About: Ted

Bareback riding: 1. Trenten Montero, 90.5 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetic’s Prairie Rose, $26,231; 2. Tim O’Connell, 89.5, $20,731; 3. Richmond Champion, 89, $15,654; 4. (tie) Clint Laye and Ty Breuer, 87.5, $8,885 each; 6. Taylor Broussard, 87, $4,231. Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Stetson Jorgensen, J.D. Struxness and Scott Guenthner, 4.3, $15,795 each; 5. Matt Reeves, 4.7, $6,769; 6. Kyle Irwin, 4.9, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.1 seconds, $26,231; 2. Clay Tryan/Jake Long, 4.6, $20,731; 3. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.7, $15,654; 4. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, Tate Kirchenschlager/Tyler Worley and Jake Cooper/Caleb Anderson, 4.8, $7,333 each. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Jesse Wright, 89.5 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Awesome Sauce, $26,231; 2. Rusty Wright, 85.5, $20,731; 3. Jacobs Crawley, 84.5, $15,653; 4. Brody Cress, 78, $11,000; no other qualified rides. Tie-down roping: 1. Marty Yates, 7.3 seconds, $26,231; 2. Tyler Milligan, 8.2, $20,731; 3. (tie) Haven Meged and Shad Mayfield, 8.6, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Tyson Durfey and Taylor Santos, 8.7, $5,500 each. Barrel racing: 1. Dona Kay Rule, 13.69 seconds, $26,231; 2. Hailey Kinsel, 13.73, $20,731; 3. Emily Miller, 13.74, $15,654; 4. Amberleigh Moore, 13.78, $11,000; 5. Ivy Conrado-Saebens, 13.83, $6,796; 6. Lisa Lockhart, 13.85, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Garrett Smith, 91.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Black Gold, $33,565; 2. Sage Steele Kimzey, 84.5, $28,065; 3. Boudreaux Campbell, 82, $22,987; no other qualified rides.

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo can be a vindictive setting for ProRodeo’s greatest stars. The best way to combat that is to find the positives in every situation that arises. That’s vital, because hitting the dirt one night could disappear with a championship ride the next. If that’s not enough, there’s a great incentive each round, with go-round winners pocketing $26,231. “It’s really important to stay positive here,” said J.D. Struxness, who cashed in for the second straight go-round Friday night to kickstart his run through the NFR. “I felt like we had a decent start tonight; maybe not the best we needed but still decent. To get here and place on them and keep the ball rolling is important.” He rolled to a 4.3-second run, finishing in a three-way tie for second place in the round. With that, he pocketed $15,795 on Friday night and pushed his season earnings to $126,816 – nearly $34,000 has come in the opening two rounds of this year’s championship. “It was kind of rough from the beginning, and my steer ran pretty hard,” he said. “I ran him down a way and was still able to be 4.3 on him. I’m thankful for that, and it placed me in the round. I was able to set the pace, and then it got rolling after that.” Prior to his run, the fastest time posted was Matt Reeves’ 4.7, so Struxness set the mark. Two-time world champion Tyler Waguespack upended the standard, posting a 3.6 to win the round and the lion’s share of the payout. Now, Struxness has eight more nights to step up his game. He now sits fifth in the world standings and trails the leader, Ty Erickson, by less than $30,000. “To keep that going, we just have to keep taking those cuts at the barrier, getting the best start we can and keep throwing the steers down,” said Struxness, 25, of Milan, Minnesota, who is utilizing his former rodeo coach, Stockton Graves, as hazer to help keep the steers lined up each run. “Stockton has done a great job taking care of the horses and making sure they’re ready every night. “Having someone who has been here and done it before, I know our horses are working good. He knows what to do hazing for me, and we just go out there and give them hell every night.”

