Category Archives: Uncategorized

LAS VEGAS – It’s 920 miles from Cole Franks’ place in tiny Clarendon, Texas, to the bright lights of Las Vegas, but he’s feeling very much at home during this year’s National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed in four of five bareback riding rounds and was just a spur stroke away from winning Monday’s fifth round, scoring 90 points on Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies to finish second. He pocketed $21,336 for his eight seconds of work. “That horse is all there for sure,” Franks said of Xplosive Skies the 2021 PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year. “He blows out of there really hard. He leaves like a train and hits you like a train. You don’t have time to think. It’s going 100 miles an hour, and it’s all directed at you.” It was a very energetic ride, with each side throwing punch after punch. The young cowboy came out the winner in the end, pushing his NFR earnings to $59,095. He sits 10th in the world standings with $136,489. “Looking back on it, I would call that one fun,” he said. “It was a little bit different (than the ‘Eliminator Pen’ on Saturday night). It was a totally different kind of feeling than any other kind of horse. I was having fun knowing what I was doing (Monday) night. It was just bare down and let the past year’s work take over.” The fifth round featured the most electric bucking horses in bareback riding. When he saw the draw after Sunday’s fourth round, Franks knew he had a good shot to earn big points on Xplosive Skies. “When I saw the draw, I kind of teared up a little bit because of the excitement of it all,” Franks said. “I didn’t sleep a whole lot last night, just imagining riding that one. It was just pure excitement, ready to get it going.” He’s the rookie of the year, but he looks like anything but a newcomer to ProRodeo’s grand championship. Each ride has provided him with superior experience. Moreover, each money-making score provides more confidence. “(Doing this well) pumps you up a little more,” he said. “The last four rounds have been pumping me up for this, and this pumps me up for the next five rounds. It’s just a big balloon getting inflated. Just as he would if he were working at home, he has his entire family around to keep him motivated and focused. That’s big for the young cowboy, but it’s something he’s experienced for a long time. “My family is super supportive of everything I’ve done, from playing Little League baseball to this,” Franks said. It’s awesome having them here, knowing they’re sitting in the stands. I can look up and wave at them when I’m putting my rigging on or doing something on the back of the chutes, so that’s awesome.” 

LAS VEGAS – It took a 19-year-old bucking horse to get things lined out for three-time bareback riding world champion Tim O’Connell. “Thank God for that old man, because I needed him to get this thing rolling,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa, now living in Marshall, Missouri. “It was starting to get very frustrating. I’ve been on four horses, and they took all four horses and put them straight into the re-ride pens for the next rounds. The frustration has been an understatement.” There are 20 horses set for each of the first five nights of the National Finals Rodeo, and only 15 buck each night. The five remaining are the re-ride opportunities, then they will rotate into the mix the second time that pen of horses is out. The bottom five horses from the first time each pen of horses is out are put into the re-ride pen for their second trips. O’Connell has drawn horses that fit into the latter category. That’s likely not the case with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Good Time Charlie, a horse that is bucking at the NFR for the 14th time. O’Connell rode the hard-bucking, sorrel gelding for 87.5 points to place fifth in Monday’s fifth go-round. It was just the second time he has placed so far at the NFR. “I knew Good Time Charlie,” said O’Connell, who won Montana Silversmiths gold buckles in 2016-18. “He is automatic, and he is great at what he does, even at 19 years old. He goes out there and jumps hard, kicks hard and he hit me in the face at some point. He just gives you his whole heart and whole body every time. “He allows you to really show off and give it back to him. The more times you give it to him, the harder he gives it back. To have him in my corner tonight … I was very excited. For the first time at this NFR, I was pretty excited to come over here.” Good Time Charlie has been highly decorated in his career. He’s been selected as one of the best bareback horses at the NFR, and this past season, he bucked four times, and cowboys were at least 88 points three of those rides. “We owe a lot to that bucking horse,” O’Connell said. “I don’t know how many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been won on his back. He’s done so much for bareback riders.” O’Connell earned just $6,967, but each dollar is vital. He has earned just shy of $24,000 through five rounds; that’s not a typical NFR for the cowboy, but he also realizes he hasn’t had much opportunity to show off his skills. “This ain’t over,” he said. “They might think this is one man’s race or another man’s race, but I am right here, and I am hungry. I’m not happy with how things are going. I’m going to ride better from here on out. There are five more rounds left. There is a lot of money up for grabs, and I am coming for every dollar. “This was, by far, my best ride. Because I’ve drawn on the bottom end of the pen, I’ve been trying to do way too much. I’ve been making dumb mistakes. I’ve been over-antsy. I’ve caused mistakes that I shouldn’t make. (Monday) night I relaxed; I had some fun. I went off the feeling of the horse, and it resulted in my best ride.”  

LAS VEGAS – How good has the first five days of the National Finals Rodeo gone for bareback rider Jess Pope? He finished out on the money Sunday, then took his smallest paycheck of the week by finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place during Monday’s fifth round. Yet, he’s still smiling. He knows he’s riding well and taking the opportunities as they come. On Monday night, he rode Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Organic Outlaw for 86.5 points, pocketing $1,451. “Money is money,” said Pope, 23, of Waverly, Kansas. “I just had to make due with what I had drawn. I didn’t even figure I’d win a check tonight. There were just a lot of great horses. I just did my job, and the horse did more than I what I thought he was going to do. It worked out good. “Every dime you win out here is better than nothing.” He’s done his fair share of winning. He’s placed in four of five rounds and has earned $81,556 so far. He is third in the world standings and still has the second half of the NFR ahead of him. “You just have to take it one horse at a time,” he said. “You can’t beat the draw. I don’t think I’ve drawn worth a (darn) the last two days. The horse (Sunday) was weaker than anyone else’s in the pen. My horse (Monday) was great, but when you look down the list and compare it to the Pickett and Calgary horses, it was a little step below what everything else was. “It’s part of it. My job is to ride bucking horses. I didn’t get here accidentally. There are five more rounds, and anything can happen.” Life’s a bit different in Las Vegas than they are back home in rural eastern Kansas. He’s adjusting, and he’s got his support system to help through every step. His parents, Bret and Jennifer Pope, are staying at a campground in Sin City, and they’re at ever, performance cheering on their son each night. “It’s nice to have my whole family out here,” Pope said. “I get to hang out with them whenever I can. If I have a spare minute, I can run out there to the campground. It makes it feel more homey. There’s really not a lot of homey feelings living in a hotel room in Las Vegas, Nevada. Honking horns, sirens going 24/7 … that’s not what I’m used to. It’s nice to get away and just hang out and get away from all this.” It’s helping Pope find success in a big way at ProRodeo’s grand finale. He has pushed his season earnings to more than $190,000 and has five more nights to add to it. That’s why he’s in Las Vegas this week. It’s why he straps himself to a bucking horse and rides for eight seconds at a time. This is his way to hit a jackpot in Nevada, and he’s doing a bang-up job of making everything happen.

