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LAS VEGAS – It’s been a bit of a waiting game for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper. He’s done well, riding all six of his horses. He’s placed three times, albeit each paycheck was on the smallish end of the spectrum at the National Finals Rodeo, where go-round winners earn nearly $29,000 per day for 10 nights. He’s almost the “odd man out;” he’s placed in Rounds 2, 4 and 6, the latter coming Tuesday night when he rode Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Hit Man for 85 points to finish fifth. That was worth $7,462; it’s his biggest paycheck of his stay in Sin City. “I’m just glad to sneak in there for a check,” said Casper, who has earned jut $21,348 in Las Vegas, with $10,000 of that coming as the bonus each contestant received by qualifying for the NFR. “It was a pretty tough round of bronc riding.” At most rodeos, an 85-point ride will likely win the bronc riding. At the Thomas & Mack Center in December, it’s fifth place. “I just haven’t felt like anything has really stuck out to me yet as far as the horses I’ve drawn,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “We are still waiting on that one horse to finally stick out and let us do our thing. “I feel like I’m riding OK. It’s not feeling as good as it has in the past. I lost a lot of feeling in my three months off. It’s crazy how much you forget in that three months on how stuff is supposed to feel. It’s changed a little We are still trying to find our groove.” Casper was having a great year when he suffered a pulled hamstring in July. He continued to compete, but the strain eventually became torn, and he was out of competition for much of the final three months of the regular season. When things aren’t going right, there is a tendency among athletes to try to do too much. Maybe they change equipment, or maybe they attempt to rework the way they ride. The focus, though, is on doing things their bodies have worked at for a long time. “I’m having fun, and I’m in a lot better spot than I was last year,” he said. “I’m feeling healthy; my family is good. We are just taking it all in and enjoying it while we can. “On my way here, I had a good talk with my buddy, Jake. We talked about how I’m over-thinking stuff. I haven’t had the finals that I wanted to have. I have (ridden) all my horses, but I haven’t placed how I wanted to. “At the end of the day, you can only do what you can. You can try to make things happen, but if it just ain’t there, it’s not going to happen.” He’s hoping it does over the rest of the week. He is fifth in the average race with a six-ride cumulative score of 496.5 points. The top eight cowboys with the best aggregate score at the end will earn a bonus. If he stays where he is, he will collect another $25,183. “We are going to try to stick in this average race and take a check out of there,” Casper said. “Hopefully in these next four rounds, we will get us a go-round win.”

LAS VEGAS – When nickels are mixed with dimes, they eventually add up to dollars. That seems to be how Cole Franks is playing his game in Sin City this week during his second appearance at the National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed five out of six nights, so that’s good. He even finished in a tie for second in Round 4. That was his biggest paycheck of the week at $20,000. Beyond that, he’s added just he’s earned just shy of $26,000, which is a significant payday for four days’ work. Alas, go-round winners earn more than that every night, so it’s sub-par in the eyes of the men who are competing at the biggest rodeo all year. Besides Round 4, his biggest payday came in Tuesday’s sixth go-round, when he rode J Bar J Rodeo’s Yum Bugs for 87 points to finish fourth, worth $12,125. “I’m happy with it,” said Franks, 21, of Clarendon, Texas. “I got on that horse in this round last year. That horse is awesome and so much fun to get on. I feel like I made a couple bobbles there at the end. It could have been better, but it could have been a lot worse. It was still fun either way.” He sits ninth in the world standings with $172,284. He is also tied for fourth in the average race with 507.5 cumulative points on six rides. By placing in the aggregate at the end of the NFR, he would be able to add a significant bonus to his earnings. Of course, having the right horses makes a big difference in how things go. “The horses we had tonight were the kind that everybody wants to get on,” he said. “Anywhere you’d go, you’d want these by your name. There were a lot of thee horses that were out tonight that could be in the TV pen; they are just a step down from the TV pen.” The animals are separated into five pens, and the bareback riders are the ones making the selections (in order of Round 1-5, the Rounds 6-10): souped-up hoppers, semi-eliminators, eliminators, hoppers and TV pen. That means the toughest-to-ride horses are featured in Rounds 3 and 8, and the flashiest horses are in Round 5 and 10, designated TV pen in a look back to when the NFR was only broadcast during the final round of the 10-round championship. “These horses that were out tonight were versatile,” Franks said. “If you put them in anybody’s pen, you’d be able to win most of the time. “Things started out slow for what I was hoping for, but it is still good. I’m ready for it to pick up more. I’m trying to set the bar higher and keeping going for the round every time. If it don’t happen, then it don’t happen, but I’m going to be swinging for it.”

LAS VEGAS – He looks a bit battered, but if asked, Garrett Smith doesn’t seem to mind. “I’ve had some bumps and bruises (since the third round),” said Smith, of Rexburg, Idaho, competing at his fourth National Finals Rodeo. “I feel pretty good. We are sore, but when we ride bulls for a living, we’re going to be sore. I had a few stitches, but it’s not a big deal.” Ah, the life of a bull rider. After sharing the third-round win, Smith returned to the pay window after an 84-point ride on New Frontier Rodeo’s Mad Money for a fifth-place finish during Round 6 on Tuesday. It was worth $7,462 and pushed his Las Vegas earnings to $43,344. It was an eventful night for him. His first bull, Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Punchline, didn’t cooperate. The bull was having trouble in the chute, and Smith was unable to get on and try his hand at the athletic bovine. The judges provided Smith with a re-ride opportunity and a chance at Mad Money, and he took it. “That first bull wasn’t very happy at all in the chute,” he said of Punchline. “Once he got mad, he didn’t stop at all.” It was Mad Money to the rescue. Oklahoman Trey Kimzey rode him for 86 points to also place fifth in the opening round of the NFR. “I didn’t know much about that re-ride bull,” Smith said. “They said he went left, and I really liked that. I was pretty happy about it.” Sometimes unfamiliarity with a bull can pay dividends. Bull riders train on using muscle memory and reaction to make an eight-second ride. If an animal has a tendency to do something and a cowboy prepares for it, things may be washed away in one jump. “A lot of not knowing it is great, because they are animals,” he said. “They have their own brains. There are a lot of times they are not going to do what they are supposed to do. It’s kind of like little kids: They are not going to do what they’re supposed to do. You take them jump for jump and go at them.” It’s been a rough stretch for Smith to kickstart. He’s ridden three bulls but placed twice. He is seventh in the aggregate race, so he stands a chance to collect a bonus when the NFR ends Saturday night. How does he handle the disappointment when things don’t go his way? “Usually by the time we get back to the hotel, I’m over it,” said Smith, who has enlisted his father, Lynn, to help get him around Las Vegas. “We’ll talk about it a little bit, but once we get back to the room, it’s over with and done. You’ve got to be moving on. If you only remember the last thing you did wrong, it’s going to stick in your brain; it’s going to be in your subconscious. “Figure out what you did right, what you did wrong, forget about it and move on.” He’s got four more nights in the 2022 season to collect his bright spots and more money. “This is the healthiest I’ve ever been at this point of making the National Finals,” Smith said. “I’m so excited. I’ve always made it this far, but some things have been broken. This year has been really good.”