LAS VEGAS – Garrett Smith had just ridden one of the rankest bulls in ProRodeo for 91.5 points on Friday night to win the second round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was a thrilling ride, but he was most fascinated by what happened directly afterward. “I don’t remember my get off, but I didn’t land on my head, so that’s pretty impressive,” said Smith, who shared a wry smile that was both descriptively funny and truthful at the same time. “That’s two nights in a row.” He was one of just three of the 15 bull riders to cover their bulls for the qualifying eight seconds, and each earned a bit of a bonus. Each round pays out $84,615, and the remaining three spots ($22,000) were split among the three who placed, with each earning $7,333 in addition to their original earnings. For Smith, he pocketed $33,564. “We rode 10 bulls (Thursday) night, so we went from riding 10 to three,” said Smith, 24, of Rexburg, Idaho. “That’s quite a change.” The bulls held the advantage from the beginning. As the eighth cowboy to go, Smith was the first to make a qualified ride, matching every move Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Black Gold threw at him. He was joined in the winner’s circle by five-time world champion Sage Kimzey and Boudreaux Campbell. Through two nights in Las Vegas, Smith has earned $47,795 and has pushed his season earnings to $171,769. He has moved from seventh to fourth in the world standings. “I’ll take that,” he said. “It is better than sitting at home like last year.” Injuries kept the Idaho cowboy from advancing to the NFR a year ago – he finished 23rd in the 2018 standings. He’s already making a statement in his return to ProRodeo’s grand championship. He didn’t know much about Black Gold, but he made it work to his advantage. “I knew he (spun) right,” Smith said. “All they told me was he was a handful. It was either going to work, or it was going to be good-watching. To be (91.5) in another rodeo is great, but to do it in front of all these people for this much money is incredible. “Riding him was like letting a balloon loose. It was going by really fast, and at one point, I closed my eyes, and it worked out.” A key, he has said, is to feel good while competing at this year’s NFR. Injuries have hampered him in his early rodeo career, but he finally himself completely healthy toward the end of the 2019 regular season. “I feel awesome,” he said. “My knees aren’t even sore, so that’s impressive.” He’s also taking a different approach to his mental game, which is a big part of finding success in this sport. “What really helps me is I can go bulldog (wrestle steers), and it takes my mind completely off bull riding,” Smith said. “If you start overthinking stuff, that’s when you mess up, and that’s when it goes south in a hurry. Just to do something else takes your mind completely off it. “Having that really takes everything off bull riding, so when you go back, you go back fresh.” Bull riding is mostly a reactionary sport, so letting his mind get out of the way of his athleticism is key. It’s led to success early in this year’s championship, and he hopes it will keep rolling through the final eight nights in Sin City. “I only got on one bull before getting here,” said Smith, now competing at the NFR for the third time in four years. “That worked out pretty good. I’m really good at not thinking.”