LAS VEGAS – With every nod of is head at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper is gaining confidence. He rode Korkow Rodeo’s Onion Ring for 88.5 points during Monday’s tough fifth round. That score would win most rodeos, but not the “TV Pen” of bucking horses at the NFR; Casper settled for sixth place and a paycheck worth $4,354. “It was a crazy round of bronc riding tonight,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “It was a crowd-pleaser. Being the fourth man out at 88.5 and winning it, then getting bumped down to sixth, the last hole (for payouts) … it hit the heart pretty good. Every time I’ve been on him, I have won first, The American and at the NFR last year.” Onion Ring is pretty special. He was named the 2021 PRCA Saddle Bronc of the Year, an honor selected by the cowboys that ride them. But two-time world champion Ryder Wright was 91 points to win it, and his brother, Stetson Wright, was 90.5 to finish second. It’s no wonder Casper and Onion Ring were pushed to the bottom spot among all placers. “He is what every bronc rider dreams of getting on,” Casper said of the South Dakota horse. “He does his job every time.  He was honest. He is a good-built horse. I just like him.” Through five nights of ProRodeo’s grand championship, he has earned $35,691, the biggest portion of which came with Sunday’s second-place finish. He’s pushed his season earnings to $120,638 and sits eighth in the world standings. He started slow, but he’s heating up at just the right time. “I feel like, most importantly, the thing about getting focused is having good rides,” he said. “I feel like in these last two rides, everything has felt good, and we are just trying to build on that. “We are just going to keep hoping we draw good. I’m just going to try to keep riding good and let it all come together in the end. I don’t want to mess with anything, and I want to keep moving forward.” This is Casper’s second straight NFR but his first time competing in it at Las Vegas. Still, he and his family built a routine a year ago in Arlington, Texas, that he’s continued this year. After all, no cowboy earns his way to the City of Lights without a supportive team behind him. “My parents come all 10 nights; my wife and kids come all 10 nights,” Casper said “Every night before the round, we go out there and take a picture. We are just building memories. It’s kind of a tradition, I guess.” So is winning money, whether it’s first place or sixth place. That’s what rolling the dice in Las Vegas is all about.

LAS VEGAS – An equipment change is coming for Clayton Biglow. Even after earning just his second paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo, the 2019 bareback riding world champion knows there’s something funky going on. “My rigging is feeling a little bit dead right now,” Biglow said after Monday’s 86.5-point ride on Harper & Morgan Rodeo Co.’s Sippin’ Firewater to earn $1,451. “When things aren’t working, you have to change something. “I feel like I’m riding good. My confidence is fine. My body feels good.  I just believe my rigging is getting a little worn. I just need to line some things out.” The past five days haven’t been typical for Biglow, who set records in winning that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle two seasons ago. He’s earned just $20,596 in five days, and part of that came with a $10,000 bonus for qualifying for the NFR. He was just glad to scratch out a check in the fifth round. “I thought the horse was pretty good, but a little on the weaker end,” he said. “I made a couple of bobbles, so I’m going to try to change things up a little bit and just keep plugging away. “I didn’t know anything about the horse. When I got the draw, I looked it up, and it’s only a 6-year-old. It’s cool that they brought a young one that they put in the “TV Pen,” so it’s going to be real good someday.” The fifth- and 10th-round horses are the most electric in rodeo, and high scores are the norm. For Biglow to collect a money score – he finished in a three-way tie for sixth place – says something about his ability as a bareback rider. Now in his sixth straight year playing on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, he understands the things that happen over 10 December nights in the Nevada desert. “I need to get a lot more big checks,” he said. “I need to win every round from here on out if I want a chance to win the world title. “Last year aught me a lot concerning how to keep my mind right. I’m riding better than I did last year. You have to roll with the punches; there’s no sense in digging yourself in hole because you’re frustrated. You’ve got the next day and another horse. There are five more rounds left and a lot of money left. I’ve been in this same position before, so I feel pretty good for the second half of the NFR.”   

LAS VEGAS – Brothers Bill and Roy Duvall have seen many runs at the Thomas & Mack Center. What they’re seeing on television might be the best they’ve seen in decades. Bill’s grandson, Riley, is having a heck of a time at this year’s National Finals Rodeo. On Sunday night, he stopped the clock in 3.9 seconds to share the Round 4 steer wrestling victory at the National Finals Rodeo. It was the second time in four nights that he’s earned at least a tie for a round win; he also split the first round. “This is crazy,” said Riley, 29, of Checotah, Oklahoma, the Bulldogging Capital of the World. “I’ve won two rounds in three years before this, so it shows what happens when you have a good team behind you, horse-wise, friend-wise and family-wise.” He’s the fifth member of his family to have played on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, following in the footsteps of his father, Sam; uncle, Spud; cousin, Tom; and great-uncle, Roy, a three-time world champion. In fact, Bill Duvall hazed for his brother during most of, if not all, Roy’s 24 qualifications. “No, Roy and Bill said they wouldn’t leave their recliners,” Riley Duvall said with a laugh. “I do have a great support system. My wife is as supportive as she can be. She takes care of the kids all day. I know she’s behind me win or lose. That takes a lot of pressure off. “My family has been out here. They know the pressure I’m under. They have different ways of helping me handle it. My family at home is pulling for me, then next week, a lot of them get to be out here, my cousin Tom, uncle Spud and my little cousins. I’m very excited, and I hope it carries over.” He’s placed in three of four rounds and pocketed $74,444. He’s moved up 10 spots to third in the world standings with $141,165. He is just $13,000 behind the leader, Louisianan Jacob Talley. He also has the help of his longtime friend and traveling partner, Shane Frey. They’ve been on the trail since 2012, so their relationship has some history to it. “He’s never hazed for me out here,” Duvall said. “Things have never fallen right. I just rode different horses or had my dad haze. Shane deserved to be out here. He deserved a chance, and, man, it’s went good. He’s having fun. I can hear him screaming after I throw one.” He has six more nights remaining in the ProRodeo season to continue to cash in. It’s Las Vegas, after all, so this is as good a place as any to hit the slot machine that is the NFR.

