninth night. “They’re not lying when they say it’s a marathon,” Allen said. “Even if you have one round that just goes so-so, you just have to keep pushing. There were runs that I could have been better, but at the same time, almost as soon as you  Continue Reading »

When bull rider Tristen Hutchings won the third round of the National Finals Rodeo, he wanted to honor the fight of 6-year-old Casyn Cates, who has beaten pediatric cancer. Casyn and his mom went on the South Point Showroom stage with Hutchings on Dec. 6 to talk about Golden Circle of Champions, the organization that helps raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer. Casyn and Hutchings are pictured with Casyn’s mom, Cashlee, and Hutchings’ girlfriend, Delani Cunningham. (PHOTO BY TED HARBIN)   GUNNISON, Colo. – Flint Rasmussen might have said it best. “There’s more to Tristen Hutchings than just bull riding,” said Rasmussen, one of the most decorated entertainers in rodeo history and co-host of the nightly Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Presentation at the South Point Resort in Las Vegas. Rasmussen made that statement at the close of the show Dec. 6 after Hutchings appeared on stage with a small entourage that included 6-year-old Casyn Cates, who is in remission after battling B-cell acute lymphoma. It was a way to celebrate Casyn, his fight and all the children who have suffered pediatric cancer and were part of the Golden Circle of Champions Day at the National Finals Rodeo. “This is actually my champion today,” Hutchings said on stage while looking down at the youngster. “He’s actually had a hard fight.” Yes, he has. Casyn was diagnosed in February 2022 when he was just 2 years old. The battle lasted three years, and with every treatment and every rough day, the child went toe-to-toe with the devil. He spent his day with rodeo superstars like Hutchings, team ropers Lightning Aguilera, Travis Graves and Jake Smith, and veteran bareback rider Tilden Hooper. The six of them did cowboy things, but most importantly, they celebrated a child that was willing to scrap for his life. Casyn and his family also attended Round 3 of the NFR “He’s finally starting to get his personality,” said Casyn’s mom, Cashlee, who lives in Sheridan, Wyoming with husband Chantz and their two other children, sister Carsyn, 9, and brother Corbyn, 8. Still quite young and a bit shy, he’s coming out of that shell created by needles and doctors and days of just feeling downright pitiful. The fear is unimaginable, but, as Hutchings pointed out, champions fight past through the anxiety and horror to come out victorious. “I was in a poor mood, and then I got to participate today, and I know this little one personally,” he said, looking at Casyn. “I’ve been cheering him on for two years. Being there brightened my mood, and it reminded me how blessed I am. “We know him personally, so we got it lined up to where we got to be with them. Then after I won the round, we called them as fast as we could to get them to the South Point. I was very excited to bring him up on the stage.” Karla Rundell was on the stage with them, too. The first vice president of the Cattlemen’s Days committee, she has spearheaded the volunteer group’s campaign toward raising funds and awareness in the fight against pediatric cancer. “Cattlemen’s Days has been with Golden Circle of Champions since the beginning,” Rundell said. “We raised over $11,000 locally and aim to help not only with local kids but also start helping kids in the Mountain States Circuit (Wyoming and Colorado). “These kids are champions, and it’s a blessing that we can do our part in helping them after they’ve been in this fight. It’s pretty special that our champion got to be a star in Las Vegas.”

Kade Sonnier rides the 2025 PRCA Horse of the Year, Brookman Rodeo’s Lunatic Heaven, for 90.75 points to win Saturday’s 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo. He also finished fourth in the average and fourth in the world, earning almost $200,000 in Las Vegas. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – The final day of the 2025 ProRodeo season may have been one of the best of Kade Sonnier’s year. He rode the PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year for 90.75 points to win Saturday’s 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo, pocketing $36,668. He also finished fourth in the average race, worth another $60,325. In all, he cashed in all his chips to the tune of $199,057 during his 10-day stay in Las Vegas. He finished the season fourth in the world standings with $360,564. “I turned everything loose going into that round,” said Sonnier, and two-time NFR qualifier from Carencro, Louisiana. “I knew I was riding for a bigger purpose. I was out of a world title, and I’ve got a little girl to provide for, a lot of goals to accomplish in life outside of rodeo. The money helps. I was going to let it all hang out. “There are a lot of people that don’t get to see $200,000 in a year, much less have fun doing it. We’re just fortunate I’m able to make a living doing what I love, get to have good friends and get to have my family around me and get to enjoy as much as I do. This is living the dream right here.” He certainly wasn’t hallucinating Saturday night on Lunatic Heaven. The sorrel owned by Brookman Rodeo out of Montana earned the honor in a vote by the bareback riders who compete on the powerful broncs. She bucked in both the fifth and 10th rounds at the NFR and guided cowboys to the nightly titles both times – eventual world champion Rocker Steiner won the fifth round on her. “There’s only one word that truly describes that horse, and that’s electricity,” Sonnier said. “She fired out of there and hit right. I knew she was going to buck really hard, but she kind of surprised me on that first jump, and I got a little bit off-centered. I knew I just had to. The harder and faster I spurred, it seemed like the faster and higher she was bucking. “That’s a special animal right there.” It was a phenomenal way to close the NFR, the most successful of his young career. “This is the second time I’ve been here, and for the second time, I’ve put myself in a world-title race,” he said. “The reality is the 2026 season as started, and we’re not gunning for anything shy of a gold buckle.”