LAS VEGAS – In the world of rodeo, each bareback ride can be likened to a major title fight. As a horse jumps and kicks, it’s throwing punches and the cowboy, who returns blows with spur strokes in rhythm with the animal. The battles over the first two nights of the National Finals Rodeo have been impressive, and it looks to continue through the final eight nights of the 2019 season. “I knew it was going to be like this, and I expected nothing else,” said Richmond Champion, who earned his second straight paycheck on Friday night by finishing third in the second go-round with an 89-point ride on J Bar J’s Straight Jacket. “I knew I had the horse. Those seem to be the most nerve-wracking times, because you don’t want to mess it up. I think that’s the best I’ve ever had him. “Sparky (Dreesen of J Bar J) told me he was fresh, and he was going to be all there. He was right. That horse was awesome.” With that, Champion added another $15,654 to his season earnings. Combined with his Round 1 victory and the $10,000 bonus each contestant receives when they arrive in Las Vegas, he has earned $51,885 in a couple of days. That’s an NFR best, only matched with barrel racer Emily Miller. As for his ride, an 89-point marking will win most rodeos throughout the year. In fact, it would win most rounds at the NFR, but there may be a changing of the tide inside the Thomas & Mack Center. Opening night featured three 90-point-plus rides, and NFR rookie Trenton Montero won Friday’s round with a 90.5-point ride; three-time champion Tim O’Connell was second at 89.5. “Good for Trenton,” Champion said. “I had goosebumps for him. That was awesome, then Tim made a great ride. We’re just going to be repeating ourselves all week, but it is a good feeling.” While the experience in Sin City is magical because of all the great things about the championship, it also is one of the most stressful situations cowboys face all year. They’re chasing after big bucks every night, and they’re all battling for the Montana Silversmiths gold buckles that go to the world champions in each event. For the bareback riders, they’re also getting on the 100 best bucking horses in the game, all divided into five pens to keep the opportunities equal for each contestant. Their Round 3 and Round 8 draws come out of the “Eliminator Pen,” best known for featuring the hardest-to-ride horses in the game. “They were picking the pen for (Saturday), and I just walked out of the room,” he said. “Whatever I get is the one I’m supposed to have. Tomorrow isn’t about what anyone else is doing; it’s about what you are doing, which is whatever it takes to ride whatever they draw you. It’s a pen full of dragons, so bring your armor and come to war. “It is not a fun day. You just want it to be over. But that is why we are here, that is why we ride 10 and bring all sorts of horses, because you are not a world champion if you can’t ride these.”

LAS VEGAS – When Tim O’Connell returned to the game in June after rehabilitating an injury he suffered a year ago at the National Finals Rodeo, he was hungry for a fourth straight world championship. Through two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, that voracity has grown. “I’m starving,” said O’Connell, who rode Kesler Rodeo’s Uptown Flash for 89.5 points to finish as the runner-up in Friday’s second go-round of the NFR, his second straight paycheck in as many nights. “Keep feeding them in here, because I’m coming.” He has earned $37,500 so far in Las Vegas and has pushed his season earnings to $150,668; a big part of that was the $20,731 he pocketed Friday. “My feet feel fast; they feel deliberate,” said O’Connell, 28, of Zwingle, Iowa. “I had two great horses to start this thing off. I couldn’t be more excited about how they both went. I was honestly a little upset with myself how I rode (Thursday) night to finish that horse. I made some corrections (Friday), and I feel like I made a great ride. I feel like I really finished him off.” Bareback riding is a tough game, possibly the toughest in rodeo. Cowboys strap a rigging onto their mounts, then wedge their hands into the equipment, basically tying themselves to the horse. Even “easy” rides can be hard on the body, and adjustments made are done mentally. His three Montana Silversmiths gold buckles are proof that O’Connell is one of the best in the game at making modifications. “I have prepared myself to be the very best in the world on five different calibers of horses,” he said. “This is a different caliber than (Thursday) night, a different riding style, but I take what I did and the mistake I made into consideration with the horse I have under me. I felt like it was a smarter move.” On his opening-round horse, O’Connell got flashy, opening his legs wide to create exposure between him and the animal on each spur stroke. That can be appealing to judges, but it also can put the cowboy in a compromising position. “The judges weren’t marking you for getting extra exposure,” he said. “When that horse shot forward and left me that last second and a half, it cost me. That half second could have cost me a half a point, which cost me about $7,000. “That $7,000 might mean a world title, so what I did (Friday) was make sure I stayed gathered up. I just (spurred back) to my rigging, exposed out and (pushed my feet) down to make sure I beat that horse to the ground every jump.” Saturday’s third round will feature the “Eliminator Pen,” the toughest-to-ride bareback horses in the game. It’s a rugged test of each cowboy’s ability and determination through eight seconds of hell and intense athleticism. “We’ve got our buckers (Saturday),” O’Connell said. “Truthfully, that’s where you separate the guys that really put in the hard work compared to the guys who didn’t. “We brought the rankest horses in the world. This is the best bareback riding you’re ever going to watch. I’m thankful to be part of it, and I’m excited to be in this hunt.”