LAS VEGAS – The competition is often brilliant at the National Finals Rodeo, which offers a purse of more than $10 million spread over 10 December night. It’s the combination of both that drives the cowboys. Just ask bareback rider Richmond Champion, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Stevensville, Montana. He rode Calgary Stampede’s Arbitrator Joe for 86 points during Sunday’s fourth round to finish in a four-way tie for third. That was worth $9,688. “We are winning money,” Champion said with a smile. “I don’t care if we have to split it 13 ways; I’ll take it. There wasn’t much gap from first to third, so it doesn’t change the average much. I’m feeling good. I’m just building on it.” Yes, he is. He finished just out of the money in the first two rounds, but he’s made up for it the past two. He’s pushed his NFR earnings to $41,025 and sits eighth in the world standings with $139,970. Of course, having a good horse is a big part of each ride. Judges mark half the score on how well the animal performs, and the other half is marked by how well the cowboy spurs the horse from its neck to his rigging while in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion. Arbitrator Joe fit the bill well. “I’ve seen him a lot,” Champion said. “Tim (O’Connell) beat me this summer in Calgary (Alberta) on him, and he was 90. I knew it was a big opportunity, especially in this round. All the horses were really nice, but you needed to have something that has a little more to them. There were five or six that really did, and I was happy to have one of them.” Of course, the horse also had a pretty good jockey on its back. He’s been one of the elite bareback riders in the game since he burst onto the stage in 2014. The only thing missing is that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to a world champion. After battling through the first three days of riding some of the greatest bucking horses in ProRodeo, he was able to work through some of the soreness that comes with being a bareback rider. “I feel great now,” Champion said. “I’ve had a good warm-up, and then I’ll get on another bucking horse. We are on the backside of it now. Come Round 10, I’ll be ready for 10 more. “You can work out all you want, but if you’re not getting on bucking horse every day, there’s no way you can work yourself out this way. I’m just getting b ack into riding shape. I think I’m right on the verge of that, and my confidence is through the roof. I’m just excited to have it rolling early.”

LAS VEGAS – In the City of Lights, something finally clicked for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper. “I was excited for the first round, and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, and neither did two or three,” said Casper, who suffered no-scores in the first three rounds. “I feel like we’ve been in Vegas for a while. Getting this, I think, will spark a light in me.” This was an 89-point ride on Vold Rodeo’s Sun Glow to finish second in Sunday’s fourth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. That paid $21,336. It was a great way to get on the roll he needs at ProRodeo’s grand finale. “I knew by having that horse, I was plenty capable to win the round today,” he said. “I’m tickled with 89.” He wasn’t so tickled in the first three nights. He was bucked off his first and third horses, and he was flagged with not making his markout – securing the heels of his boots over the breaks of his horse’s shoulders – in the second round. It all added up to no scores and no money. “It’s hard,” said Casper, the 2016 college national champion from Miami, Texas. “It feels like everyone might think you forgot how to ride broncs. I’ve just not been looking at all the negativity, just put it in the back of my head and forget about it. “I just needed to remember how I got here, and that’s riding every horse the best I can every time. That’s what I tried to do tonight, and it worked.” This is Casper’s second straight NFR qualification. He finished the 2020 season as the reserve world champion. Still, this is his first time to compete at the championship in its typical home in Las Vegas. “This experience is really cool,” he said. “This is what I always dreamed of, riding here in Vegas. To finally come true, it is awesome. The crowd is energetic. It feels like they are right on top of you, and they pretty much are. There is a lot more pressure in this arena. “I just go into each night … I feel the dirt. It feels like any dirt in any other arena.” It’s also a bit different for his wife, Lesley, and their two children, Cooper and Cheyenne. Having them with him during this 10-day championship is a valuable tool for the bronc buster. “They’re good to have here,” Casper said. “They are a good distraction from the rodeo. It’s been good having them around.” They bring normalcy to his life, which is anything but normal in the Nevada desert. They also make him realize that a few no-scores mean very little in the grand scheme of things.

LAS VEGAS – Garrett Shadbolt had a pretty good idea of what to expect during his first trip to Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. Now, he’s hoping it continues to pay off. He’s placed in two of the first four rounds, most recently riding Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Guardian Angel for 86 points to finish in a tie for third place in Sunday’s fourth round. That was worth $9,688. At the world’s richest rodeo, it’s important to cash in on as many opportunities as possible. “I feel like I’m really starting to find my stride,” said Shadbolt, 25, of Merriman, Nebraska. “The nerves are getting good, solid. I’m not feeling the pressure like I was the first couple of nights. I’ve got some money in my pocket now, and my foot in the door. I’m starting to get it figured out how it’s going to be here. “I was just happy to get to dress up that horse, show some things I’ve worked on this year that’s gotten me to this point. I did that that horse (Sunday).” The ride pushed his NFR earnings to $41,025 and his annual salary to $137,038; he is ninth in the world standings. With a purse of more than $10 million, he has six more nights on the season to earn as much money as possible. That’s important. In rodeo, dollars equal points, and the contestants in each event with the most money earned when the season comes to a close Saturday night will b e crowned world champions. “This is what I expected as far as the amazing amount of horsepower,” he said. “I haven’t been on a lot of these horses, but I’ve seen a lot of them bucked. Everything you get is something. If you got one at a rodeo, you’d be like, ‘I’m going to win this rodeo.’ “With that mentality, it is a little bit intimidating to try to dress something up, whereas if I was at a rodeo and had that horse, I could probably make a cut-and-dried spur ride and be confident winning. But here, I’m trying to lay it all out on the line and be right up there with the best. I think I did that (Sunday).” He’ll need to continue that. He’s among the top 15 bareback riders in ProRodeo, and this is the sport’s biggest stage. Some of the biggest lessons Shadbolt has learned have come from behind the scenes inside the Thomas & Mack Center. “The bareback riding locker room is the place to be,” Shadbolt said. “I think we are just a great group of guys. I’m proud to say these guys are my friends. It’s kind of a brotherhood; we watch out for each other, the jokes fly and it’s an amazing experience. “I’m just really happy and proud to be part of that.”