LAS VEGAS – Steer wrestler J.D. Struxness didn’t let a bad night ruin the rest of the week, and it very well could have. He came into his fourth National Finals Rodeo in strong contention to win a world championship, but a steer escaped his grasp Sunday night. That no-time was costly, but he didn’t sulk about it and he didn’t let it bother him long. In rodeo, there will be down times, and the next opportunity is not far away. In his case, it came during Tuesday’s sixth go-round, when he stopped the clock in 4.0 seconds to finish fifth and pocket $7,462. He pushed his Las Vegas earnings to just shy of $25,000. “That should help for the final five nights,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota. “Going into tonight, I told myself it is a fresh five. The second half of the finals is here, and there are still five steers to go and a lot of money left to be won.” Because of his trouble, Struxness has fallen a bit in the aggregate race for the bonus dollars that go to the top eight cowboys with the best cumulative score on 10 runs. He’s not letting it bother him any. “There is still a lot of stuff that could happen average-wise,” he said. “As far as that part goes for me, we’ve got a fresh start tonight and placed, so hopefully it’s just a good start for the second five (nights).” It’s been a bit of tough luck for the steer wrestlers since the NFR began last Thursday. Only seven of the 15 cowboys in the mix have qualified times on all six nights. That offers a different dimension to the world-championship race “It has been a tough year in the bulldogging,” Struxness said. “I really don’t know what it is, whether the steers are running harder or what’s going on. It has been tough, and guys have been missing. Hopefully to my advantage, we get the momentum rolling and keep taking advantage of the situation. Maybe we can slip on in there in the end for an average check, too.” He also made an adjustment. He began the NFR riding Curtis Cassidy’s horse, Tyson, but things weren’t working out well. He switched to Ringo Robinson’s palomino, Monroe, and now has Matt Reeves hazing. He plans to keep that team together for the final four nights of the 2022 season. “I rode Tyson all year, and it was a great year and we won lots of money,” Struxness said. “He was working good here, but there kept being little things that happened, my mistakes or being on the wrong steers or whatever. It was time to change. We needed to change something, so we decided to change the horse and see if that will shake it up.” It did, and now the dice are rolling in his direction.

LAS VEGAS – On the third night of the National Finals Rodeo, when nastiest bareback horses were on display, Tanner Aus made a little mistake, and it cost him. On Night 4, he made a bigger mistake and suffered a no-score, virtually taking him out of any shot for this year’s world championship. It was disappointing, but that’s what happens in rodeo. It’s definitely a roller coaster, and it gets especially dicey during the richest rodeo in the world. He stayed focused, though, and returned to the NFR’s pay window with an 88-point ride on J Bar J Rodeo’s Straight Stick to finish second in Tuesday’s sixth go-round. It was worth $22,851, and it made him feel more at ease and gave him a quick boost of confidence. “Even though I’m riding for round money, you get to wanting to thinking you want to let it all hang out, but the bottom line is one horse at a time,” said Aus of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “I’ve got to do what got me here; I’ve got to go back to the basics, stuff I learned when I was a kid. That is what gets you through any tough time in your riding, any slump. It always gets you through to get back to the basics. “It felt great tonight.” Aus has placed just twice through six nights in Las Vegas. He tied for second place in Friday’s second round, so he’s made some serious cash in those two rides. He has pocketed just shy of $53,000 for his week so far and has four more nights to add to it. He is sixth in the world standings with $180,036. “I really feel like I’ve been winning the draw,” he said. “I made a couple mistakes in Night 3 and Night 4. They were pretty costly, but I’m drawing good and I’m feeling good. I show up here, and I feel the pressure and feel like I’ve got to go out there and be 100 points every night. You have to get back to the basics.”                                                                                                          . Fundamentals are the main part of any athlete’s repertoire. They came in quite handy for Aus when he rode Straight Stick on Tuesday. “That’s the first time I’ve been on him,” Aus said. “He feels so good. I didn’t quite finish him quite as strong as I would have liked. That might have been the difference between second place and first place in the round. (J Bar J’s owner) Sparky Dreesen is a good friend of mine; he used to rodeo with my dad, and now he has one of the best sets of bucking horses in the world. It was so much fun.” This year’s NFR hasn’t gone quite as well as he had hoped, but that’s the roller coaster that is rodeo. A cowboy can be the champion one day and be bucked off the next. What matters most is what happens after the rides. “It’s easy to hang your head when things aren’t going your way, but I’m so blessed to have the support system that I have,” Aus said. “My folks are here.  I’ve got family in and out of town all week. My wife … she’s my rock. I don’t know where I’d be without her. “My kids are happy to see me when I get done no matter how it goes. It’s just a blessing. The highlight of my night, no matter what happens, is when I go upstairs and they see me, they come running; there’s nothing better than that.”

LAS VEGAS – As an avid University of Oklahoma sports fan, Coleman Proctor knows a thing or two about the football team’s Heisman history. Since the 1950s, the Sooners have had seven winners of college football’s most cherished individual prize. From Billy Vessels in 1952 through Billy Sims in 1978 to Kyler Murray in 2018, Heisman winners are a big part of why Oklahoma has a such a great football legacy. Proctor, a team roping header competing at the National Finals Rodeo for the seventh time in his career, has his own Heisman legacy in a 14-year-old bay gelding that he’s riding in Las Vegas. While roping with partner Logan Medlin, they stopped the clock in 3.8 seconds Monday night to share the fifth-round victory with Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill. Proctor, of Pryor, Oklahoma, was quick to hand out praise to his prized mount with the trophy name. “Heisman has been doing a great job,” he said. “I’ve got to give a lot of my success of what’s happening to him. In the first round when I bobbled the start, he did a great job of putting me in position to catch the steer. Since then, he’s been flawless.” There’s a great deal riding on every go-round for the Oklahoma cowboy, so he needs to be riding a mount that can handle the pressure and the atmosphere with 17,000 fans packed on top of the arena that’s about the size of a hockey rink. “He has been a little excited in the (timed-event) box, but that’s kind of him; I’m excited, too, so one of us has to keep our nerves,” said Proctor, who earned $25,882 Monday and pushed his NFR earnings to $48,629. “Somebody asked me the other day, ‘I see you talking to yourself.’ I’m like, well, I’m trying to keep us both calm, and there’s nobody else in the box to talk to. Heisman has been getting me great starts all week. He is letting me set the steer up like I want to now, and he really finished sharp.” With the run, Proctor has earned at least a share of the victory four times during Round 5, which is pink night in support of cancer awareness. He won it in 2014 and ’15 with Jake Long, and he and Medlin have won it the past two NFRs. “Ever since I came out here, this has been one of the rounds that has been really good to me,” he said. “I guess it’s that pink is my daughter’s favorite color, and it is my lucky color. I drew steer 13, and that’s my favorite number.” He and Medlin are second in the average with a cumulative time of 31.8 seconds on five runs. They are 4.5 seconds behind the leaders, Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith, but there are five rounds remaining on the 2022 ProRodeo season. “I’ve really got to give big props to Tiffany Wagner,” Proctor said. “She brought him in here today and worked him a little bit in the corner. I got him to facing him bad and mis-cuing, but she got that corrected for me, and I stepped on him tonight and it went phenomenal.”

