About: Ted

LAS VEGAS – When it comes to taking care of Hell on the Red, Kylie Weast is not pulling any punches. She has an army of people at the ready, because Reddy deserves it. From having the right blanket to keeping the sorrel mare’s legs wrapped right, every minute detail is covered. It’s paying off. Weast and Reddy have found the pay window at the National Finals Rodeo during the first three rounds and have earned $36,654 in the process – $6,769 of came during Saturday’s third round, when the tandem rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 13.70 seconds. That marked the second straight night the two finished with the exact same time, which is good. “We’re making the same run every time, and we’re looking at this like it’s a different rodeo every night,” said Weast of Comanche, Okla. “I have a game plan every time I go down that alleyway, and she’s being responsive to my game plan.” What’s most interesting is that Reddy is just 6 years old, but she has solid genetics. That’s being proven inside the Thomas & Mack Center, home to ProRodeo’s grand finale. This is a rough place to play the game, with fast turns and tight corners in an arena roughly the size of a hockey rink. Five of the 15 cowgirls in the mix have failed to finish among the top six through three nights, and Weast is one of just two ladies who have earned money in each round. “I feel confident in my mare,” she said. “She’s still sound, and I feel she’s feeling well. We’ve just got to do everything during the day to prep for each night. Right now, everything is working, and we’re probably not going to change it.” Her mother, Renee Ward, rides Reddy when Weast can’t. Every chance they get, they try to make sure the red mare is in the right frame of mind when it’s time to make a run. “I try to get out there every day, but like (Sunday), Mom is actually riding and tuning,” Weast said. “We need to make little adjustments.” She trusts her family and their expertise. The family operates Youree Barrel Horses, which raises and trains horses for these types of races. Her mother qualified for the NFR in 1985, the first year the championship took place in Las Vegas. Her grandmother qualified multiple times, and her sister, Janae Ward Massey, was a three-time qualifier in the early 2000s and won the world title in 2003. They know the game as well as any person in this 15-lady field. “It’s wonderful,” she said. “I’m so excited that all my family is going to be here (Sunday). It’s put a little pep in my step.” What also has her excited is what they see in every run they’ve made in Sin City. “We don’t really know how fast we’re going, but we know when we make a good run,” Weast said. “(Saturday) night, I had a little bobble that probably cost me a 10th of a second. I knew exactly where I lost my time.” Each hundredth of a second matters. Had she improved by a 10th of a second, she would have finished second instead of fifth, the difference of nearly $14,000. That can change in a heartbeat, especially with the preparation Weast and her family are putting in on a daily basis.

LAS VEGAS – After entering the National Finals Rodeo with a banged up left knee, Orin Larsen needed all the luck Las Vegas could give him. That didn’t happen over the first two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, but he more than made up for it Saturday night. He rode Calgary Stampede’s Trail Dust for 87 points to finish as the runner-up in the third go-round, pocketing $20,731 in the process. It is his first paycheck of his year’s championship. “This is the third time I’ve been on that horse this year,” said Larsen, 27, of Inglis, Manitoba. “That horse is pretty reliable. He just bucks down the chutes. I’ve won a bunch of money on him, and I was happy to have him. No matter how my physical appearance may look, it was pretty nice to have that one.” With his knee wrapped in ice and a significant limp, Larsen was all smiles as he walked out of the arena. He conquered a beast in the toughest pen of bareback horses in the world – the third round features the “eliminator” horses, known for being the toughest to ride. Special Delivery is definitely that. It also provides grand momentum for the cowboy now living in Gering, Neb., with his wife, Alexa. He also has seven more nights to earn as much Las Vegas cash as possible. “I wanted it sooner than later, but I’m pretty greedy,” he said with a smile. “I wanted the first round, and I wanted last night, too. At this point, I know I’m out of the average, so I’ll take whatever I can get.” The average is based on the best score through 10 rides. The top eight cumulative scores when the NFR concludes next week will earn bonus money. After being bucked off Friday night during the second round, Larsen has put himself on the outside looking in regarding an average payout. That means he will need to earn money through the go-rounds. By doing so on Saturday night, Larsen pushed his season total to $161,386. He knows the rest of his 2018 season will be done with pain in his knee, but he has grown accustomed to it in his career – two years ago, he placed in the final five rounds despite having a serious rib injury. “It’s going to be really sweet when I don’t have to ride with pain at the NFR,” he said. “Hopefully that will be next year. The Justin Sportsmedicine Team has done an awesome job with me. I use them as much as I can.” The tape may keep his knee in place, but it’s that focused demeanor that will pave the way for more money to come his way over the next seven rounds.