Bridger Anderson cashed in for the seventh time with a fifth-place finish during Saturday’s 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo. He finished the 10-day championship with $117,540 in earnings. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – On the final night of the 2025 ProRodeo season, steer wrestler Bridger Anderson did what he had to do. When his horse, Whiskers, caught up to the cow, the fight was on. Anderson tipped the steer over in 4.5 seconds and napped his seventh-round paycheck of this year’s 10-night National Finals Rodeo. It was worth $5,914 and increased his Las Vegas earnings to $117,540. It was an impressive run, but there’s more to it. He had that kind of a week but was still saddled with two no-times. “We shouldn’t have had those,” said Anderson, a three-time NFR qualifier from Carrington, North Dakota. “Those steers sucked, but I ain’t even worried about it. With those two no-times, I should have caught those steers, but it was still a good week. “I’m super happy for Tuck.” That’s Tucker Allen, who won the bulldogging world title after an impressive run in Sin City. He and Anderson were roommates at Northwestern Oklahoma State University for a short time and have remained close friends. Outside the college ties, it’s a common bond between steer wrestlers. “We’re all buddies, and we’re rooting for each other,” Anderson said. “We’re just a group of best friends that are not going to root against each other. That would be silly. We don’t compete against each other as much as we compete against the cow we have drawn, and then the rest falls out the way it does.” That mentality is why their bond is tight. It’s why Anderson is genuinely happy for his friend. “Tucker and I both had Luke (Branquinho) as one of our biggest mentors,” he said of the five-time world champion. “He’s been studying with Luke a lot longer than I have, but this is awesome. I’m so pumped for him.” Allen finished the year with almost $400,000 in earnings, while Anderson closed the campaign with $226,867, good enough for ninth in the world standings. His year of competition is complete, and it’s time for a short break. “I’m not going to think about rodeo for a couple weeks,” he said with a laugh. “I’m going to hang out in Arizona for a few days, then go up to South Dakota for Christmas. Then it’s time for Odessa, Denver and San Diego, so we’re right back into it. It’s all gas, no breaks at that point.” He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Even though the breaks never came his way, J.D. Struxness was solid during his seventh National Finals Rodeo. He finished third in the average and left Las Vegas with more than $134,000. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – The look of disappointment was evident. J.D. Struxness wanted another Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. It went to California instead of Minnesota, but it was still a solid performance for the 2024 steer wrestling titlist. He placed in just five rounds, half that of the National Finals Rodeo, and his biggest day check came on opening night when he finished in a three-way tie for second place. Still, he was solid through the 10-day championship. He grappled 10 steers to the ground in a cumulative time of 63.1 seconds, one of just four men who had a time in every round. He finished third in the aggregate race and added a $60,325 payday for doing so Saturday night. He concluded his seventh NFR with $134,198 and ended the season seventh in the world standings with $272,870. “This is one of the first times I’ve thrown down all 10 steers,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota. “Overall, it was a good week, especially for bringing a new horse out here. I thought he did extremely well and has some confidence in the building. “We’re really looking forward to him the next few years and then getting to bring him back up here and see what it’s like with maturity and getting bigger and stronger.” Ice is just 7 years old, so the vibrant, packed stands in the Thomas & Mack Center were a new adventure for the young horse. It’s a major source of pride for Struxness. “We’re going to see what kind of horse he’s going to be,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting. As far as the 10 days, we’re pretty happy about it. We never really made any mistakes; we just didn’t have any breaks go our way. Usually in this building, you need at least one break to go your way, and then you can make an outstanding run somewhere. “To be able to come out and walk our way back up to third in the average is a big deal.”

Bareback rider Cole Franks considered his fourth National Finals Rodeo a disappointment, but he still earned almost $108,000 in 10 days. He finished fourth in the average race, and that $44,356 bonus was added into his earnings. He finished sixth in the world standings. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – It’s been a whirlwind 365 days for bareback rider Cole Franks. He left Nevada last December with more than $155,000 in earnings and a plan to be back. He set out on a plan to do that, but there were other aspects to his life that were also a priority. Franks was married in May to the former Dustie Warr, then set off on the rodeo trail that kept him on the road for much of the summer. He kept winning, and the result was a fourth qualification to the National Finals Rodeo. He and his bride are also expecting their first child in February, so he arrived in Las Vegas two weeks ago with gold on his mind and a goal of buying diapers and baby food for months to come. This is the world’s richest rodeo, where a disappointing 10 nights still resulted in a payday of $107,781. “It’s still a good payday, but it’s definitely not what I wanted to get done or anywhere close to what I had envisioned,” said Franks, 24, of Clarendon, Texas. “Nothing felt right the last four rounds. I don’t know necessarily if it was equipment or my body. A lot of stuff is hurting right now, my hips, my neck, everything.” The business of bareback riding is brutal on one’s body. Cowboys wear specially designed gloves with binds on the ring and pinky fingers to lock their hands into the riggings, which are strapped tightly to the horse’s back. They then try to spur from the front of the animal’s shoulders back to the rigging before surging the feet back to the front before the bronc’s front feet hit the ground again. All the while, 1,200 pounds of bucking dynamite is exploding beneath them. It’s time. “I finally committed to just saying getting my hip,” said Franks, the 2021 intercollegiate champion at Clarendon College in both the all-around, bareback riding and as part of the men’s title team. “I’ve got a torn labrum and bone spurs growing in my hip. I feel like it’s probably the best time to do it, get it done before the new year and come back in mid-April. “That’ll give me two months at home with a new baby. I won’t have to worry about being gone and missing the baby or missing him being born because his due date is in the heat of winter rodeo.” Rodeo is how Cole Franks makes a living, and it’s a pretty good one. He finished the year with $308,143 riding bucking horses, and his consistency at the NFR came through despite his ailments. He rode 10 broncs for a cumulative score of 846 points, placing fourth in the aggregate, which was worth $44,356. It’s time to get things fixed and heal so he can continue to support his growing family. That’s the priority, after all.

