About: Ted

Fundraising event to give portion to Montero Foundation LAS VEGAS – Rodeo is not only wildly fascinating and action-packed; it’s driven by passion. Cowboys play the game because of the rush they get and the people they meet. Bareback riders are the warriors, the men who wedge their specially designed gloves into a rigging that is strapped tightly to a bucking horse that issues pain on every jump and kick. The men band together like a fraternity of sorts. They share a kindred spirit and a dream of winning rodeo’s most cherished trophy, a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Whether they’re from California or Quebec, they have a bond, one they enjoy together at rodeos across North America. They’re not just old friends; they’re part of a unique family of athletes. Trenten Montero was a big part of that mix and shared that spirit with many others since he first set out in ProRodeo 11 seasons ago. Well-liked and gifted by God to do something he loved, Montero’s “goofy” nature was infectious. He died in August from injuries he suffered when a horse fell after a bareback ride, then rolled onto the cowboy. He was 31. Fellow bareback rider Mason Clements and others came up with the idea of the Trenten Montero Foundation, which was founded to assist cowboys and their families that are affected by career-ending injuries or death. Money raised will be put toward families’ necessities at a time when they may be devastated with the situations that can come up. The Cowboy Entrepreneur Foundation is conducting a fundraising at 7 p.m. Friday at the Westgate in Las Vegas in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo. Money raised during its “Straight From The Horse’s Mouth” singer/songwriter showcase will be divided among three charities: Trenten Montero Foundation, Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund and the Working Ranch Cowboy Association Crisis Fund. “This is going to be a great event to help with funding for these groups, and we are thankful to be part of it,” said Clements, a four-time NFR qualifier from Spanish Fork, Utah. “All three of these foundations are pretty awesome. “There are some pretty cool auction items that will be part of it. NFR average champions and world champions will be putting their chaps, their boots, their vests. Wyatt and Reagan Bloom have donated trips to Hawaii. Those shirts that all the bareback riders wore on Memorial Night to honor Trenten are going to get cleaned, and everyone’s going to sign them, and they’re going to up there. There are a handful of steer wrestlers that will sign their blue shirts and have them in the auction.” The Trenten Montero Foundation has also enlisted in a QR code to help direct potential donors to its portal. All funds will be put toward the families that need them. “I’ve got people asking me all the time where they can donate,” Clements said. “It’s their NFR chaps. It’s their NFR riggings. (Fellow bareback rider) Caleb Bennett is going to give one of his jackets, and we’re all going to sign that. “That’s what rodeo is about, and how much we support each other. It’s going to great causes, and it’s going to be a heck of an event.”

LAS VEGAS – It’s been six years since Mason Clements made his National Finals Rodeo debut, and his first year was his best year. Until now. Through Wednesday morning’s sixth round, Clements has placed four times and earned more than $85,000 in the process. He won Sunday’s first round, then nabbed paydays the next three, including an 86-point ride on Stace Smith’s Risky Business to finish in a three-way tie for third place in the special performance. That was worth $13,042. “It’s been really fun, really awesome,” said Clements, a four-time NFR qualifier from Spanish Fork, Utah. “It’s cool to see it all come together, and you’re trusting exactly what you’ve been hard the last few months, then to see it start shaping up and paying off. That’s what I worked my butt off for the last few months is to feel this good in the middle of the NFR.”   How well? He has ridden six horses for a cumulative score of 513.5 points and is first in the aggregate race. Should he still be there by the time the championship ends Saturday night, he’ll add a $78,747 bonus for winning the average title. All that helps him as he battles for rodeo gold, the buckle presented to world champions. “I had written down that I wanted at least three round wins, and with being at the top of the average now, I’ve got a good foot on that going into the next four rounds,” he said. “My goal is to stay on top. It’s going to pay the winner no matter what. A gold buckle is what I’m chasing and, what the numbers are right now, it obviously feels good to see it and gives me that confidence. “I’m still nodding my head every night to win the round. That’s my goal … keep winning the round. If it helps me get the average win, that’s even better. An NFR average win is pretty badass, too.” Clements has earned $211,281 this season and has more chances to cash in. With go-round winners pocketing nearly $31,000 per night, he has a big chance to continue to cash in. If he gets on big-time buckers like Risky Business more often, he’ll put himself in position in a hurry. “It’s always exciting to get on a horse you’ve seen before but never rode,” Clements said. “You watch how guys ride him and how he reacts to the caliber of guy that gets on him. You want to make it how you ride, but you’re still taking bits and pieces of it, collaborating and making it your own when you get a chance. “It’s always back to the basics every time, whether its something I’ve been on or one that I know but haven’t.” His mindset is helping Clements make big money in Las Vegas. He’s been through all sorts of experiences at the National Finals Rodeo, and his mental approach is what is helping him find success in 2023. “I really enjoy hunting, and one of the things I do to stay in shape is hunt,” he said. “You’re doing a lot of walking, and in Utah, the Wasatch Front gets pretty steep in some spots and makes it interesting, and you get a pretty good workout. It’s also what helps keep me sane.”