LAS VEGAS – Here’s the thing about working with animals, even some of the best ever: Sometimes they don’t have their day. That was the case with Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, the 2022 PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year, during Monday’s fifth go-round at the National Finals Rodeo. Cole Franks, who set an arena-record, 93-point ride on the big buckskin at Dodge City, Kansas, in 2021, made the most of his shot with an 86.5-point ride to finish in a tie for sixth on Night 5. “For what she did, it felt good,” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “I hold two records on her now: The arena record at Dodge City and now the lowest score on her.” He laughed, but it’s proof of just how good the mare has been over the last few years. “I’ve never seen her not be good,” Franks said. “She was different today. She’s never gone left; she kind of angled left with Jess (Pope) at Guymon (Oklahoma) this y ear, but she’s never circled around the left and just got caught up in the fence.” For his part, Franks added $6,063 to his bank account. Through five nights in Las Vegas, he has earned $43,733 while pushing his season earnings to $160,159. He has five nights remaining on the 2022 campaign, and he could add a little bonus by having one of the top eight cumulative scores through 10 go-rounds. He is sixth in the average at the halfway point of this rodeo. If he hangs on to that, it would be worth an additional $18,188. He’s just a half point from fifth place in the aggregate, and that would pay $7,000 more. Bareback riding is the most physically demanding event in ProRodeo. Cowboys wear a specially made glove that are outfitted with bind, then they wedge that glove into a rigging that is strapped tightly to the animal. They are basically locked onto the bucking horse, so they feel each move and each kick the animal makes. “I was pretty sore after the third round and a little in the fourth,” Franks said. “(Sunday) night when I got the draw and saw I had Gun Fire, I was suddenly a lot less sore. Right now, I feel good. I’m ready for Round 10 to get on these horses again.”

LAS VEGAS – The Stevie Nicks most folks know is best known for her provocative voice and retro sound from her 1970s and ’80s stardom. Tim O’Connell knows a different superstar by a similar name in Macza Pro Rodeo’s Stevie Knicks, and the two matched up for the fourth time during Monday’s fifth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. “I was pretty excited to have her,” said O’Connell, a three-time bareback riding world champion from Zwingle, Iowa. “I’ve been 94 on Stevie Knicks. I’ve been 90 on Stevie Knicks. I’ve been 89 on Stevie Knicks. (Monday) I was 87.5. “When I don’t score as high, it’s always on me. I made a mistake in the middle of the ride, but I’m never going to be upset with myself to be aggressive. That horse has some trick in the middle. She is so low to the ground and she’s such a piece of dynamite underneath you.” The mistake came during his spur ride. Ideally, he’d like to put the heels of his Justin boots toward the top of the animal’s neck. The higher the feet are, the better the score. With one swipe of his left leg, his boot slid over the top, and the judges docked his ride. Still, he finished in a tie for third place and earned $14,690. He has pushed his NFR account to nearly $43,000 and is sixth in the world standings with $172,440. “She moves her head from left to right and up and down,” he said. “She always gets my left foot to sit on top of her neck. Thank God she’s not 300 pounds stronger, because she’d probably put everybody down. I don’t know anybody that’s never spurred over her neck. “I knew I had a great shot to go after it tonight. I’m keeping up. Five (rounds) up, five down. I’m having a lot of fun doing this, and I feel like I’m riding great. I’m having a great finals.  I’m having a great time. My rig is killing it as a group, and that’s all I can ask for.” The rig includes fellow bareback riders Jess Pope and Cole Franks. Like O’Connell, Franks has placed four out of five nights. Pope, the reigning two-time NFR average winner, is off to another hot start in Las Vegas. He has placed in all five rounds, has earned more than $100,000 and is No. 1 in the average race and No. 1 in the world standings. O’Connell, though, is holding his own. He is third in the average. If he can hold that position, he will add a bonus of nearly $40,000 when the NFR concludes Saturday night. “I’m going out there and doing my job every time, and I’m having a great time doing it, making money, and this is an enjoyable experience,” O’Connell said. “I’ve got five more chances to get myself exactly where I need to be.” That’s at the top of the mountain and taking home a fourth Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. “There’s still $150,000 up for grabs in the go-rounds. You put $150,000 on top of what I’ve already won and put the average money in there, that’s breaking record for what I’ve done in single-season earnings. “I have no doubt in my mind that I have the abilities to go out there and win five straight rounds.”