Weston Patterson closed out his first National Finals Rodeo in a big way. He placed in three of the final four nights, including an 87.75-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Larry Culpepper to finish fifth during Saturday’s 10th round. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo can be a strange place. Take saddle bronc rider Weston Patterson. He entered the sport’s Super Bowl 11th in the world standings, then accumulated $94,573 in wealth. Still, he dropped two spots on the money list to No. 13. His final payday came during Saturday’s 10th go-round, where he rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Larry Culpepper for 87.75 points to finish fifth, worth $9,463. He finished the year with $268,308. “It was a very fun 10 days of my life, and I’m never going to forget it,” said Patterson, a first-time NFR qualifier from Waverly, Kansas. “I really can’t complain. Obviously, I could be greedy and say I wanted more, but I’m very thankful to have it go this way. I’m very appreciative.” He should be. Only the top 15 bronc busters on the money list at the end of the regular season get to play on this stage. Patterson kicked off his Las Vegas adventure by finishing second on opening night, Dec. 4. He had another fifth-place finish in Round 7, then won the eighth night. It’s still a windfall, even though others cashed in their NFR slots for more cash. World champion Statler Wright earned $274,000 inside the Thomas & Mack Center. This was a building block. A ride like he produced on the final night of the 2025 campaign would win most rodeos. At the NFR, he settled for fifth. Just like when he finished second at the College National Finals Rodeo in 2021, he was part of the Clarendon (Texas) men’s team that won the national title. He knows what it’s like to be a winner, but he’s also just two years removed from his rookie season. Every phase in life can be a learning tool, and this is just another rung on his ladder toward longstanding success. “One thing I learned is it’s a long week,” Patterson said. “Everybody says, ‘Take it one horse at a time,’ and that ain’t no lie. It can get cold and get real hot real fast. You just need to keep your head down. There’s obviously a reason why every one of us is here. “You just have to keep going after them one after another and believe in yourself.”

Jess Pope added another $76,000 to his National Finals Rodeo earnings this year by finishing second in the average. He has earned nearly $1.2 million at the NFR over his six qualifications. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – Mr. Las Vegas was at it again over the last week and a half of National Finals Rodeo competition. Bareback rider Jess Pope placed in six rounds, including two wins, and finished second in the aggregate race by riding 10 horses for a cumulative score of 853.75 points – in the first year of the quarter-point system at the NFR, he lost the average title by just .25 points to Montana cowboy Sam Petersen. That runner-up finish was still valued at more than $76,000, and it pushed his NFR earnings to $215,814. He finished the year with $419,443 and was third in the world standings. “I felt like I rode everything the best I could,” said Pope, the 2022 world champion from Waverly, Kansas. “I didn’t draw the best in some of the rounds, but that is part of rodeo.” He paused and pondered the difference between him and Petersen after 10 rounds. “I like the half points better, because it’s a little easier to swallow a half point than it does a quarter point for (about) $20,000,” he said with a smile spreading across his cheeks when talking about the difference in payouts from first to second. The competitor wants to win at every level, but that kind of money is a valuable thing. He’s done it quite a bit in his six qualifications to ProRodeo’s grand finale. Over his 60 rounds inside the Thomas & Mack Center, Pope has earned $1,174,968 and has never finished worse than fifth in aggregate points. “I feel really confident getting on 10 head in a row,” said Pope, who won the average title three consecutive years (2020-22). “I might not have the flashiest spur stroke and be able to win on the little hoppers (the easiest to ride broncs in rodeo), but if you put 10 head of every caliber of horse, I feel like I’m going to handle every one of them the best way I can.” That’s why he’s so successful once he arrives in Sin City. “At the end of the day, I’m just here excited to be making a living in rodeo,” he said. “There are a lot of people who wish they were in my shoes. That average buckle, that gold buckle … it doesn’t define who I am as a person, but I can walk out of this building confidently that I showed up, rode the best that I felt like I could and enjoyed every moment of it. “To be able to come out here and make that kind of money is great. I bought a skid loader before I came out here, and I’ll be able to go home now and buy some attachments and just try to set myself up for later in life. It is truly a blessing to be able to be here and ride for the money that we do and hopefully be here for another seven to 10 years.” When he returns to the City of Entertainment next year, he’ll have another fan with him. Pope and his wife, Sydney, are expecting their first child in May. He’s already making plans for how to prepare for that blessing. “I think I’m going to pull a Tim O’Connell,” he said, referring to the three-time world titlist from Iowa and one of Pope’s best friends. “We’re going to have a big keg party in my shop, and the only way you can get a cup is if you bring a box of diapers. Hopefully I don’t have to buy diapers for nine or 10 months.”

Tucker Allen of Ventura, California, has plenty of reasons to celebrate after a dominating performance at the National Finals Rodeo, where he earned $248,000 in 10 days to claim the steer wrestling world championship. (PRCA PHOTO BY CLICK THOMPSON)   He is 1st California bulldogger to win world title since Branquinho LAS VEGAS – Tucker Allen was keeping his emotions in check. He had just dominated the steer wrestling competition at the National Finals Rodeo, winning three go-rounds and lapping the field with a 10-round cumulative time of 46.4 seconds to claim the average title and run away with the world championship. He was as happy as he could be as he made his way around the Thomas & Mack Center. Then he ran into one of his rodeo heroes and mentors, five-time titlist Luke Branqhinho, the last Californian to win a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in 2014. “My emotions that were held in all week and just kind of doing my job,” said Allen, who earned $94,036 for winning the average to increase his NFR earnings to $248,046. “It didn’t really set in until I ran into Luke Branqinho in the hallway. We both broke down. It was a long time coming.” It was an eventful week. He won the second round, and while celebrating his big night and receiving his trophies at the South Point Casino eight miles south of the arena, his pickup truck was stolen. The $36,668 might have made the downpayment on a new one, but he wasn’t done. He won two more rounds – he shared the fourth-round with Mississippi cowboy Will Lummus – and placed six times in all. Of his stay in Vegas, almost $154,000 came in the go-rounds. The final bump was the surge that came from beating the best in the world through 10 December nights. He finished the 2025 season with $398,931, beating the field by $65,000. Allen was just one of four bulldoggers to cross the $300,00 barrier in earnings, joined by Lummus, Oregonian Jesse Brown and Louisianan Rowdy Parrott. Brown is one of Allen’s teammates. They traveled with Texan Justin Shaffer, who owned the Horse of the Year, Banker. Shaffer won Friday’s ninth round to add to the excitement. Brown finished fifth in the aggregate, and Shaffer was sixth. Combined, the trio earned almost $530,000 on Banker’s back at the NFR. “This has been the funnest week of my life,” said Allen, 26, of Ventura, California. “I’ll never forget this. I’m truly blessed to be able to do this. This whole performance is dedicated to every single person that was in my life that has helped me. “There’s a village of them. I’m just so blessed to be able to perform on this stage and represent them.”