LAS VEGAS – Cole Franks seems to be a young man on a mission. Still two months away from his 21st birthday, the bareback rider from Clarendon, Texas, has placed in three of the first four rounds of the National Finals Rodeo and pocketed $37,759. On Sunday night during the fourth round, he rode J-Bar-J’s Blessed Assurance for 86 points to finish in a four-way tie for third place, worth just shy of $10,000. “They’ve placed in every round they’ve been on that horse at the NFR,” Franks said. “He was a good one to get on in this pen.” He’s had some good fortunate, but he’s also earned his money eight seconds at a time. Riding bareback horses is no easy task. The riggings are cinched tightly to the animal’s back, and the cowboys wear specially designed riding gloves with binds, then wedge their hands into the rigging. They are virtually locked onto the horse. It can take a toll on the body, even on the easier to ride broncs. That’s what the bareback riders faced in the fourth round, the “Hopper Pen.” Unlike the “Eliminator Pen” they face in the third and eighth rounds, the horses out Sunday night were more user-friendly. It was a spurring contest, and it was difficult to judge the rides for the ProRodeo officials, which is why there were four cowboys tied for third. “I just have to keep it going, just keep rolling,” said Franks, a second-generation NFR cowboy whose father was a three-time qualifier in saddle bronc riding. “It’s awesome to keep picking up checks. It makes you feel like you belong here a little more with all these guys.” He’s actually one of three cowboys competing at ProRodeo’s grand finale that were part of the Clarendon College rodeo team coached by Franks’ father, Bret. Cole Franks and saddle bronc riders Wyatt Casper and Tegan Smith have all been in the money. Smith won the third round, and that set off a spark in the others. “I went to the buckle presentation for Tegan (Saturday) night, and it made me think like, ‘I’m going to be here at the South Point for this,’ ” Franks said. “I was shooting for it today, but it didn’t quite work out. Just seeing those guys come in here and compete, it is just as awesome as coming in here and doing it by myself.”

LAS VEGAS – To most men, the thought of entering the ring with the greatest heavyweight fighters in the world wouldn’t be considered. Bareback riders aren’t like most men. They don’t mind a prize fight, and Saturday’s third round at the National Finals Rodeo was a 15-round bout. It was Cole Franks’ first foray in the NFR’s “Eliminator Pen,” and he matched up just fine. “It’s really nerve-wracking,” said Franks, 20, an NFR newcomer from Clarendon, Texas. “When I was waiting on the draw last night, I was getting really anxious and couldn’t sit still.” By the time he nodded his head, Franks was ready. He rode Four Star Rodeo’s Deep Springs for 85 points to finish sixth in the round, worth $4,352. He has pushed his NFR earnings to $28,071. “I got really lucky that I drew one I had been on before, which worked out the jitters since I knew what to expect more,” he said. “I hadn’t been on any of these other horses before.” This was the first night the toughest-to-ride horses in the world are scheduled to be out at this year’s NFR. They will return next Thursday for the eighth round, and they definitely earned their moniker by being true eliminators. High scores were hard to come by, and a couple of cowboys hit the Thomas & Mack Center dirt hard after being bucked off. Franks had ridden Deep Springs for 82 points in Pendleton, Oregon, this past September, and that allowed him a bit more confidence when it came to trying to spur the strong animal. “It was definitely a dog fight both times I had him,” Franks said. “he’s real strong and pumps his head, and the rigging drops out of there. He’s just real big and strong.” The bareback riders get a bit of a break heading into the next two nights. Sunday’s fourth round will feature the “Hopper Pen” of bucking horses, the animals that are supposed to be the easiest to ride. Monday’s fifth round will expose the “TV Pen,” which will showcase the most electric bucking horses in bareback riding. “I’m going to have to let it all hang out, because it’s going to be a spurring contest,” he said, referring to the cowboys spurring from the horse’s neck back to the rigging in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion. “Really the only way you’re going to get rewarded (Sunday) night is if you make the perfect ride.” Of course, as one of the top 15 bareback riders in ProRodeo, he knew it was going to be a battle over 10 December nights to decide this year’s world championship. “It’s awesome to be part of this field,” Franks said. Everyone here makes you bring your best, too. Everybody here wants you to win just as badly as you want to win, and they’re going to push you to try and beat them.”

LAS VEGAS – Instead of feeling frustrated that he’d finished just out of the money in the first two nights of the National Finals Rodeo, Richmond Champion relaxed and realized he was still in a good position. He also knew the random draw would work in his favor through the 10 rounds of ProRodeo’s grand championship, so he bided his time and enjoyed being on the biggest stage in the sport. His time came during Saturday night’s third go-round on the toughest-to-ride horses in bareback riding. Champion rode Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Mr. Harry for 88.5 points to finish in second place in the “Eliminator Pen,” pocketing $21,336 in the process. “When you pride yourself on being a rank-horse rider and can do it on the biggest stage, it just solidifies things,” said Champion, 28, of Stevensville, Montana. “(Sunday) is the hoppers, so if you can do it on the buckers, you can do it on those, too.” The “Hopper Pen” features the easiest horses to ride, and the winner will likely be the cowboy that puts together the best spur stroke, moving the heels of their boots from the horse’s neck to their rigging and back to the neck in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion. “You don’t take those horses any lighter, mindset-wise,” he said. “You definitely have to have the confidence that you can do this, that you’re primed and the chili is hot.” Confidence is the key, and momentum plays a role in that. Sometimes the heat of the moment just continues on for several days, and that’s going to be the key for Champion to battle for the coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle awarded to each year’s world champions. “I think things have been rolling,” Champion said. “I’ve been out here to win the first go-round, and then it goes cold, and I’ve been out here when you don’t win anything, then your turn it on and don’t stop winning checks. It’s just Vegas; I’m not worried, and tonight didn’t change my game plan because I hadn’t won anything. “I love the eliminator pens; just as much as I hat them, I love then and know I thrive in them. When I got the stock list (Friday) night and saw I had Mr. Harry, I was jacked. That is just so solid, and I know that I believe in myself and my style.” It worked, but Champion has been rather successful at the NFR over the years. Now in his seventh qualification, he’s gained enough experience to know what he needs to do during the day to be prepared for battle every evening. “I’ve learned to say no to all the Vegas things that you can get involved in, the things that where you can wear yourself out,” he said. “I cook my own food, I make time to take a nap, and I relax. I’m on the road to the arena by 3:30 (p.m.), and all of the sudden it’s time to put our riggings on our horses.” With his Saturday night special, Champion has pushed his season earnings to $130,282. More importantly, he’s built on his positive mindset to push through the final seven nights of the season. “I’m out here to ride bucking horses, have fun and win money,” Champion said. “As long as I stay focused on that, everything will fall into place.”