LAS VEGAS – The tears never flowed, but Jess Pope was obviously emotional when talking about one of the great champions in bareback riding. J.R. Vezain never won a gold buckle, but he qualified for the National Finals Rodeo six times, the last after he suffered a catastrophic back injury while riding a bucking horse in September 2018 at Pasadena, Texas. He walks with the assistance of a robot but otherwise is paralyzed from the waist down. He is the perfect example of a champion in life. He hasn’t let his injury define him, and he’s spent a great deal of time with his buddies in the bareback riders’ locker room at the Thomas & Mack Center, the NFR’s home since 1985. It’s there that Pope, the No. 1 cowboy in the game, has witnessed something special. After a stock contractor offered up the idea that everyone in rodeo is lucky to be in Las Vegas this week, Pope offered another reflection. “I said, ‘We’re blessed,’ he said. “I have the best job in the world. I get to compete in front of 17,000 people every day here. All year long and all the places I see and the people I get to meet … you can’t take that for granted. We’ve got a guy sitting in our locker room, J.R. Vezain. He is a perfect example that it can be taken at any point. “It brings tears to my eyes just to think about that, because he’s such a great guy. He handles it so well. It’s hard to explain, but it’s cool to see him down there still enjoying life.” Pope is enjoying his life. On Monday night, he rode Summit Pro Rodeo’s Game Trail for 88 points to finish second in the fifth go-round. That was worth $22,851 and pushed his NFR earnings to $102,804. He’s also not taking is position atop the world standings for granted. He has the best aggregate score of 432 points on five rides (an average of 86.4 points per ride) and owns a $54,717 lead in the world standings over the No. 2 man, Wyoming cowboy Cole Reiner. “It’s always good to show up to Vegas and win money,” said Pope, of Waverly, Kansas. “This is where we ride for the most money all year long. There is no place else we can nod our heads for $28,000 a day. It takes a lot of rodeoing throughout the year, and that is what lot of people don’t understand. It took me to go out and rodeo like we do to understand what it costs. “You start buying plane tickets, hotels, three meals a day, all your equipment, and you’re also paying entry fees, paying uber drivers and everything. It takes a lot of money to get going, so it’s nice to come here and put some money back in your pocket.” That’s not all. In rodeo, dollars equal championship points, so the contestants in each event who finish the year with the most money in their accounts will be crowned world champions. Pope has been close before. He finished the 2020 season third on the money list, then placed second last season. Even though he’s in the middle of a world-title race, he doesn’t let it change him. He shows up to the arena ready to go to work. With Vezain in the room before they ride, Pope sees just how special this moment is. “J.R. makes me strive to be a better person every day,” Pope said. “Everyone needs a little bit of J.R. in them.”

LAS VEGAS – The bareback riders at the National Finals Rodeo went from one extreme to another in 24 hours. It’s just part of the Las Vegas experience, for most visitors, but these men are in town on a business venture. They tried their hands at the hardest-to-ride broncs in the sport Saturday night, then turned around and had the easiest buckers Sunday. That makes everything even and allows the winners to be the cowboys that show off their spur rides the best. “You’ve really got to try to flash everything up and expose yourself in this pen,” said Cole Franks, who rode Outlawbuckers Rodeo’s Free Shipping for 87 points to finish in a tie for second place in the fourth round. “You’ve got to let go and let it all hang out more than you would on (Saturday) night’s pen or (Monday’s) pen. “I’d seen that horse maybe once or twice, but I went and watched videos on him last night and was pretty excited about it. That horse is awesome.” Franks also made Free Shipping look good and added $20,053 too his earnings. He has collected $37,670 in four nights in Las Vegas and pushed his season earnings to more than $154,000. Of course, it was a much different feeling around the bareback riders locker room from Round 3 to Round 4. “It is a lot more energetic,” said Franks, 21, of Clarendon, Texas. “It’s a lot more fun. Everyone’s chit-chatting, everyone is laughing and everyone is cracking jokes. (Saturday) night was very tense. Everyone was kind of quiet. “For the ones we got on (Saturday), you have to almost crave that kind of horse. The ones we had tonight are the ones you want at your house to get on every day.”

LAS VEGAS – Every step of every day can be a learning experience; the stage is just bigger for an athlete competing in a championship event. Bareback rider Garrett Shadbolt is learning a few things about his sport and about himself at the National Finals Rodeo. It may feel a bit like a slow course, but it’s just another of the challenges that he faces in Las Vegas. After failing to place in the first three go-rounds, Shadbolt finally found his way to an NFR payday with his 87-point ride on Four Star Rodeo’s Dirty Harry to finish in a tie for second place; it was wroth $20,053. “A lot of these other guys in the locker room have been her a lot of times, and maybe they’re a little more insulated from the ups and downs,” said Shadbolt, 26, a two-time qualifier from Merriman, Nebraska. “Going three rounds and not winning any money was starting to get to me a little bit. It was a lot of pressure. I wanted to make it happen today. “I’m just happy to say I was able to step it up and get it done and put on the ride I’ve been trying to do on the last three nights.” It did more than pad his pockets. His ride provided a great deal of confidence for the cowboy who lives on the northern edge of the Nebraska Sandhills. “I felt pretty happy to feel like I could show up and push through the negative mental thoughts that I had and straighten myself out and just make a nice ride and get back to where I want to be,” he said. “It was nice to have a nice horse. It was great to just get out there and get a horse that a guy can dress up and make a nice ride on and get that to that feeling like I should. “There are a lot of match-ups that guys have been a lot of points on before, so I was just plain nervous about getting o n a horse I didn’t know anything about. There was no guarantee of a check. That’s the thing a bout this: You can come out here and be at the biggest rodeo in the world, and you can go home with no money. That’s just a scary thought.” The fear is gone, and, along with the $10,000 bonus he earned for being an NFR qualifier, Shadbolt has pushed his Vegas earnings to more than $30,000. He is 13th in the world standings with $134,002 on the season. He also has a bit of momentum on his side as he looks at the final six nights of the 2022 ProRodeo season.

LAS VEGAS – Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper is riding well, but his pocketbook isn’t showing it just yet. In four nights at the National Finals Rodeo, he has placed twice and collected just $3,886. That’s less than stellar at ProRodeo’s grand finale, which pays go-round winners nearly $29,000 per night. In both instances, he finished in a tie for sixth place – it was a three-way tie during Round 2 and a two-way tie in Sunday’s fourth go-round. The latter came after an 82-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Miss Ellie, and Sunday’s round featured the eliminator pen of saddle broncs. Miss Ellie was the perfect fit in that category as one of the hardest-to-ride horses in ProRodeo. “It seemed like the ride was pretty decent,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “It seemed like maybe I was a little behind, and she was kind of beating me up. The hardest thing about her is keeping your shoulders square. She really wants to work you into your right stirrup. It’s a little tougher on a right-handed guy than it is a left-handed guy, but it worked out and we’re happy.” In comparing his earnings, the money he’s made in Las Vegas doesn’t quite add up. If he were to finish sixth by himself, it’s worth $4,664, but every dollar counts, especially at the NFR. “It’s nice to sneak out of that round with a qualified score,” he said about getting on the rank bucking horses, which tossed four cowboys to the ground; those that did ride weren’t posting high-marked rides. “It keeps you in the average for that big bonus check in the end, and it’s nice to get a little round money out of it, too.” Out of the 15 bronc riders in the mix, Casper is one of just 10 that have ridden all four broncs so far. He sits eighth in the average, with a four-ride aggregate score of 326.5 points. If he were to hold that position through Saturday night’s final round, he would earn a $7,000 bonus. The objective, though, is to win a world championship, if possible, but he’d need some big things to happen. He trails the world standings leader, Montanan Sage Newman, by more than $170,000. That’s where the bonus comes in handy. The average champion will pocket more than $74,000. With high-paying go-rounds, Casper still has a big chance in the final six nights of the 2022 season. “The goal when you come here is to ride 10 horses the best you can,” Casper said. “I feel like I’ve done that. Hopefully I’ll start drawing the top of the pen and we’ll start winning some go-round checks.” The random draw that matches a cowboy with his animal is an important factor. Half the score on a 100-point scale is on how well the animal bucks. The rest is up to the contestant. “At the end of the day, horses are horses,” he said. “To every pen, it is the National Finals, but you still are going to have a top end of that pen, which is a horse that is really going to show and you can really show out. It all has to come together and work for you.”