LAS VEGAS – The times are fast at the National Finals Rodeo every year. Even though he’s never played on this stage, Stephen Culling knew what to expect. He wanted to be one of the fastest steer wrestlers in the field, and earning a spot among the top 15 is a major accomplishment. He has pride in the work he did through the regular season to get to Las Vegas, and now he’s hoping to build off a modicum of success he’s had inside the Thomas & Mack Center so far. He was fast during Wednesday’s special, stopping the clock in 4.1 seconds to finish sixth in the sixth round, earning another $4,953. It was his the third time he’s placed in Las Vegas, pocketing $38,725 for it. He is seventh in the aggregate race with four rounds remaining. “It’s a learning curve right now,” said Culling of Fort St. John, British Columbia. “I broke the barrier one night and then missed the barrier the next night, so I kept bouncing back and forth. I need to get back to the game plan and just try to blow the barrier out every night and not worry about that broken barrier the other day and just go after these go-rounds the next four nights.” The special performance came about after last Thursday’s opening night was canceled because of the shooting on the UNLV campus. It was a way to have all 10 rounds without disrupting the rest of the schedule. The seventh round is scheduled for Wednesday evening. “We’re used to running in slack,” he said. “It’s a little different feeling being in a slack in Vegas and a quarter-full Thomas & Mack, but I know we’re fortunate that we were able to make up that lost performance, so we’ll take what we can get.” The bulldogging steers the cowboys ran in the morning session were known as the “strong pen,” and times showed. “This pen of steers is a little trickier,” said Culling, who has pushed his season earnings to $142,751. “They’re all over the map, so getting a check out of here is another step in the right direction.” As he plans for the remaining four rounds, he’s looking to build to his NFR resume. “My NFR has been all right,” he said. “I’ve been picking a way and placing in three rounds. Obviously I would have liked to be placing a little higher in these rounds than the bottom half, but there’s still a lot of rodeo left.”

LAS VEGAS – Three-time world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell scored a little redemption during the seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo. “That’s the horse that actually threw me off in 2021, which was the first time I’d been thrown off a horse in about 88 rounds here at the National Finals Rodeo,” O’Connell said of Big Stone Rodeo’s Mayhem, a horse on which he scored 87 points Wednesday night to finish in a tie for second place with his traveling partner, Louisianan Kade Sonnier. “I knew I had my hands full, and I knew that I made an error to trust my rigging for three rounds. I even knew after Night 1 I should have scrapped it. “But I waited until things got really bad after the eliminator pen (Sunday) to actually move forward and make a rigging swap.” Adjusting equipment proved to be beneficial, and it finally paid off. He earned $21,296. Most importantly, his he gained needed confidence as he heads into the final three nights of the ProRodeo season. “I’m just thankful to finally get on board in a round,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa. “I have never been shut out that long to get a paycheck, but I stayed with the same mindset that it was going to come and was able to not go off the deep end.” Oh, there were frustrations. This is the richest rodeo in the world, with go-rounds paying nearly $100,000 for 10 straight rounds. When a competitor battles six times without placing among the leaders, emotions can boil. “I feel like how I’ve prepared mentally and physically has shined through Rounds 4 through 7, and it finally came together,” he said. “The National Finals is tough if you don’t get hot out here right off the get-go. All I can do is just keep doing what I’ve been doing since Round 4, and that’s nod my head, be aggressive and do the right things I prepared myself to do. I’m doing everything I can do, and it finally paid off.” The paycheck was the perfect reminder of how things can go in Las Vegas, and it helped him celebrate the birthday of his wife, Sami. “I really tried to get her to the South Point,” he said of the casino on the south side of Las Vegas Boulevard that hosts the nightly go-round buckle presentation. In fact, that’s the person he leans on most when things aren’t going right. During the regular season, it’s a phone call or a quick trip home. At the NFR, the two communicate about everything that happens in the arena – the joys and the frustrations. “My wife is just the strongest person I know,” O’Connell said. “I know she’s just as frustrated; I think she’s been more frustrated than me. The most important things to me are my faith and my family. Rodeo is starting to fall down the list of importance. I love rodeo. It’s what I do, but it’s not who I am anymore. I lost my identity in that at one point, and I actually despised what I was doing for a career. “I really love doing this, and that mindset helped me find the love I had for it again. To have the opportunity to just be out here for 10 straight years and feel like I’m still one of the most dangerous bareback riders in the world is amazing.

LAS VEGAS – Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper has been looking for his opportunity to show off. He got it during a special Wednesday morning performance of the National Finals Rodeo, riding Legacy Pro Rodeo’s Jitter Bug for 85 points, good enough for fifth in the sixth go-round, worth just shy of $8,000. “That horse gives you every opportunity to spur every jump and doesn’t have a trick to her,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “It’s one of those rounds where you just get to let loose and have some fun.” He’s having a good time, but placing higher would give the Oklahoma Panhandle-raised cowboy a little better feeling. Through six rounds, he’s placed three times and earned $34,763 – $10,000 of that came as a bonus for being an NFR qualifier. Meanwhile, go-round winners are earning nearly $31,000 per night. The difference between his ride and the four men who earned more money in the morning session? While his horse was straight down the arena, the other four had mounts that offered a few more tricks. Scores are based on a 100-point scale, with half coming from how well the horse bucks and half from how well the cowboy rides in rhythm the bucking motion. “You can dang sure separate those horses that are a little more showy than the ones that don’t have anything to them,” Casper said. “I knew I’d be pretty close to getting a check. You can do that in most of these pens. You can pick out who’s got the strongest horse and who’s got the bottom of the pen. Even though it’s the NFR, there’s still a top and bottom to those pens.” The morning performance came because the opening night of the NFR was canceled after the deadly shooting last week on the UNLV campus. Contestants competed twice. There were two performances Wednesday to allow for the cowboys and cowgirls to still be part of all 10 rounds. It seems like a lot to get on two broncs in one day, but it’s just a different feel because of the magnitude of the NFR. During the summer run, contestants will make multiple rides or runs in the same day. “Usually over the Fourth of July, we try to enter Red Lodge, Montana; Cody, Wyoming; and Livingston, Montana, in the same day,” he said. “You’re also driving pretty fast to get to all those rodeos, and that’s three in a day. That’s a full day, so it’s nice to have a break between the two rounds here.”