Jess Pope rides Frontier Rodeo’s Painted Smoke for 84.5 points to place in Friday’s ninth round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was the third night in a row he has earned NFR money and sixth time overall. He will ride for a world championship Saturday night. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope’s somewhat cold experience at his sixth National Finals Rodeo heated in a hurry. It’s good timing. He’s placed in six go-rounds, including the last three in a row, two of which were victories paying $36,668 each. He also added a $2,957 payday after posting an 84.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Painted Smoke to finish in a tie for sixth place in Friday’s ninth round. The result is simple: Pope is in the middle of another bareback riding world-championship race heading into Saturday’s 10th round, the final night of the 2025 ProRodeo season. “I feel really good heading into tomorrow,” he said Friday night. “I feel like I’ve been riding well. I did the best I could on that horse tonight, and that’s all I can do. It feels good to get another check, so we’ll just try to keep that going.” Pope has earned $139,521 so far at this year’s NFR. He’s third in the world standings with $343,150. He trails the standings leader, Rocker Steiner, by $103,000 but is just behind the No. 2 man, Sam Petersen, by just $5,600. There’s a caveat, though. Pope, a three-time NFR average champion (2020-22), leads the aggregate race with a nine-ride cumulative score of 769 points. He has a 2.5-point lead over Petersen heading into the 10th round. That’s a valuable position. The cowboy that wins the aggregate will earn an additional $94,036; second-place pays a hair more than $76,000. “I just need to focus on my job and put on the best spur ride I can on the horse I have drawn,” said Pope, a six-time NFR qualifier and the 2022 world champion from Waverly, Kansas. “I can’t control how the horse bucks, and I can write down my own scores, so I’m just going to focus on doing what I can. “This thing’s going to end how it’s supposed to end. We’ll see how it all shakes out come tomorrow night.” Steiner, too, is in position to add an average check. It’s going to come down to who finishes off this rugged, 10-day finale the best to see who will win the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Pope will be matched with Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Notch as he closes out his campaign. “Yeah, it’s exciting, but at the same time, I’m here to do a job to the best of my ability every night,” Pope said. “I want to win the round and see what happens after that. The rest is out of my control.”

Waylon Bourgeois’ first National Finals Rodeo hasn’t been all that dreams are made of, but it’s been pretty good. He has earned $131,000, the most recent of which came from finishing in a tie for second place during Friday’s ninth round with an 85.75-point ride on Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s Cosmic Stardust. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – A little reminder is a good thing. Bareback rider Waylon Bourgeois must’ve needed one, so Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s Cosmic Stardust provided it during their 85.75-point ride in Friday’s ninth round of the National Finals Rodeo. He finished tied for second and reeled in another Las Vegas payday worth $25,431. “I got on that horse at Cheyenne in the short round there in July, and I aced her,” he said, referring to a great personal performance. “It made it seem a lot easier than what she really is. (Friday’s round) is our one pen, a little bit easier horses, so I had that thought in my head. So, I nod my head, got a really good mark out, and she hit me (with her rump). “I’m so glad she did, because it reminded me, ‘Hey, it’s time to go to work.’ I did.” The unexpected jolt provided the perfect lift as this year’s NFR winds to a close. With his Friday night paycheck, Bourgeois increased his Sin City earnings to $131,044. “Getting another check over here at the NFR is what we dream about doing,” said Bourgeois, competing at the championship for the first time. “That’s what we’re here for is to come in and do our best and win as much as possible.” It’s not as easy as it seems. The competition is fierce, with only the top 15 bareback riders from the regular season earning the right to compete in Las Vegas. The Church Point, Louisiana, cowboy entered the fray 12th in the world standings. He’s climbed to sixth with $258,907 with one night remaining on the season. The challenge is further exacerbated by the best 105 horses selected to perform at the NFR. They’re set up in five pens, from easy like Friday’s herd to the most difficult, “the eliminators,” which were featured Thursday. “Yeah, these horses were a lot easier than last night,” he said Friday. “Last night’s were ‘the eliminators’ and tonight were ‘the hoppers,’ and there’s a super big difference in those two pens.” The best in the business should be able to ride a variety of bucking horses, and the NFR offers a test to prove it. He will be matched with Frontier Rodeo’s Breaking News during Saturday’s final go-round of this year’s NFR. “I’m just trying to soak it in, because these 10 days have just flown by,” Bourgeois said. “I can’t remember all the rounds because they’ve flown by so fast. I’m feeling super confident in my riding. The more you get on, the better you feel. “The money feels super good, and it’s not over. I got my first go-round buckle win (in the third round), and I wasn’t done then. I want another one. It feels good to have that money in my pocket, but I’m still hungry and ready for more.”