LAS VEGAS – A night after riding one of the rankest horses in rodeo to win the third round of the National Finals Rodeo, Jess Pope got a bit of a break with Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Star Witness. “At this stage and at this level, everyone is supposed to ride those horses perfect,” said Pope, who rode the big bay for 85.5 points to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place Sunday night. “They are the easiest set of horses that we have here. Everyone is supposed to put that 24-point spur ride on them.” Each judge marks the rider and the bronc 1-25, so a 24-point spur lick is nearly perfect. “Then you’re splitting hairs from what horse was just a tick better than the other one to decide the winner,” he said. “I’m really thankful to be able to get some money in this round. I think this is the first time I’ve won a check in the first pen of hoppers.” He did, worth $6,063. He pushed his NFR earnings to $79,953. He sits No. 1 in the world standings with $239,212 and has an advantage of about $22,000 over the No. 2 man, Cole Reiner, who won the fourth round. Pope has been in a battle for the top spot on the money list all season. He came into Las Vegas second, trailing Reiner by just a few hundred dollars. Everyone in the mix knew, though, that the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle was going to come down to this week and a half during ProRodeo’s grand championship. “There are always a little bit of nerves when you get on any of these horses,” said Pope of Waverly, Kansas. “I am focused when I get in (the chute). I’m there to do my job. I’ve thought about it all day. I’ve pictured what I’m going to do. I’m telling myself exactly what I’m going to do when I go out there. “I don’t really feel the nervousness when I sit on their backs, because at that point and time, it’s all supposed to be mind over matter. Your body is reacting at that point in time, not thinking about what the heck is fixing to happen.” Pope’s mind matters, and he’s cashing in as much as he can.

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope looks at things a little differently than most people. He’s a bareback rider, so it comes with the business. It works for him, and it worked Saturday night with an 86.5-point ride on Stace Smith ProRodeo’s Mr. Harry to win the third go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was not only important to his place in the race for a world championship, but he proved his mettle by winning the eliminator pen, the section featuring the hardest-to-ride broncs in bareback riding. “The eliminator pen is a kill-or-be-killed mentality,” said Pope, 24, of Waverly, Kansas. “A lot of this is connected to a wrestler’s mentality. When you step on that mat, it doesn’t matter what happened to all your buddies. It’s what’s right there in front of you. “You have to dig down deep and find that alloy, and I just have to control the strategic chaos that’s at my hand.” He controlled it quite well, pocketing $28,914 for the victory. He pushed his NFR earnings to $73,890 and holds down the top spot in the average with a three-ride cumulative score of 258.5 points. He is five points better than two cowboys in second place. “It’s a big deal,” he said. “It’s good to get things going really good at the beginning of the week. The eliminator pen, especially, makes you feel really good, because those are the hardest horses in the world. To get the win on one of those (animals) is special. “I was a little bit nervous coming into tonight, because it’s the eliminators, it’s hard. I knew Richie (Champion) had done really good on that horse last year, so I knew I had to show up and do my job and see where everything laid out at the end.” His belly full of butterflies may have played a little into it, but he was prepared down to the pre-game meal he had before Saturday’s round. As he has done every time he gets on very rank bucking broncs, he made his way to Jimmy John’s for a sandwich. “I get the Billy club, jalapeno chips and a lemonade,” he said with a smile. “That’s been my deal since I first started rodeoing with Tim. I don’t know where we were going, but we were getting on some eliminators that day, and that Jimmy John’s makes you light on your feet and makes you freaky fast. “This is the best job in the world. All year long, the places you see and the people you meet is just great. You get out here, and there are thousands and thousands of people that travel to Las Vegas to watch one rodeo. To be able to be here and soak it all in, it’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little bitty kid, so it’s something special.”

LAS VEGAS – The pressure-packed National Finals Rodeo can add a lot of stress to the 120 men and women that have earned the right to compete for the sport’s championship. The purse is $1.4 million, and there are big checks paid out daily. If a contestant does not beat most of the people in the field, that person doesn’t get paid. The muscles tighten a little more, and the heart races. Garrett Smith has been in this situation before. This is the bull rider’s fourth time to qualify for the NFR. On Saturday night, he rode Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Evil Intensions for 90 points to share the Round 3 victory with Kansan J.R. Stratford. In the process, Smith captured his first paycheck of this NFR, and it was worth $25,882. “It’s going good now,” said Smith, who rodeo his first bull, United Pro Rodeo’s Happy Days, for 82.5 points but just missed out on a paycheck. “I’ve been more relaxed. You have to sit down and realize you work so hard to get here that we might as well have fun. We deserve to be here, so let’s go out and show what we can do. “In the years prior, I felt like you always have to prove something. You have to do this; you have to do that. But if you just take a step back and realize that you deserve to be here, so now let’s have fun and make it happen, and it works out way better.” It’s working. Though he bucked off on Night 2 – as did 13 other cowboys while trying to ride the eliminator pen of bucking bulls – he sits second in the aggregate with two rides for a cumulative score of 172.5 points. He is five points behind the average leader, Utahan Josh Frost. “That was our eliminator pen, and it showed,” said Smith, 27, of Rexburg, Idaho. “I’m glad that is over with, but we still have another round of that. It’s going to work out great the next time.” That attitude has been helpful. He knew a little bit about Evil Intensions before he mounted the red bull. “I knew Creek (Young) got on him last year, and I think he won this round last year,” he said. “I was pretty excited, and the fact that he had a lot of up and down and went left … I was pumped. There’s no better feeling than one that goes up and down away from your hand. “It’s great to score 90 points, but to go 90 here is just incredible.”

