Brody Wells, a two-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier, earned his way to Las Vegas with big wins, including a shared victory at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo last summer. He rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Larry Culpepper for 91 points to split the win with Stetson Wright, who rode Northern Exposure for the same score. Larry Culpepper finished 2025 as the reserve Saddle Bronc of the Year.
(PHOTO BY PEGGY GANDER)

 

LOVINGTON, N.M. – The Lea County Fair and Rodeo has been a hotbed for the top names in ProRodeo.

It’s historic. World champions have made their way to southeastern New Mexico every summer for decades. There’s also a fantastic purse, which provides a great opportunity to earn big money when cowboys and cowgirls arrive. That’s attractive, but there’s more to it.

The Lea County Fair Board entrusts the professionals and animal athletes from Pete Carr Pro Rodeo to bring their A game to Lovington, and that’s been happening for about 20 years. Last year’s rodeo was just further proof of it, and the Carr team showed off its full range of bucking animals over the five days of competition. This year’s rodeo is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5-Saturday, Aug. 8; that also includes Lea County Xtreme Bulls, which is Tuesday, Aug. 4.

“We get to see National Finals bucking horses and bulls at our rodeo four months before they buck in Las Vegas,” said Kyle Johnston, a member of the fair board and chairman of its rodeo committee. “I think that’s what the cowboys want to see when they get to Lovington, a bunch of great horses they know they can win a lot of money on.”

That was certainly the case a year ago. Carr’s Larry Culpepper bucked at the NFR for the seventh time this past December and was named the PRCA’s Reserve Saddle Bronc of the Year. He guided Brody Wells to a share of the bronc riding victory last August in Lovington; Wells’ 91-point ride was matched by 10-time world champion Stetson Wright, who rode Carr’s Northern Exposure. Both men earned $7,300.

“Larry is a legendary bronc,” said Wells of Powell, Wyoming. “It’s an honor to put your saddle on him. A bronc like that doesn’t come around too often. He’s a special horse.”

The bronc busters weren’t alone. While Larry Culpepper is a veteran, Cole Franks won the Lea County Fair and Rodeo’s bareback riding title on Pink Smoke, then a 6-year-old mare out of Riverboat Annie, the matriarch of the Carr breeding program. Northern Exposure, now 6, proved to be a good match for Wright, then was selected to buck at the NFR.

“That (horse) was everything that I wanted,” Wright said of the bay. “I didn’t have high expectations on that horse coming in. It’s a young one.

“I just gave him a little more rein, and I was hoping it would help. It looks like it did. I’m just pumped up to be here.”

Franks was young when Pink Smoke’s momma was bucking, but he’d seen the red roan develop over time.

“That horse is really cool,” he said of Pink Smoke.

There are several animals that fit into that category for Carr, which had 21 selected for the NFR. The decision is based on a vote of the cowboys that ride them, and the men who play on ProRodeo’s biggest stage choose which ones will perform in Las Vegas. No other contractor had more at last year’s finale.

Larry Culpepper had a fantastic 2025 season. Wells also rode the horse for 90 points in Pecos, Texas, and Zeke Thurston was 92 to win in Oakley, Utah. That’s why he had so many votes when it came time to select the bronc of the year, and the bronc is back at it again this year. Tanner Butner was 89 points to win Oakley a couple weeks ago.

“He’s just everything you want to feel on a bucking horse,” Thurston said. “He’s a big boy; he ways a lot, and h e’s athletic. That’s a large animal to be able to do what he does, and when he does it, he does it really good. It’s pretty impressive.”

He was impressive inside Jake McClure Arena a year ago, and cowboys are counting on Larry Culpepper and the other animals to do the same this August.