Tucker Allen may have the lead in the National Finals Rodeo average race, but he plans to make a run at 10th-round victory anyway. He posted a 4.0-second run to finish sixth during Friday’s ninth round in Las Vegas and owns a 12.4-second lead in the aggregate. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – It’s time for steer wrestler Tucker Allen to nitpick his runs. That’s what happens after a week and a half of success in Las Vegas. Allen placed for the sixth time at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, stopping the clock in 4.0 seconds to finish sixth during Friday’s ninth round. That $5,914 check pushed his finale earnings to $154,101. “I should have been quicker,” said Allen, a two-time NFR qualifier from Ventura, California. “I got a decent start, but that steer kind of fell flat, but I think if I reached earlier, I could have made him hit. I think if I were to rerun him again, I’d change some stuff, but I’ll take it.” He has wrestled nine steers to the ground in a cumulative time of 40.6 seconds. He is No. 1 in the average race and owns a 12.4-second advantage over the No. 2 man in the aggregate, Rowdy Parrott. Allen’s run and placing, combined with Mississippian Will Lummus’ finish in a three-way tie for second, flip-flopped the leaderboard. Lummus is the top dog in the world standings but is only $8,073 ahead of Allen, the No. 2 man with $304,878. The tale of the night for Allen, though, was his traveling partner, Justin Shaffer, who won the round, his first in the two years he’s played on rodeo’s biggest stage. The $36,668 the Texan earned was his biggest pay of this year’s championship, and he placed for just the fourth time in nine days. Shaffer is Allen’s hazer when Allen runs, and the roles switch when it’s Shaffer’s turn. “I’m very pumped for him,” Allen said, a grin spreading across his cheeks. “That’s a long time coming.” Allen will roll into Saturday’s 10th round with a world championship on the line. He has the advantages, namely because of his place in the average race. The aggregate winner will pocket $94,036, which will go a long way toward deciding who will be awarded the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Don’t look for Allen to do anything different. He hopes to have the kind of steer that will give him an opportunity to win on the final night of the ProRodeo campaign. He’s just following the advice of another California bulldogger, five-time titlist Luke Branquinho. “He always says to never back off, ever,” Allen said. “Just keep going at them. If it don’t work, then it don’t work. If it works, then it works great. “Being aggressive just makes everything a little bit easier. It simplifies it so much.” A year’s worth of travel, time and effort have led to this moment, and whether he walks away from Las Vegas with gold in his hands will come down to one final run. “This is just one of the deals where hard work pays off, and it’s fun to get to do this with your friends,” he said.

Bridger Anderson placed for the sixth time with his 3.8-second run to finish in a three-way tie for second during Friday’s ninth round of the National Finals Rodeo. This is the most he’s placed at an NFR in his three qualifications. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – The communication between teammates is vital in sports. Quarterbacks call a play in the huddle, then use phrases, signals and motions to make adjustments to the offense. Steer wrestler Bridger Anderson is doing something similar with his hazer, 2017 world champion Tyler Pearson. It’s paying off to the tune of $111,625 earned over nine nights at the National Finals Rodeo, the latest payday coming Friday night when he grappled his cow to the ground in 3.8 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for second place. “We’ve got a system,” Anderson said of the duo’s silent code. “When I grab the saddle horn, he takes off because I’m about to nod, and he’s got my tell down to where I’ve got 100 percent confidence he’s going to serve that steer up in the hardest place ever to haze. He just does a heck of a job, and I’m sure happy he’s here. “I would argue that Pearson’s the best guy going right now and the best in this yellow pen with Metallica.” It’s certainly been advantageous. With Anderson on his horse, Whiskers, and Pearson riding his horse, Metallica, Anderson has placed six times, with his most recent coming in at $22,080. The bulldogger is sixth in the world standings with $220,953, so half his season earnings have come inside the tight confines of the Thomas & Mack Center. “This is the most times I’ve ever placed in an NFR, and we’re not even done yet,” said Anderson, a three-time qualifier from Carrington, North Dakota. “We’ve got one more round. It’s been a good week so far. Other than a couple of things that I could have changed and probably (getting a better start) a little more, we could have placed deeper. “You can’t complain when you get to run 10 steers in this yellow pen.” No, just advancing to ProRodeo’s grand finale is an accomplishment. Placing on two-thirds of the first nine rounds is just icing on the cake. “We finally drew on the better end tonight,” he said. “I’ve had some decent ones this wee but none of the ones you really want, the great ones. This one tonight was outstanding. I blased the barrier and made a good run. “For (Saturday night), I wouldn’t mind drawing on the good end again and just finish this deal out strong. I’d love to win the round and hopefully take home some hardware.”

Bullfighters – Dusty Tuckness, foreground; Cody Webster, right; and Austin Ashley, background – try to gain the attention of Andrews Rodeos’ Buckin Hippie to keep everyone in the arena out of harm’s way during the opening round of the National Finals Rodeo. Ashley is working the NFR for the first time alongside his two mentors. (PRCA PHOTO BY MALLORY BEINBORN)   Cinch bullfighter Ashley working his first National Finals Rodeo LAS VEGAS – Austin Ashley will lock Dec. 4, 2025, in his memory bank. It was opening night, his first go-round at the National Finals Rodeo as one of the three bullfighters selected to protect bull riders during the 10-day championship. “When Steve Knowles (with the PRCA) called back in October with the good news, I was really emotional,” said Ashley, 24, of Wynnewood, Oklahoma, a community of about 1,700 people 65 miles south of Oklahoma City. “I might have shed a few tears about the whole thing. It was just a big weight lifted off my chest to know that I finally did it.” Ashley is rocking and rolling in Las Vegas, a protective shield for the top 15 bull riders in the world. They selected him, alongside veterans Cody Webster and fellow Cinch endorsee Dusty Tuckness – between them, Webster and Tuckness own the last 16 titles for PRCA Bullfighter of the Year. Webster is from Wayne, Oklahoma; Tuckness, though originally from Meeteetse, Wyoming, has lived in central Oklahoma for years. “Those two guys have had a huge impact on my career, growing up underneath them and as much help as they’ve given me over the years,” said Ashley, who was introduced alongside them Dec. 2 during the “Welcome Reception,” otherwise known as the back-number ceremony. “To stand up there next to them and receive that buckle I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid was pretty danged cool.” He has worked alongside his mentors, stepping into the middle of wreck after wreck to keep everyone safe. The rounds are continuing, and the world champions will be crowned Saturday night. If the NCAA Tournament is college basketball’s “One Shining Moment,” the NFR is “Rhinestone Cowboy,” where the year’s greatest play the game in search of rodeo gold. Ashley is one of them. “The bullfighting world is loaded with talent, and the top five is pretty stacked,” he said, referring to the men who were nominated to work the NFR. “There are another three or four guys that are just as deserving to be on the list. To be chosen for the top five guys to fight at the finals last year, I thought that was a dream come true. Then the news comes out on who made it and who didn’t, and that really lit that much more of a fire underneath me to go out there and put my best foot forward and keep every guy as safe as I can.” Once the nominations are in, the cowboys who have earned the right to ride bulls in Las Vegas then choose the three men they want to protect them. That makes the honor more special. The three men will work in unison to make sure everyone in the arena is free of harm’s way. “As soon as that latch cracks, you’re watching the ride,” Ashley said. “It’s like reading a book. You’re watching it unfold right there before your eyes. From the way the bull is bucking to how the rider’s riding, those are the key details that help decide what your next step’s about to be. “It’s easier for me coming in and working with Dusty and Cody. I’ve been around them my whole career.” The training started early for the Oklahoma man. He took to the dangerous task like it was destiny. He has had a considerable amount of tutelage from some f the greatest to have ever tied on the cleats. “I can remember the first time getting to work when Web (Webster) when I was 14 years old,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘This guy’s the real deal,’ just how sharp and correct he was on everything. Then fast-forward to now: I’ve had eight years to work with a guy and try to match his level of talent. I think it’s been a big, revolving door of being around the best of the best over the years. “From where I live, the best bullfighters in the world have always been around me: Frank Newsom, Cody Webster, Dusty Tuckness, Nathan Harp. The list goes on. I’ve always had a great circle of people to help me.” That means he can pick and choose what to take from each. It’s allowed Ashley to define his own style with the idea of stepping into the middle of the wreck to keep everyone as safe as possible. “I feel like there’s even more pressure on me to come back and do it,” Ashley said. “This is Cody’s 13th time, and this is the 17th time for Dusty. It’s going to be a long, hard road, but I’m willing to chase it.”