LAS VEGAS – Now in his seventh trip to the National Finals Rodeo, team roping header Coleman Proctor has learned to trust himself and those special things around him. It showed during Saturday’s third go-round, when he and his heeler, Logan Medlin, stopped the clock in 4.3 seconds to finish in a tie for fourth place, worth $8,083. It was the second time in three nights the tandem has placed in Las Vegas. “After Round 1, I got the start good (Friday) night, and I got the start again tonight,” said Proctor, 37, of Pryor, Oklahoma. “It feels comfortable. When you get a good roll and you get your timing out here, it gets to feeling a lot better.” A key is in the animal underneath him. Heisman is a talented bay with a great deal of speed, and Proctor’s horsepower is a major factor in why he is in the City of Lights for the seventh time. “I think he is the best horse for the set-up out here,” he said. “He definitely fits me the best. He has done a great job. He was awesome last year (at the NFR). He really contributes to how Logan and I’s run can shape up so fast, because I’m not as fast as Tanner Tomlinson or Lightning Aguilera; those kids can throw so fast. “My horse makes a lot of that up for me. I just need to stay the way that everything comes together, especially out here with these big steers that are so strong. Our steer didn’t handle very good, but my horse can set him on the end (of the rope) and open him up so my guy can have a chance (to rope the back legs).” It’s working early. Two paydays in three nights is a good step, but neither round paid out much to Proctor and Medlin. They have ach earned $12,747, plus have the $10,000 bonus for being an NFR qualifier that counts toward the world standings. But they’re doing the little things right, and that could pay off big in the long run. They have roped three steers in a cumulative time of 18.8 seconds and sit third in the average race. With seven nights remaining on the ProRodeo season, it’s way too early to look at that. There are only a few chances to catch the big checks – go-round winners earn just shy of $29,000 a night. “Our run is something we have really worked at and developed,” Proctor said of he and Medlin. “He comes to my house, and we’ve got some great folks right there by the ranch that have let us use their indoor arena and set up the pen just like the Thomas & Mack. I’ve got a lot of fresh steers; we break them in, and we go at them. “We rope 70 to 80 a day there for about three days in a row, and then it’s time for Logan to leave because my old, slightly not-as-athletic body is worn out by then. He will come back a couple weeks later, and we can rejuvenate.” It helps with the technical aspects of roping, but it does something even more for the team. “Our chemistry is much better,” he said. “Not only does he rope two feet – all heelers rope two feet out here – but our run fits together really well; he makes me fast enough to compete at this level. “Our run is going to be fast enough, and I have the confidence this year to put more of those runs together.”

LAS VEGAS – For some, earning the first paycheck at the National Finals Rodeo provides a sense of relief. J.D. Struxness has been through all this before. He didn’t let the fact that he hadn’t placed on the opening two nights of the championship bother him. He just went back to work and found his way to the pay window during Saturday’s third go-round. “We’ll take a check right now,” said Struxness, who knocked his steer to the ground in 4.3 seconds to finish fifth and collect $7,462. “It was nice to get the ice broke finally, but there is a lot of time left, so we’ll just keep moving on up.” While he is taking a businessman’s approach to the tasks at hand, there were a few emotions that may have played into his lack of success on the first two nights. It looks as though he’s got that lined out. “I’ve been trying to do too much,” he said. “It’s been (three) years since I’ve been out here, and the nerves are a little higher. Everything is just a little tighter, catching those steers and trying to turn them back or just mostly overthinking. “I went back to what (bareback rider) Jess Pope says, ‘Keep it simple stupid.’ Tonight, it worked, so hopefully we’ll keep going.” He has a couple aces in the hole in his hazer, Curtis Cassidy, and Cassidy’s horse, Tyson, which has been named the PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. “Tyson is working good,” said Struxness, who won the intercollegiate national title in 2016 while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “We’ve caught all our steers, and he gets stronger throughout the week.” Struxness is joined by fellow Northwestern alumnus Kyle Irwin and fellow bulldogger Jesse Brown in riding the talented horse. “I’m looking for the three of us to just keep getting better and better as the week goes on,” said Struxness of Milan, Minnesota. “(Sunday) night is the first round that we know the steers. They’ve already been r un once in the building. We will know our steers and know what we need to do. We’ve all broke the ice, so it’s time to get it on.” He is now 28 years old and has learned a lot over his time in ProRodeo. He knows what it takes to win and will likely push the envelope if the opportunity arises. “The experience always helps, knowing the dry spell can only last so long, knowing what we can do or knowing what to work on or change to get out of these dry spells,” he said. “Sometimes I wish I would have learned a little faster, and maybe things would have ended up differently. I’m also being a little more mature about things.” Of course, he has a cheering section in fiancé Jayden and their daughters, Everlee and Lilly. “They don’t care how I do out there,” Struxness said. “They are just happy to see Dad when I get upstairs.”

LAS VEGAS – The sky is the limit for a bareback rider with the talent of Tim O’Connell, a three-time world champion. He may have come close to it Saturday night. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been that high in this arena for that many seconds in a row,” O’Connell said of his 82.5-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Ghost Town. “I wasn’t trying to do anything spectacular. I was trying to get up, get down and find my rigging handle every jump. About midway through that point, she shot forward a little bit and started pulling her head up. It really dropped my rigging down and forward.” “I tried to chase it but put my foot on top of her neck once, and it pulled me off it. I tried to pull back underneath the next jump and put it over her neck. The fence luckily was there and slowed her up. I got back underneath things, and the whistle blew. She left me midair, and I’m blessed to not have one of her feet come down on top of me.” The result was a sixth-place finish in the third round, worth $4,664. “I’m glad that animal is OK; I’m glad I’m OK,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa. “We got a check out of the deal, now it’s three down and seven to go. “I’m still hungry. I’m waiting to strike for more than one of those bottom-hole checks. I’m very grateful and thankful.  This is exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to get things started, get things moving. This is a lot hotter finals than I’ve had in years past. Traditionally I’m a slow starter at the finals. To be able to come in three rounds in and take care of business every night is big.” The third and eighth rounds at the NFR feature the eliminator pen, the hardest-to-ride bareback horses in ProRodeo. The powerful gray raised in Oklahoma proved to be perfect for that group of horses. “That’s that the e pen is about, getting into a fight and never saying die,” he said. “My confidence is high. I feel great on the backs of these bucking horses. I’m being aggressive. (Traveling partner) Jess (Pope) is starting to take over in what he is planning to do when he came in here. That is exactly what our rig is about, pushing each other to be the very best. “He is riding at a very high level; I feel like I am riding at a very high level. I just need to strike (Sunday) and get myself in the (world championship) picture. This thing isn’t over until the last horse bucks in the last round. There could be five or six guys in this game, and I’m doing exactly what I need to do to make sure I’m one of those guys and have a shot to be the No. 1 guy in the world on the last day of the year.”