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope has a new title; he’s the No. 1 bareback rider in the world standings. He’s not satisfied with it. “That’s where I wanted to be all year,” said Pope, 23, of Waverly, Kansas. “It’s all in God’s plan. I’m here to do my job for 10 days. It’s out of my control. I can’t out-do the draw; if everyone else draws better than me, I can’t control that. If I show up and do my job, it will work out at the end of the week the way it’s supposed to.” He’s earned his spot high on the mountain so far at the National Finals Rodeo. After winning the first two go-rounds, Pope matched moves with Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s San Angelo Sam for 88 points during Saturday’s third go-round to add another $16,111 to his NFR earnings. In just three nights, he’s pocketed $80,105 and pushed his season earnings to $190,129. He owns an $11,000 lead over the No. 2 man, five-time and reigning world champion Kaycee Feild. “That horse felt really strong,” Pope said. “He had a lot of moves in his head. He’s built a lot different than other horses, and my rigging was a bit further back on him than most horses. When he throws his head back, it’s a lot stronger than most horses, and he whacks you in the back a lot stronger than other horses. That’s why he’s really hard to get by.” He not only got by the big paint horse, he posted the third best score of the night. By doing that and by placing in the first three nights, the Kansas cowboy who competed in rodeo at Missouri Valley College has plenty of confidence for the seven nights remaining in the ProRodeo campaign. “I know how to ride bucking horses, so I’m here to do my job,” he said. “All 15 of us ride bucking horses great; that’s why we’re here. If I can just do my job, if I can stay focused on what I’m supposed to do, it’ll be good. “I do this all year long. It’s what I do for a living so I can do what I’m here for.” After winning the second round Friday, Pope took family and his rodeo coach, Ken Mason, on stage at the South Point for the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation. After Pope left the stage, he handed that buckle to Mason as thanks for all the coach has done for the young cowboy. “He deserves that; he’s the best bareback riding coach there is,” Pope said. “It was emotional.  I hope he enjoys it.”

LAS VEGAS – Tim O’Connell was in a bit of a different situation at the National Finals Rodeo; he didn’t earn any money in the opening two rounds of this year’s championship. A three-time world champion who has battled for that coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle for most of his seven previous qualifications to ProRodeo’s grand finale, he knows how things roll. “I don’t have much to complain about,” said O’Connell, 30, of Zwingle, Iowa, now living in Marshall, Missouri. “I’ve been riding good; I haven’t been riding great. I’ve been drawing good; I haven’t been drawing great. “It’s been a slow start. It hasn’t been bad, but it’s been a slow one.” Things changed a bit during Saturday’s third go-round when he rode Frontier Rodeo’s Ace of Spaces for 85.5 points to finish fifth on the night, pocketing $6,967. It may be just the spark to get his championship engine revving. He pushed his season earnings to $173,023. He’s fourth in the bareback riding standings and has seven more nights to really cash in. “I think I’ve been trying to do a little bit too much and take matters into my own hands instead of just letting things happen, so I’m a little tight, and I take responsibility for that,” he said. “I was a little more freed up (Saturday), and I made a rigging change to something different, and it worked better.” The third round featured the “Eliminator Pen,” the toughest-to-ride bareback horses at the NFR, and Ace of Spades proved to be perfect for the night. “I didn’t now much about her, other than she’s been around forever and might be older than I am,” O’Connell said with a laugh. “She’s a small, black horse and bucked a lot harder than what I gave her credit for. She was good and fired out of there. I could have handled her better off the wall, but I was pretty happy overall with the performance. “It’s also my first check of the week, so I’m pretty happy about it. I’ve just been quiet, unfortunately. I’d rather be a lot louder out here than I am, but the well finally opened up and it’s time to drink. There are still seven rounds to this thing.” While the first couple of rounds were slow, it’s starting to heat up. The days go by faster in the Nevada desert over the next week of competition, and O’Connell hopes to be plugging right into the electricity that builds in Las Vegas. “This is honestly where the finals start flying by,” he said. “You get past the first eliminator pen, then it starts over and the fun ones come back around. It starts back over, and the next thing you know is it’s gone.” Added to that was the fact that Saturday’s ride marked just the seventh time he’s been on a bucking horse since August. He suffered an injury that sidelined him for the final two months of the regular season, and he didn’t return to action until mid-November. While some of the top 15 bareback riders are sore after three rounds of riding, he is as strong as ever. “I went to sports medicine to do some maintenance, but other than that, I feel pretty dang good,” O’Connell said. “I had a four-month break. I feel like I’m still getting back into form and, unfortunately, it’s at the finals. We’re coming back now.”

LAS VEGAS – With age comes wisdom. Even at age 25, Clayton Biglow is mature beyond his years. He proved it Friday night, riding Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Meat Sweats for 85 points to finish in a tie for fourth place in the second round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was sweet justice after suffering a low score on opening night to find himself at the pay window worth $9,144. “When things don’t go your way in Round 1, you realize you’ve got nine more rounds,” said Biglow, the 2019 world champion bareback rider from Clements, California. “You’ve just got to forget about it. If you get so down on yourself, it’s going to be a long week.” With experience comes wisdom. Biglow has learned a great deal over time. This is his sixth straight NFR, and he’s seen the highs and lows that come with competing in a humbling sport. Two Decembers ago, he left Las Vegas with nearly $250,000 earned in just 10 days and a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Last year in Arlington, Texas, he won the fifth round and placed just three other nights. “Last year taught me a lot,” he said. “You just learn to keep going at them like nothing’s going wrong.” He did that on Meat Sweats, which comes from the Bridwell outfit based in Red Bluff, California. “I know a lot about that horse,” said Biglow, who sits No. 4 in the world standings with eight nights remaining in the ProRodeo campaign. “I’ve seen him a whole lot, but I’ve never been on him. He’s pretty hard to ride and has a lot of direction changes. He was dang sure a good one to have in any pen. He’s pretty “It felt good. It wasn’t like I had fun on him, but it felt good to be 85 and get a check.” It was also a good warm-up for Saturday night’s “Eliminator Pen,” which features the toughest-to-ride broncs in bareback riding. Biglow is matched up with Showstopper, a big, bay gelding from Frontier Rodeo. The two matched up for 90 points to win Round 8 of the 2019 NFR. It will be the fourth time the two titans have been matched together in Biglow’s career. “I plan to repeat that last time when we won the round together,” he said. “This is the pen of bucking horses that separates the boys from the men.” A season ago, the NFR moved to Texas because of the pandemic restrictions. It’s return to Las Vegas has been heralded by many in rodeo, including the young California cowboy. “It feels great to be back,” Biglow said. “Being in Texas was awesome and they treated us great, but it’s pretty hard to beat Vegas. Every contestant that’s here today has probably grown up watching the NFR at the Thomas & Mack. “It feels good to be back to our roots.”