Dean Thompson spurs C5 Rodeo’s Winning Rose for 86.25 points to finish third during Thursday’s eighth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – Reigning world champion bareback rider Dean Thompson is still waiting for something big to happen in his third appearance at the National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed in five of eight rounds so far, but the paydays haven’t been what he had hoped. A year ago, Thompson placed eight times, including two round wins. He surged over the last few days and powered his way to the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. By this time 12 months ago, he had already pocketed $122,000. He’s halfway there in 2025. He scored the biggest check of his Las Vegas stay with an 86.25-point ride on C5 Rodeo’s Winning Rose to finish third during Thursday’s eighth round – he also finished third on Night 2. He is sitting at $64,312 with two nights left in this year’s finale and is ninth in the world standings with $230,848. Thompson has a cumulative score of 591.75 points on eight rides and is ninth in the average race. A season ago, he claimed the average championship, and that $86,000 payday cleared the way for him to take rodeo’s gold back to his home in Altamont, Utah. In all, Thompson earned just shy of $240,000 at the NFR. That’s not going to happen this December, but he’s still had a solid week. Anytime a cowboy can compete in this elite field and against the best broncs in the sport, it’s an accomplishment. To earn money in most of the rounds is a big deal. Only the top six places in a go-round earn money in Las Vegas. Being steady is also opening the door for Thompson when it comes to Saturday night. Should he move up one spot in the average race to eighth, he will incur an $8,900 bonus. In a sport where dollars equal championship points, every dollar counts. That’s what Thompson is counting on as he prepares for the final two go-rounds.

Cole Franks grimaces as he battles Rosser Rodeo’s Right On Q for 83.75 points to finish sixth during Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. (PHOTO BY GREG WESTFALL)   LAS VEGAS – Bareback rider Cole Franks stretched his right hand, rolled his neck around and winced. It looked like he’d just been in a fist fight. Whether he’d won is still up in the air. There was victory, as much as one can have when he tangles with 1,200 of wild, bucking flesh, but there was that look. Franks had just packed a whale of a punch on Rosser Rodeo’s Right On Q for 83.75 points. It was good enough for sixth place in Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo and picked up $5,914. He might need that for an ice bath. “I feel very glad that the next two horses I’m getting on are going to be fun,” said Franks, a four-time NFR qualifier from Clarendon, Texas. “It should be fun, so hopefully it is.” ProRodeo’s premier championship is a slugfest for bareback riders. They are challenged by a variety of bucking horses, from the “hoppers,” the easiest to ride, to the “eliminators,” which is self-descriptive. Right On Q was part of the latter. The powerful, red explosive device was anything but fun. “That horse was a little bit more than I expected,” Franks said. “I knew it was going to be hard, and I knew it was going to buck. I’m not really sure what happened, but I got set up right at the start, and he stepped ahead a little bit and hit me in the back of the head pretty hard, and it kind of rang my bell. I was just fighting the whole rest of the time, trying to stay caught up with him. “I pretty much dropped the ball a little bit again tonight.” The goal is to spur from in front of the horse’s shoulders and back to the rigging, then extend the feet back to the front before the bronc’s front feet hit the ground again. Judges are going to mark half the score based on how well the animal performs, and the other half on how well the cowboy spurs in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion. The tougher the bronc, the harder it is to do that. Still, Franks has ridden seven horses for a cumulative 676.75 points and is fourth in the average race. He has amassed $63,426 in eight rounds and sits sixth in the world standings with $256,787. Money for placing in the aggregate will be added Saturday night; as it stands, he has potential to add $44,356 to his pockets. But this has been a rather slow NFR compared to his three previous. A year ago, he earned more than $156,000 over 10 nights. “It’s not what I’m used to, but it’s adding up,” Franks said. “I mean once that average sinks in, it’ll be close and will even out a little bit. Hopefully the next two rounds will be $37,000 a night.” Go-round winners earn $36,668, so he still has a chance at more than $73,000 in round money along with his average payout. It’s a big opportunity to cash out big in Vegas.