LAS VEGAS – Wyatt Casper’s first saddle bronc ride of the 2022 National Finals Rodeo wasn’t significant to most. He scored 83.5 points on Rosser Rodeo’s California Dreamin and finished 10th in the opening round of this year’s championship. There was no money, and his place in the world standings didn’t really change. Still, it was an ignition switch for Casper, now competing at the NFR for the third straight season. “After being off for three months and not being able to rodeo, to be able to come out here and stick my first one was a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders,” said Casper, 26, of Miami, Texas. “I was pretty confident after (Thursday’s) ride.” It showed on a rank horse during Friday’s second round. He posted an 82-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Foul Motion to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place, worth $1,555. It’s not the biggest payday, but it offered a boost of confidence for him to carry through the final eight nights of the ProRodeo season. “Today didn’t feel really well,” he said of his ride on Foul Motion, one of the harder-to-ride broncs in the second round. “It felt like my (saddle’s) cantle kept hitting me in the butt, and I wasn’t able to set my feet. It was a little fouling through there or something. The Beutlers are known to have some bucking suckers that don’t feel real well. If you stick it to them, you’re going to be some points.” Casper suffered a pulled hamstring in July and tried to battle through it. The muscle finally gave way the first of August, and he spent the final two months of the regular season on injured reserve. He went more than 60 days without getting on any bucking horses, but in the weeks leading up to the NFR, he got on some broncs to dust the rust off and test out his leg. “I got on nine horses, but I knew after the first two that it was good and we’re ready to roll,” said Casper, who won the intercollegiate national title in 2016 while competing for Clarendon (Texas) College. “I wish I’d have been able to come back a little sooner and maybe went to some rodeos and got on some more horses. “It is what it is, and those are the cards we were dealt.” While his financial return wasn’t what he had hoped for on Night 2, the dollars are vital. Most importantly, he has something on which to build through ProRodeo’s grand finale. “Money’s money, and that’s a good thing,” Casper said. “Any time you can get another one down, get a little money and stay in that average race, you’re good.”

Cinch entertainer wins three PRCA honors for 2022 LAS VEGAS – For most of his career, Cinch entertainer John Harrison has been one of the preeminent men in ProRodeo. He is an award-winning comedian and a standout barrelman, working the National Finals Rodeo in that capacity for an eighth time. On Nov. 30, he added a new twist to his resume by joining an elite club: He was named the PRCA Comedy Act of the Year for the second time, the Coors Man in the Can for a fifth time and the PRCA Clown/Barrelman of the Year for the first time. The last time an entertainer won all three awards in one year was 2011 when ProRodeo legend Keith Isley did so. It’s quite a feat, and it’s an honor Harrison will cherish along with his family, wife Carla, daughters Addison, Charlee and Billie, and son Caz. “It is a dream come true,” said Harrison, 44, of Soper, Oklahoma. “I always went to the (PRCA) awards banquet, even before I was nominated. That was fuel for my fire. I saw Flint Rasmussen win all three, and I saw what a big deal that was. “Keith Isley did the same thing.  Those are the only two guys that had ever done that, so it had always been my goal. The last 11 years, the Clown of the Year was Justin Rumford, and I thought as long as he was going to do this, he was going to win that, so I just put it on the backburner.” It didn’t stay there. “Whenever they called my name, there was just shock,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I had to give “Big Bear” (Rumford) a hug, because while he was excited for me to win it, it’s pretty hard when you don’t win it. Him hugging me meant the world to me. He set the standard on that award that nobody’s going to be able to catch.” It’s been a long time coming for Harrison, who was raised in a rodeo family and got the entertainment bug early. He was just 6 years old when he took his first trick-riding lessons, and he built on that. He could do magic with a rope and just about anything horseback, even working in Roman riding, which features one man standing astride two horses with all three working together in unison. “When I was 18, Cotton Rosser had a Roman team he had bought at the National Finals Bucking Horse Sale, and I ended up buying them,” Harrison said. “Those were the horses that took me to the NFR.” This year marks the 11th time the Oklahoma man has performed at the NFR. He was part of the opening act while doing tricks and stunts in 2001-02 and 2008. He returned as a barrelman in 2013, just a few years after making the transition from specialty act to a clown with acts. “I realized pretty quickly that that not all rodeos hired acts, so I knew I had to do something different if I wanted to do this for a living,” he said. It’s still paying off. As Isley continued to prove his dominance, one of the legend’s key acts was available to someone with trick-riding ability. Harrison acquired it, and it’s been the cornerstone that helped build an empire. “It’s just unbelievable,” Harrison said. “I was standing next to Keith before they made the announcement, and he said, ‘Welcome to the Club.’ I would have never been on that stage if it wasn’t for Keith. For him to say that, I was beside myself. I held myself together as long as I could. I eventually went out in the hall and called my dad, and I just cried.” He had good reason to do that. His life’s work has been on display for tens of thousands to see in person, and he had earned some of the biggest honors the PRCA doles out each year. While his acts are the backbone of his rise to fame, he also handles the job of being a full-fledged entertainer seriously. He is well known for his “walk and talk,” a fixture that showcases his sense of humor and ability to read a situation at the drop of a hat. “I try to say I’m not scripted, and I really try to go off the cuff,” Harrison said. “I try to adapt to each announcer and adapt to each crowd. You don’t work the rodeo the same with Roger Mooney that you do with Randy Corley. You can’t, and to be able to adapt to that is important to what I do.” Harrison’s versatility, athleticism and horsemanship are shrines to what makes him so popular, whether he’s working a rodeo in Davie, Florida, or Puyallup, Washington. His personality also sparkles, which is why he’s a Triple Crown winner.