LAS VEGAS – It took all of 16 seconds, but Jess Pope has earned a small fortune in Las Vegas. It wasn’t at the blackjack table, no was it rolling craps. He did it the hard way by riding bucking horses at the National Finals Rodeo, and doing it better than every other bareback rider competing at ProRodeo’s grand finale. On Friday night, he won his second straight go-round with an 89.5-point ride on Big Stone Rodeo’s Fired Up. Along with his $10,000 bonus for qualifying, he has pocketed $63,994 in short order. He has moved four spots to No. 2 in the bareback riding world standings, trailing the leader, Texan Tilden Hooper, by just $2,300 with eight nights left in the ProRodeo season. “It’s exciting to be in Vegas,” said Pope, 23, of Waverly, Kansas. “I’ve dreamed about it my whole life. I’m ready to keep it rolling. I like Vegas. A lot of electricity really gets me pumped up to do my job, and I’m enjoying it.” He should. He won the average title a year ago by having the best cumulative score through 10 nights of competition. But that was in Arlington, Texas, the one-time home of the NFR because of the pandemic. It’s a different atmosphere in the City of Lights, and it’s got the young cowboy believing. Walking into the Thomas & Mack Center, the championship’s home since 1985, is something special for Pope, who competed in intercollegiate rodeo at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. “It’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” he said. “This is what you’ve dreamed of since you were a little kid to ride in the Thomas & Mack. When you walk down the tunnel and see all those bucking horses standing down the alley, you get pretty excited. Then you’re standing on the back of the chutes, and they run the NFR flags in, there’s not another experience like it.” Still, he knows what he needs to do to handle business. He makes each day work toward each night, maintaining a simple approach so things go smoothly once he arrives on campus. It helps, of course, that the animal with which he’s drawn is having a good night, too, since the horse accounts for half the score based on a 100-point scale. “I saw that horse one time at Walla Walla (Washington) with Caleb Bennett this year, and I remember leaving there thinking, ‘Oh, my golly, that thing bucked.’ When I saw (the horse’s) name by my name, I was pretty excited. I knew he was going to be one of the stronger ones in the pen. “I just hope to keep the drawing and keep rolling, because it’s working out.” Yes, it is.

LAS VEGAS – Garrett Shadbolt knew he wanted to start his first National Finals Rodeo with a bang. Instead, his first-round ride was more of a thud. Refocused and re-energized, Shadbolt turned things around in a big way Friday night, riding Calgary Stampede’s Yippee Kibitz for 88 points to finish as the runner-up in the second round. “Yesterday didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” said Shadbolt, 25, of Merriman, Nebraska. “I don’t know if it was first-round jitters or what, but I was being really aggressive and was coming with everything I had. That horse threw a dirty move at me, and I spurred over her neck for two jumps. “Today I figured I needed to be a little more cut and dried, a little more precise and a little less wild gap and slap. The horse I got on today was a little stronger, and it worked out for me.” It also helped that his mind was a bit more organized when he nodded his head for his second-round ride. “Believe it or not, it’s a little easy for the NFR to get in your head when you’re on the back of the chutes,” he said with a smile, acknowledging that the atmosphere inside the Thomas & Mack has a special reverberation among those playing at ProRodeo’s grand championship. “There’s a lot of activity going on, and you’re trying to get on a bucking horse, and you’re like, ‘Holy smokes, are we ever going to ride?’ “I’m really happy to make a good ride, and I feel like I’ve got my game plan figured out and my head on straight. I’m really looking forward to the next eight rounds.” That makes for the final eight nights of the ProRodeo season and his last eight chances to cash in as much as possible. By finishing second on Friday, he collected $21,336 and has pushed his season earnings to $127,349; he has moved up two spots to eighth in the world standings. Saturday’s third round will feature the most difficult to ride horses in bareback riding, dubbed the “eliminator pen.” That doesn’t matter to the cowboy from the Nebraska Sandhills, though. “They’re all buckers here, and you can bet anything I’m getting on is going to buck its hardest because I’m about the lightest guy who’s going to get strapped on them,” Shadbolt said. “I’m not worried about it.  I’m just going to show up here and put the iron to whatever I get on.” He’s talking about the spur stroke. Each cowboy is scored based on how well they spur from the horse’s neck back to the rigging in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion. When each night is over, he’ll return to the house he’s rented for the two weeks he’s in the Nevada desert and spend it with his wife, Katie, nearly 2-year-old son and 10-day-old baby girl. “I get to spend a lot of time with the, and that tickles me, because I’m not working every day like I would when I’m at home,” he said. “I just have to focus on riding one really good bucking horse a day, and the rest of the time I get to spend with my family.”

LAS VEGAS – A mad scramble in September set up something big for team roping header Coleman Proctor. As the summer rolled into early autumn, Proctor found himself on the outside looking in. He was doing everything possible to secure his sixth qualification to the National Finals Rodeo. He needed to finish the regular season among the top 15 in the heading world standings to do so, and he wasn’t there yet. By the time the dust settled, he had secured his spot by earning $72,755. He sat 14th in the all-important standings and was Sin City bound again with his wife, Stephanie, and their daughters, Stella, 4, and Caymbree, 2. There’s a bit of magic dusts that falls around the Nevada desert, and Proctor found it Friday night. He and his partner, Logan Medlin of Tatum, New Mexico, stopped the clock in 4.2 seconds to finish as the runners-up to the round winners, pocketing $21,336 each for doing so. “We made the same run we’ve been making all year,” said Proctor, 36, of Pryor, Oklahoma. “I came to Vegas this year really excited about us making our runs here.  Our run is really smooth, and I think our timing and our rhythm may be the best I’ve had with a partner I’ve had here. “It’s always frustrating when you bobble like I did in the first round, but better for that to happen in the first round than the last round.” In his first shot, Proctor’s loop got caught up in the steer’s legs, and he and Medlin were saddled with a no-time. In looking at things positively, he even found a way to celebrate the mishap. “I was really excited for that first round, then chaos hit,” he said. “I headed him, I heeled him, and I made the whistle; who hasn’t triple-crowned on the first night at the NFR? “A lot of people have made a lot of money on nine steers,” he said, referring to the fact that teams have been able to find ways back into the aggregate race even with a no-time because of all the circumstances surrounding the events at the NFR. The good news, as he and Medlin proved Friday, is there is an opportunity every day for 10 straight days while they’re in Las Vegas. “That’s a double-edged sword, though,” Proctor said. “You get to run another steer, but you have to wait until the next night to do it, and if you’ve bobbled, then you’re chomping at the bit to get back to it. The good news is I’m a lot busier in Vegas this year with the pregame show for Purina. I don’t just mope around the room. “There are times you just want to crawl under a rock sometimes; you listen to a lot of naysayers, and you get out of your rhythm and out of your game. By being busy, it makes you get your sucker out of the dirt really fast.” In six qualifications, he’s roping with is fourth heeler in Medlin, who made 2020 NFR roping with Charly Crawford. “He called me last year, and we talked for quite a while about everything,” Proctor said. “I’ve watched Logan for a long time. He was a two-time college champ. He has an amazing horse. He’s an awesome heeler and a great guy to be around. “The main thing was getting our timing down, and we’ve been able to do that. I’ve proven to the world that he’s absolutely amazing, because he got here. He was trying to get to his second NFR, but his first NFR in Vegas, and his partner is fighting for a back number. Imagine the amount of pressure on him, but he handled it like a champ.” Now that he’s arrived in the City of Lights and has his daily routine set, all that’s left is putting together a performance to remember and enjoy this special time with his wife and daughters. “I got a little emotional that first grand entry,” Proctor said. “Looking up in the stands and seeing my baby girls, it got to me, and I realized that I don’t know how many more of these I’ll get to enjoy. “We may as well enjoy it now while we can.”