Waylon Bourgeois felt everything that Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks threw at him, but he overcame the torture to finish fifth in Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – The confines of the dirt-filled arena inside the Thomas & Mack Center are tight, and that can affect things at the National Finals Rodeo. It’s not just the timed events, where contestants have to be fast in order to earn money. It can also affect how well bucking horses perform. Take Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks, one of the broncs in the “eliminator pen” of bucking horses. Waylon Bourgeois felt ever jump, every kick of the powerful sorrel during his 84-point ride to finish fifth in Thursday’s eighth round, worth $9,463. “I’ve seen that horse a bunch of times,” said Bourgeois, competing at ProRodeo’s grand finale for the first time in his career. “I watched Jess (Pope) win Dodge City on her, and I watched Rocker (Steiner) get on her in the third round. “I knew it was a bucker, and that horse is easier in an open arena where she’s got room to move. I knew in this small arena, she was going to come back to the bucking chutes. When she turned that way, I knew it was going to get hard, and I was exactly right.” The power of the hardest-to-ride horses in rodeo was evident in Hooey Rocks. “She took a little scoot, hit off the wall and broke, and when she broke that first jump, it felt really good, but she catches you by surprise,” he said. “As she comes around, it gets harder and harder, and by the end of it, it was all I wanted.” It’s a good thing a qualified ride only lasts eight seconds, because just after the whistle blew, the cowboy hit the ground. “That’s part of the eliminator pen,” said Bourgeois, 26, of Church Point, Louisiana. “That’s part of the eliminators. They buck hard enough where you’re probably not going to be there for nine seconds.” With that ride, Bourgeois increased his NFR earnings to $105,613 and sits eighth in the world standings with $243,476. He has two nights remaining in the Nevada desert to collect as much Las Vegas cash as he can. The bareback riders are tested by five levels of bucking horses, and Thursday was the most difficult. There’s a break Friday with the “hopper pen,” a grouping of horses that are considered the easiest to manage. The 10-day finale will close with the “TV pen,” the most electric broncs in rodeo. “I think for world titles, you ought to have to get on all of them, the eliminators and the hoppers,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to ride both of them the best, and that’s what a world champion is.” This is a rugged sport that tests athleticism and mentality. After eight nights of riding bucking horses, cowboys are battered and bruised, but that’s not stopping them. “This is the funnest thing I’ve ever done,” Bourgeois said. “This is the pinnacle of our sport, and it’s a blessing to be out here in Las Vegas.”

After his steer struggled in the chute, J.D. Struxness made a solid, 4.4-second run to finish sixth during Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – Steer wrestler J.D. Struxness wanted to finish higher. He needed to finish higher. But that wasn’t in the cards during Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo, where he knocked his steer down in 4.4 seconds to finish sixth, worth $5,914. Any paychecks are important in rodeo, especially in Las Vegas. Struxness is fifth in the world standings with $212,545 but trails the leader, Tucker Allen, by more than $86,000 heading into the final two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale. Some things need to happen if Struxness hopes to defend his world championship this season. “There’s still about $72,000 on the table, and then you can look at the average checks after that,” he said, referring to go-round winners earning better than $36,000 per night. “We’re just picking away at it. “I liked our steer a little better tonight. He just fought the chute a little bit there, and then tried on after that. It just makes it hard here, because the starts are so fast. When those steers fight the chute, it gets tough, and you try to squeeze off and time the start that you have to have out here.” The Thomas & Mack Center is a fast setup for the timed events. Even stopping the clock in 4.4, he was a half-second off the pace set by Allen, who won his third round Thursday. Everything needs to come together to make a blistering run, and it didn’t for Struxness. “I was hoping to get a better start and be faster on him, but we took a check home tonight, so we’ll take getting by one and see what we have tomorrow,” he said. Allen leads the average race with an eight-run cumulative time of 36.6 seconds. He is almost 10 seconds faster than the No. 2 man, Rowdy Parrott, and has a 16.3-second advantage over Struxness. When winning runs take close to 4 seconds, that’s an eternity. The average champion will pocket $94,000, but third place still pays more than $62,000. If circumstances change and Struxness can make up ground on Parrott over the final two nights of the season, a second-place average check is more than $76,000. “We’ve climbed back up in the average and are sitting good to get a check out of that,” said Struxness, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Milan, Minnesota. “We’re going to go gather up as much money as we can, and then we’ll just see where the cards fall after that. We just have to see what other guys do, and all we can do is just try to gather up what we can. “At the end of the day, we come out here to make money. We need to look at it going into these last two rounds, then go ahead and finish strong and take home as much money as we can to feed the family.” Struxness has earned nearly $74,000 over eight nights in Sin City, and he has a shot to more than double it in the final two days of the season. That would buy a lot of groceries.

Bridger Anderson has placed five times over the course of the National Finals Rodeo, his most recent coming with a 4.2-second run to finish fourth in Thursday’s eighth round. (PRCA PHOTO BY CLICK THOMPSON)   LAS VEGAS – Slowly but surely, Bridger Anderson is having a solid run at the National Finals Rodeo. He has yet to win a go-round, but he’s gathered paychecks five times so far. His most recent came during Thursday’s eighth round when he tipped his steer over in 4.2 seconds to finish fourth, worth $15.377. He’s amassed $89,546 with two nights remaining, with fourth-place-or-better finishes four times. “I’m trying to win the round,” said Anderson, a three-time NFR qualifier from Carrington, North Dakota. “I think (Thursday) was the second best start we got all week. We had a steer that we knew we had to bear down, do things right on the ground and get them down in a decent fashion, and I felt like we did a good. “My horse felt great, probably the best he’s felt all week. Dad put some shoes on him today while I was doing some other stuff. He’s feeling good, and I’m excited for the next two nights.” His best finish came in Round 3, when he posted a 3.9 to finish second. That was worth $28,980, but he also claimed third-place paydays on Nights 2 and 7. A key ingredient is Whiskers, a 16-year-old bay gelding that has been a crucial part of Anderson’s success. “It’s insanely hard trying to get the start here, because the arena is so short and the barrier is so short that it’s something we don’t see for the rest of the year,” said Anderson, who pushed his season earnings to $198,873; he is ninth in the world standings. “The start is crucial. If you miss it at all here, you’ll end up at the back fence, and there’s no money down there.” Anderson has stayed away. He did suffer two no-times – in Rounds 1 and 5 – and just missed out on a payday on the fourth night; he finished seventh, but only the top six earn money in Las Vegas. He knows the key to success comes with placing in the rounds. Two years ago during his last venture the NFR, he cleared about $120,000 in 10 days. He’s on his way to doing something similar, but it will depend on how he finishes this week. This is, after all, the best opportunity he has to make a lot of money in a hurry. He’s just been steady in his approach.