LAS VEGAS – Kylie Weast’s first run at the National Finals Rodeo will always be memorable. Sprinting down the alleyway and into the Thomas & Mack Center floor is an exhilarating experience for any barrel racer who has ever done it, but Weast made the most of her first experience by rounding the cloverleaf pattern in 13.86 seconds to finish sixth in Thursday’s first go-round. “I was nervous all day, but once I got in the car at the hotel, I took a deep breath and felt better,” said Weast, a first-time NFR qualifier from Comanche, Okla. “When I got to the arena, everything was fine.” Yes, it was, and so was Hell on the Red, a 6-year-old sorrel mare she calls Reddy. In fact, the speedy mount reared a little as they entered the alley, then went to work. “She took off with me a little bit in the alleyway, but I think I have her a little bit under control now,” Weast said. “I think just a tick down the pen a little bit going into the first barrel, and she didn’t burn off the first turn like I prefer. She turned her last two good enough. I was happy with her performance.” It’s not easy on horses inside that environment, either. The animals can feel the pressure that comes with the NFR, and nearly 17,000 fans were packed into the coliseum to witness ProRodeo’s grand championship. “The atmosphere is just so incredible,” she said. “I realized it was just another rodeo, and my nerves went away. “Placing is such a relief. That’s all I wanted to do, and thankfully I got the last (place) in the round. I just wanted to get in the groove of things here, so to get a check was icing on the cake.” There’s a great amount of pomp and circumstance that comes with competing on the biggest stage in the game. By getting the first round under her belt, Weast now can find time to relax and get into a rhythm. “I’m starting to get a smidge tired, but I got up pretty early this morning and rode both horses I brought,” she said, referring to Reddy and her backup, Wolfy, a 9-year-old sorrel gelding. “I can go out there and let my hair down and relax. I think that’s going to help a lot. I just need time with my orses and know that I’ve done everything I can to help Reddy perform at her best.” Weast pocketed $4,231 on Thursday night and pushed her season earnings to $114,946. She is eighth in the world standings, but she has nine more nights to improve on that – go-round winners earn more than $26,000 per night. “It’s cliché, but I’m just going to try to focus on one run at a time,” Weast said. “I can’t think about the nights ahead of me. We’ll take each run, then go from there and adjust how we need to after that.” That’s a solid game plan, one that could play huge dividends.

1. Tyler Pearson, 3.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. Will Lummus, 4.0, $20,731; 3. (tie) Scott Guenthner and Hunter Cure, 4.1, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Blake Mindemann and Tyler Waguespack, 4.2, $5,500 each.

LAS VEGAS – Clayton Biglow is riding a hot streak, and this is the best time in the world for it. Biglow, a 23-year-old bareback rider from Clements, Calif., has placed in the first two rounds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and has earned more than $31,000 in just two nights of work inside the Thomas & Mack Center. “I’m probably riding better right now with my head,” he said Friday after posting an 86.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Tip Off to finish third in the second round and add $13,654 to his pockets. “I’m just going into it as more of a business. I’m still having fun, but I’m more intense now. I’m more serious this year.” It’s showing. He remains third in the world standings with $166,320 but he’s closing in on world standings leader Tim O’Connell – he’s now just $31,000 behind the Iowa cowboy and can catch O’Connell by Sunday night if everything goes Biglow’s way. “Everyone has come to ride, and that’s how it should be,” he said. “The match-ups are good, and everyone is riding good. It’s going to be like this all week. “My game plan on every horse is to ride them jump for jump. I like to come into it with a game plan, obviously, but certain horses are different and are going to buck different, so you are going to have to change a little bit.” That’s why sticking to a game plan might not be the best plan. That’s why he allows his feel for the animal to come into play s he can make the adjustments necessary throughout the ride. Now he and the other bareback riders will test their talents – and grit – during Friday’s third go-round, which will feature the toughest-to-ride horses in bareback riding. The “eliminator” pen tends to be a showcase of overpowering bucking horses. But Biglow is confident in what this group of 15 bareback riders brings to the table. “You have to buckle your chin strap and bear down every time,” Biglow said. “It’s bareback riding, so bear down no matter what. You have to go into it with that same mindset. Just because it’s the ‘E’ pen doesn’t mean you change anything.” That’s why he prepares every ride as if he’s getting on the rankest horse in the world. “I like to have that aspect and that grit and determination on every horse I get on,” he said. “If you think you’re getting on one of those eliminator horses, you should be good. Then when the come around, you’ll have that edge; it will kick in without you even knowing it.”