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo is always a testament to great athletes with a strong will. Every cowboy in the mix has earned the right to compete at ProRodeo’s grand championship. Once they arrive in Las Vegas for the most popular 10 nights of the year, there are more challenges that come their way. In bareback riding, that comes with being matched with one of the 100 best bucking horses in the game this year. “It’s as tough as it’s ever been here,” said Tanner Aus, 31, a six-time NFR qualifier from Granite Falls, Minnesota. The guys are ready to ride, and the horses are looking good. “I think I’ve drawn well, and I feel good.  It’s just a matter of putting it together at this point.” Aus earned his first payday of the 2021 NFR by riding Calgary Stampede’s Zig Zag Cherry for 84.5 points to share a sixth-place tie with Louisianan Taylor Broussard. They each pocketed $2,177. It was a good way to start a big week of big-money opportunities in Las Vegas, home to the finale since 1985. A year ago, however, Aus competed at the NFR in Arlington, Texas, which hosted the championship because of pandemic restrictions. This is a great challenge, but that’s not news to Aus, the 2012 intercollegiate bareback riding champion while competing at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. “It’s supposed to be this way,” he said. “I’ll g et to come through the draw here soon that’s going to compliment my style a little more. That’s just the way it is. I’ll get one soon that’s going to come along and help me out.” Aus just missed out on placing on Night 1 after posting an 83-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Two Buck Chuck. He’s been consistent, and he has the fifth-best two-ride cumulative score of 167.5 points. It’s a long 10 days in Sin City, but he knows not to get overhyped about one move or another. “There are some tough young guys coming up that have never been here before, and it’s charged up the locker room,” Aus said. “It’s as fun as it’s ever been. It’s the best place to be this time of year. “The horse I got on (Friday) was a big, strong Calgary horse, and our (Saturday) pen is really tough with the (eliminator) pen of horses. I’m healthy leading into tomorrow night. I’m ready to go.”

LAS VEGAS – The pressure that Riley Duvall usually feels when he arrives at the National Finals Rodeo disappeared. Heck, it may have been gone before he even arrived. His pressure-packed runs in Salinas, California, on the final weekend of the ProRodeo season in August gave him free reign when it came time to compete inside the Thomas & Mack Center. It’s proving to be rather valuable. After sharing the opening-round win, Duvall stopped the clock in 3.6 seconds Friday night to finish third in the second round of the National Finals Rodeo, earning an additional $16,111. He’s pushed his NFR earnings to $50,278 and his season earnings to nearly $117,000. Oh, and he’s moved up from 13th to fourth in the world standings in just two days’ work. “I usually don’t have this much until by the ninth round, so we’re a little bit ahead of schedule,” he said with a laugh. “It’s awesome. “I (placed) third in the average my second NFR (in 2018), was second in the average in 2019, and I won a couple rounds my first year. Hopefully this year we can put both those factors together and get round and average money.” He’s doing pretty well so far. Only Dirk Tavenner of Rigby, Idaho, has had a better finals in bulldogging; he and Duvall split the first round, then Tavenner posted the fastest run of Friday’s second round. What’s the difference this year than Duvall’s previous three trips to the City of Lights? I’m finally getting a good start,” he said. “The horses are working great, and I’m just going at it every night with almost a reckless abandonment. I’m just trying to run at the barrier, and if I break it, oh well.” His trip to the Nevada desert almost wasn’t. He had to make a huge rally late in the season, taking advantage of the ProRodeo Tour Finale in Salinas to secure his place among the top 15 in the world standings in order to compete at the NFR. His focused approach of going all out has worked so far, and it’s paid off for others in the past. “I’d like to have $100,000 and then some won before the 10th round starts, then who cares what happens,” Duvall said. “You want to win everything, but if you’ve got $100,000 won, obviously there’s a lot less pressure.” It doesn’t hurt that the random draw has matched him up with steers. “These first two pens of steers fit my style,” he said. “This is a fast set-up tis year. In years past, 4.4 (seconds) or 4.5 would place. I’m from Oklahoma, and we call it ‘rat slopping,’ and we like ‘rat slopping’ a little better.” Any varmint will do, it seems.

LAS VEGAS – Riley Duvall has experienced the highs and lows that come with competing at ProRodeo’s grand finale. He had all the emotions that come with a fantastic start at the 2021 National Finals Rodeo, knocking down his first steer in 3.7 seconds to share the first-round victory with Idahoan Dirk Tavenner on Thursday night. “It’s crazy, because there’s so much pressure off now, and I don’t know why,” said Duvall, 29, of Checotah, Oklahoma. “I’ve always wanted to win money right off the bat and have a fun week. This year, I snuck in toward the end (of the season) and didn’t think I was going to be here. “I told my wife and myself that I’m having fun every night win, lose or draw. You never know how many times you’ll come back here, so I’m not taking anything for granted. Every steer I run, I’m excited and am just going to go at it. Hopefully it works like it did tonight.” Duvall, who used some late-game heroics by winning the California Rodeo Salinas on the final weekend of the regular season, earned his fourth NFR qualification this season. He is the fifth member and third generation of his family to have earned trips to the world championship, following in the footsteps of his great uncle Roy Duvall, cousin Tom Duvall, father Sam Duvall and uncle Spud Duvall. Even before he earned his first NFR bid, Riley Duvall had made a name for himself in steer wrestling. He hazed for a number of cowboys over the years, including four men who performed at the 2013 NFR. Having been around the game all his life, he knows what to look for when it comes to good bulldogging steers. “I watched that steer at Hunter (Cure’s) house three times when we picked them, and I liked him from the start,” he said. “The one I really wanted to draw got taken out today because he was sore, but it still worked out.” Yes, it did. With his $10,000 qualifying bonus, he has pocketed $34,167 in Las Vegas and pushed his season earnings to $100,887. He has moved up from 13th to fifth in the world standings in one fell swoop. Riding Dr. Pepper, a horse owned by Trever and Cierra Nelson that he rode much of the season, Duvall leans on the assistance of his longtime friend, traveling partner and hazer, Shane Frey, and Kirk, the hazing horse owned by fellow bulldogger Matt Reeves. “We practiced all fall with my hazing horse, and his foot got bruised really bad and he wasn’t going to work,” said Duvall, who hadn’t won in Las Vegas since the ninth round of the 2016 NFR. “Matt called and offered his horse and said he’d let Shane haze. Shane’s stuck with me for nine years now, and I didn’t want to cut Shane. I’m thankful Matt and his wife let it happen. Trever and Cierra’s horse is awesome. It should be a fun week. I had never had over $20,000 won before the sixth round, so I’m pumped.”