Weston Patterson spurs Summit Pro Rodeo’s Cowboy Fool for 89 points to win Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. Patterson comes from the small town of Waverly, Kansas, population 526. He joined another hometown boy, bareback rider Jess Pope, in the winner’s circle Thursday. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – In the Kansas Flint Hills, being a cowboy is more of a way of life than a job description. The small town of Waverly, Kansas, has a population of 526 souls, and everyone’s eyes are on the bright lights of Las Vegas. A sign on the edge of town boasts of it being home to world champion bareback rider Jess Pope. The community might have to add another sign. Saddle bronc rider Weston Patterson might just join him there. It won’t happen this year, but Patterson is doing some big things during his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, and the biggest came during Thursday’s eighth round. Patterson rode Summit Pro Rodeo’s Cowboy Fool for 89 points to win the night and a $36,668 paycheck, surging his NFR earnings to $85,110. “It was a great horse,” said Patterson, 24. “He’s a bucker. They’ve won on him all yar long, so I knew I had a chance.” “I had a great draw tonight. I knew I had a great chance as long as I did my job, and I did that. It turned out how I wanted it to.” After a great start to his inaugural business trip to the City of Entertainment – he finished second during the Dec. 4 opening night – the success rate was put on pause. He failed to place for five straight nights, then got back into the groove in Round 7. He made his adventure even better on Cowboy Fool. “Winning a round is just icing on the cake for me,” said Patterson, who was part of the men’s intercollegiate national championship while competing for Clarendon (Texas) College in 2021. “We’ve still got two more rounds heating up, so hopefully we can do it again.” With the win, winners take part in the go-round buckle presentation that happens nightly at the South Point, a casino eight miles south of the Thomas & Mack Center. He and Pope took Waverly to the big stage, with Pope winning the round in bareback riding for the second straight night. The showroom stage was filled with folks from the Coffey County community. Jess Pope is three years older than Patterson, who graduated the same year with Ty Pope, the world champion’s middle brother, in a class of 12. When Patterson took his turn on stage, the Pope family was with him. “Since we were in about first grade, Ty and I’ve been hip and hip until we went off to college,” Patterson said. The night, though, belonged to Patterson. He has increased his season earnings to $258,846 and sits 10th in the world standings. He credits his success to his dad, Ed, and his traveling partners, Wyatt Casper, Kade Bruno and Jake Clark. He also recognized the importance of quality coaching he received from Bret Franks, the Clarendon rodeo coach who also qualified for the NFR three times. “If you want to be a bronc rider, that’s the place you’ve got to be,” Patterson said. “You’ll learn how to win there inside the arena and outside the arena. It’s not just to be a good bronc rider but being a good person. I think Bret was a big part of my success early on getting out of college not just learning how to ride bucking horses but what it takes outside of the arena to be a good, professional athlete.”

Tucker Allen slides his steer to a stop during a 3.9-second run, which guided him to Thursday’s eighth-round victory at the National Finals Rodeo. It was his third round win in eight days. (PRCA PHOTO BY LARA ST JACQUES)   LAS VEGAS – Nine months ago, steer wrestler Tucker Allen sealed the biggest victory of his young career when he won RodeoHouston and $72,000. He’s more than doubled it over eight nights at the National Finals Rodeo, aided by three go-round victories, the latter of which came with a 3.9-second run during Thursday’s eighth round. That was valued at $36,668; he also won Round 2 and shared the win this past Sunday. In all, he has pocketed $148,096. “Hopefully we’ll try to get a little more,” said Allen, a two-time NFR qualifier from Ventura, California. “That’s what you’re here for. It’s just one at a time, and that’s all that matters. There’s nowhere else that you can go for $36,000 a night, so you might as well go for it each night.” He’s done that about as well as one can. He’s placed in two other rounds and has been the hottest bulldogger on the block with two nights remaining in the ProRodeo season. With his winning run Thursday, Allen shot past season leader Will Lummus into the lead for the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. He owns an $8,000 advantage over the Mississippi cowboy and is also the top dog in the aggregate race. He has wrestled eight steers in 36.6 seconds and has pushed his season earnings to $298,964. He rides the Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, Justin Shaffer’s Banker. That’s been a key ingredient in his success over the past eight days. “Oh, he’s a blessing,” Allen said of the horse. “He’s truly one of a kind. Hopefully he goes out as one of the greatest, because I think he has potential and deserves all the credit. He is unreal. He’s the reason that all of this is happening. I couldn’t do it without him and could not do it without Justin.” Shaffer also qualified for the NFR but still serves as hazer for Allen and a third bulldogger on the team, Jesse Brown. “I think besides, obviously, my girlfriend and his wife, Justin and I are each other’s biggest fans,” he said. “I want him to do good every night, especially when I’m hazing for him. I want him to win so bad. I want him to beat me every night or vice versa. If me, him and Jesse could be one, two and three or split all of it every night, that’d be perfect.” Things aren’t always perfect, but Allen is trying cut a clear path to rodeo’s gold. “I told myself to go at the barrier and try to get some round money, and luckily it worked out,” Allen said. It’s been happening a lot this week in Las Vegas.