LAS VEGAS – Stock contractor Cullen Pickett is popular among a lot of cowboys, but he’s a big name on the men who ride bareback horses. Pickett Pro Rodeo has 11 bareback broncs at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, and Tanner Aus was matched with one in Topped Off during Friday’s second round. The two matched moves for 85.5 points, good enough to tie for second-place finish in the go-round. “There’s not one of those horses you don’t want,” said Aus, 32, of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “Cullen raises some incredible horses. He’s got just phenomenal genetics, and he keeps turning up winners. “It was a little bit tougher night of horses. The one I had ended up being the high-marked horse of the performance, which is great for me; I can always take more points form the horse. It felt good. I came into this finals healthy. Everything’s been fine, but I’ve just been waiting for it to click. I got a little money on night No. 2, and everything makes sense a little bit.” Yes, he did. By tying for second, he pocketed $20,053. “The money here is incredible,” said Aus, who attended Iowa Central Community College before transferring to Missouri Valley College, where he won the 2012 intercollegiate national title. “The chance that we get to ride at it is indescribable. It is something I never thought I’d have a chance to do, yet here we are. It is amazing.” Every dollar is important. Not only does it cover expenses and pay bills, but dollars equal championship points. Aus moved up two spots to seventh in the world standings, and he’d like to keep climbing. Oftentimes, cowboys hope to at least break even through the course of the regular season, then what they make in Las Vegas is what helps them make a profit. “That’s especially true this year, especially in a year like this one,” he said. “It feels so expensive, and everything’s a little more expensive. You rodeo your tail off, and you try to stay in the top 15 spots. I was lucky this year that everything worked out in my favor. I’m really thankful for that.  It is expensive out there in a season, but we do it because we love it. “This is just a bonus.” Of course, riding a horse like Topped Off is another bonus. The Minnesota cowboy was just excited for the opportunity. “You always won the one that’s just a tick ranker than the rest of them,” Aus said of the random draw that pits cowboys vs. their equine partners. “If you’re able to draw that one and get by them, then usually it gets you a paycheck. Tonight, it worked out.”

LAS VEGAS – When it’s time to win in Las Vegas, Jess Pope rolls the dice and trusts where they will land. He’s a two-time National Finals Rodeo average champion, so this format suits him. On Friday night, he rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Wilson Sanchez for 85 points to finish fourth in the second go-round. He added $12,125 and pushed his season earnings to $204,235 – nearly $45,000 of which has come in Sin City. “I thought it went really good,” he said of his ride. “He was pretty strong today and kind of had a move to him about jump three. I had to regather everything back up and start back over again. “He’s just a solid draw, and it’s something I knew I could win money on, so I was pretty happy to have him.” Pope entered this year’s finale No. 2 in the bareback riding world standings with just shy of $160,000 in earnings. Once he arrived, he received an NFR qualification bonus of $10,000, then he placed in the first two rounds to just pad his pocketbook. He’s done all that even after sitting out much of July because he tore the plantar facia in his right foot. He returned and made his way into world-title contention. In two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, he’s just added to his chances. “My foots doing good,” said Pope, 24, of Waverly, Kansas. “It still gets sore on me. It changed how I worked out leading up to the finals, but it’s one of those deals. You deal with the cards you’re dealt, smile and enjoy it while it’s here.” This is how he makes a living, and earning more than $12K in one night comes in handy. When he’s not riding bucking horses, he ranches at his home in eastern Kansas and does day work as a cowboy. “With today’s cattle prices, that will buy about nine yearlings, but whatever,” he said with a laugh. “The way I look at it, this is where my bread and butter comes from. This is where I can make the most money that I can all year long. Yeah, my friends are out here, but my main focus is to ride bucking horses. I’m taking care of business.” Yes, he is.

LAS VEGAS – For the second straight night, three-time world champion Tim O’Connell earned some Las Vegas cash by placing at the National Finals Rodeo. He rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Network Gazer for 84 points to finish fifth in Friday’s second go-round, earning $7,462. It’s more than $21,000 less than he had hoped, because round winners will earn nearly $29,000 each night, but he’s quite content with his spot. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually excited to win the go-round, because my son gets in tonight, and I’m going to get him from the airport,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa. “I’m excited to see him and spend time with him.” Family is important to the cowboy now living in Marshall, Missouri, with his wife, Sami, and their two sons, Hazen, 4, and Stratten, 7 months old. Hazen was scheduled to arrive before 10 p.m., and the other two have been here for a few days already. It was a valuable tool to be reunited with his entire clan. Of course, he had to take care of business first, and that came with being matched with a powerful bucking machine in Network Gazer. The two battled for the entire eight seconds, with the match going toe-to-toe until the buzzer sounded. That’s when the big bay got the upper hand. “Luckily I don’t have to ride them for 8.1; I just have to ride them for eight,” he said. “That little bobble at the end was probably more my fault. I went to finish off the last two seconds, and I think she gave me a delayed kick and swooped right, and with me being a lefty … she shoved me away from my hand. “Things happened, but they still paid me. I’m good. I’m happy. I’m healthy. That was a strong horse for that pen, so I knew it wasn’t going to be the flashiest thing in the world until it let me be flashy, and it was just a fistfight. I’ll go fight like that all day. I like those fights.” O’Connell missed the last month of the regular season because of a thumb injury that required surgery. He took the time necessary to heal, then went through rehabilitation to prepare for ProRodeo’s grand finale. He proved through some practice horses that he was ready for battle. “The thumb’s good, and the body feels great,” O’Connell said. “Everything we’re doing in the mornings leading up to this is working and proving it’s working. I feel great when I get on the backs of these animals. I’m just going to keep doing my thing and keep having fun doing it.” The proof is in the $23,524 he’s pocketed since he arrived the Nevada desert just a few days ago.

LAS VEGAS – When Ty Breuer arrived in Sin City for his sixth chance to ride at the National Finals Rodeo, he came in with a fire in his belly. “I’m feeling good and hungry, so hopefully it just keeps going,” said Breuer, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Mandan, North Dakota. He earned a little food Friday when he rode Championship Rodeo’s Weenie for 83.5 points to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place in the second go-round. It was worth just $1,555, but it was a payday and something to build on as he pushes through the final eight nights of the 2022 ProRodeo season. “She’s a good horse, but she felt like she got a little weak at the end,” he said. “I know she is going to leave (the chute) real hard, and she did. She did what I expected her to do tonight.” It was the first time he’s collected an NFR paycheck since the fourth round in 2019. He qualified for the finale in 2020, but an injury kept him out of the action. Last season, he finished the regular season 19th in the world standings – only the top 15 compete in Las Vegas. His return is special to him and his family. “It means a lot to me,” said Breuer, 32, the 2010 intercollegiate national titlist who won the Bareback Riding Resistol Rookie of the Year a few months later. “Having to sit out the year that I tore my bicep was a really tough decision, then the next year, I was right on the bubble, too. I was having some neck problems at the end and decided not to go the last week because it was hurting back. “Then a guy gets to thinking to himself, ‘What is the next year going to bring? Is your body going to hold up?’ This year has ben good to me. At the end, I had to fight for it again and make it year, but it’s all worth it when you get here. It seems like with the ranching at home and everything else I have going on, I stay home as long as I have to.” Life is much different for Breuer since his first NFR qualification 10 seasons ago. He and his wife, Kelli, have three children, and he has a business to run in central North Dakota. He also rides bucking horses and has proven his talents for many years.