LAS VEGAS – Jess Pope started the 2021 National Finals Rodeo the same way he closed out the championship a year ago: No. 1. Pope, the 2020 NFR average champion for having the best 10-round cumulative score, rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Crawler for 90.5 points to win the first go-round of this year’s finale. It was a great way to kick start his second trip to the NFR, his first in its natural home of Las Vegas. “It was a great horse I got on, which is exactly what I planned when I left the house, to come do that right here and win the first round,” said Pope, 23, of Waverly, Kansas. It worked out. She fit my style and had a lot of up and down. I really enjoyed it, and I’m ready for the next nine days.” He’d better be. He entered the NFR fifth in the world standings. He also earned a $10,000 for qualifying for this year’s championship and has pocketed $36,997 in just one day of work. He has moved up one s pot to fifth in the world standings with $147,021. Bareback riders selected top 100 horses in the game to be in Las Vegas, so he will be matched with some of the greatest bucking horses over the next nine night. “This is our super bowl,” he said. “This is where we make our money. I’m going to take it one horse at a time. We get on these horses all year long. My goal is to try to win every night. I’m going to look at each one as the same and see where everything ends on the 10th night.” The horse has a great history. Richmond Champion was 91.5 to win the opening round in 2019, the last time the NFR took place in Las Vegas before its one-year, COVID-induced hiatus to Arlington, Texas. “I knew I had a good shot to win,” Pope said “I watched two videos of him in the hotel room before I came over here. Everybody was telling me how nervous the rookies are supposed to be, but it’s just another rodeo. It pays more and it’s the finals, but my job is to ride bucking horses, and that’s what I showed up to do, and I’m going to continue to do that.” During his first qualification, Pope competed inside Globe Life Field, which seated more than 40,000 people but was limited to just 20,000 because of the pandemic restrictions. There’s definitely a different feel inside legendary Thomas & Mack Center. “To win a round here was so electrifying. Texas was so big, and the fans were far away, and you don’t feel the electricity that you do here,” he said. “It benefits me and is going to work out for me.” And winning on his opening night in Sin City? “It’s a big deal,” Pope said. “I’m excited to be here.”

LAS VEGAS – Throughout his first regular season in ProRodeo, Cole Franks looked like anything but a bareback riding rookie. He rode well, and did it often, and he pulled off some big wins along the way. He won the bareback riding and all-around national titles at the College National Finals Rodeo in June, helping his Clarendon (Texas) College to the men’s team title. He finished the 2021 regular season 12th in the world standings and the bareback riding Rookie of the Year. “I was very nervous when I realized I was gunner (first out), and I knew it was either going to be really good or not good at all,” said Franks, who rode Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Midnight Kid for 87 points to finish in a tie for third place in the first round of this year’s NFR. “Everybody knows I’m a little slow in the chute, and I was really thinking about that. “Then I realized I was gunner at San Angelo (Texas): First performance, first guy out in the long round, so I was like, ‘Maybe that’s where I need to be.’ I changed my mindset to start off and got some of the money.” Just like he did when he won the first round in west Texas, Franks found his way to the pay window. He pocketed $13,716 and moved up one spot to 11th in the world standings. But winning is nothing new to Franks, whose father, Bret, was a three-time qualifier in saddle bronc riding and his son’s coach through his first two years of college. Cole Franks is now a junior at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. While his father was an NFR veteran, the younger Franks looked like one in his first ride inside the famous Priefert gates wrapped around the arena that hosts ProRodeo’s grand championship. Only the top 15 contestants in each event at the end of the regular season advance to the NFR, which is a pressure-packed situation no matter how many times a cowboy has been in Las Vegas. Add into the fact that Franks is still in college, and it’s a small wonder he’s in position to make some big-time money over 10 days in the Nevada desert. “It was surreal when I got here the other day,” Franks said. “There are so many emotions that I don’t even know what I was feeling. It was like a big boom.  I don’t even know what emotion it was. It was just incredible.” It was also incredible that he was matched with a horse that fit his style pretty well in Midnight Kid. “I’ve seen that horse a few times, and from the very first time I saw him, I knew I wanted to put my riggin’ on that thing,” he said. “There’s no better place than to do it than here.” He may be new to the City of Lights, but he looks pretty comfortable already. He’s pushed his season earnings to $101,110. “Yeah, I like it here,” Franks said.

LAS VEGAS – Ryan Jarrett is glad to be back in Las Vegas. He won his first world championship in his first National Finals Rodeo qualification here in 2005. Five years later, he married his wife, Shy-Anne, in the City of Lights. After a one-year hiatus because of COVID restrictions, he returned in fine fashion, roping and tying his calf in 8.3 seconds to finish third in the opening round of the 2021 NFR. “I love it,” said Jarrett, 37, who pocketed $16,111 and pushed his season earnings to $118,044; he has moved up four spots to eighth in the tie-down roping world standings. “Winning something the first night lets off a lot of pressure. To win something on the first nod is just super exciting, especially with my wife and daughter here to see it.” Their daughter, Jurnee, is just a couple months shy of her third birthday, and she’s at an age to enjoy all the goings-on in Las Vegas. The sounds of slot machines go off in about every casino across this city of 635,000 people, but it’s also ringing a little bit in the Jarrett household after a brilliant kick start to his 14th NFR qualification. “I was pretty excited to get started,” he said. “I liked my calf going into the night and riding a different horse, I have a lot of confidence. It feels good to be rodeoing in Vegas.” He’s riding Poppy, a bay mare owned by Cody McCartney and Bailey and Tia Moore. The animal has a strong breeding line, which is important when it comes to performance horses of this caliber. “My wife and I used to own one of her half-sisters a few years ago,” said Jarrett, the 2005 all-around world titlist originally from Summerville, Georgia, but now living in Comanche, Oklahoma. “I showed this horse’s dad some at the AQHA show. “Cimarron Boardman put this horse on the map, and I rode her at the (Prairie) Circuit Finals and said, ‘I’ve got to have some of that.’ ” It continues to work in his favor. After going a few rounds without cashing in a year ago in Arlington, Texas, it was vital for Jarrett to kick off his week and a half in Las Vegas on a positive note. He’s got great confidence heading into the final nine nights of the 2021 ProRodeo campaign. “This is how you lay it out, and you just want to get on that roll and see where it takes you,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go this way, but you for sure appreciate it when it does.”