Pope wins 2nd straight round
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 […]
Shadbolt secures first NFR check
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 […]
Proctor rolling with NFR punches
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 […]
Aus off and running at NFR
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 […]
Duvall in the groove in Vegas
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 […]
Duvall starts NFR with a big win
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 […]
Pope wins first go-round at NFR
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. […]
Franks finds comfort zone at NFR
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 […]
Jarrett off to a good start at NFR
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, […]
Biglow charged, ready for NFR
CLEMENTS, Calif. – Clayton Biglow has never been afraid to dream big. That’s why he made a big statement that he wanted to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo at least 10 times in his career. This year marks No. 6. Still a youngster at age 25, he’s more than halfway to his goal, and […]
Jarrett eager to return to Vegas
COMANCHE, Okla. – When Ryan Jarrett was learning how to rope calves as a youngster, he got into the habit of riding several horses in a day. It continues to pay off for him, and he will return to the National Finals Rodeo for the 13th time in a magnificent career. He finished the 2021 […]
Steve Miller is retiring
Montana Silversmiths executive to spend time with his other passions COLUMBUS, Mont. – Steve Miller’s life had been set up for him as a youngster. He was the fourth generation born into a Montana logging family, but fate had another plan. With no college degree, he set out a path of hard work and a […]
Casper is ready to ride in Vegas
MIAMI, Texas – There is more than one reason for a ProRodeo cowboy to be consistent in his performances from one rodeo to another. Riding well and doing so on a daily basis not only helps with self-confidence, but it also helps keep the cowboy’s mind in the right place. Take saddle bronc Wyatt Casper, […]
Devers ready to make his NFR run
PERRYTON, Texas – There was a time not long ago that everyone in the Texas Panhandle expected to see Marty Devers at the National Finals Rodeo. He’s a cowboy, and a couple of decades ago, he was just that good. He was a national champion bulldogger in high school, then parlayed that into two national […]
O’Connell focused on gold at NFR
ZWINGLE, Iowa – The phrase “working my tail off” has become synonymous with diligence. To that end, Tim O’Connell could be a poster boy for any package of words about a strong work ethic. He took it to a new level in 2021, breaking his tailbone and having his coccyx surgically removed in order to […]
Larsen secures 7th straight NFR
INGLIS, Manitoba – Admittedly, Orin Larsen is his own biggest critic. That’s a good thing. He finished the 2021 regular season with $97,844 and is ninth in the world standings. He has earned his seventh consecutive qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand championship set for Dec. 2-11 in Las Vegas. He’s still […]
Pope keeps goals in sight for NFR
WAVERLY, Kan. – Jess Pope is an old-school cowboy living in a society driven by technology and gadgets to make everyday life a little better. He’s a throwback. He doesn’t need an iPhone on a daily basis. A good day for him would be in the saddle in the rolling Flinthills near his Kansas home, […]
Champion geared for 2021 NFR
STEVENSVILLE, Mont. – A nerve injury that forced him out of the final round of the National Finals Rodeo was not how Richmond Champion wanted to end his 2020 season. Alas, it’s the reality he faced and the memories he carried over into this season, one that saw him more than meet his expectations and […]
Aus is back in hunt for world title
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – Rae Ann Aus knew a long time ago she and her husband were raising a rodeo cowboy. John Aus rode bareback horses 30 years ago, and he was pretty good at it. He won the Great Lakes Circuit in 1988, and he found some key success in his part of the […]
Magic act helps Duvall make NFR
CHECOTAH, Okla. – Riley Duvall had spent an entire year chasing another shot at the coveted world championship. He had traveled tens of thousands of miles, ridden horses in the cold and the rain and the wind. He’d been sleep-deprived and eaten truck-stop food just to have a little something in his belly to sustain […]
Franks ready for the NFR battle
CLARENDON, Texas – It was the fall of 2020 when Cole Franks made a couple of goals for himself. He was a sophomore at Clarendon College in his hometown, competing on the rodeo team for his father, Bret Franks, the program’s coach. He also had just purchased his card, allowing him to be a full-fledged […]
Shadbolt ready to live NFR dreams
MERRIMAN, Neb. – Life in the Nebraska Sandhills can be a bit rugged. There’s always work to be done, cattle to move, calves that are just coming into this world and need a little help. The rolling prairie is the perfect home for ranchers and the operations they run. Garrett Shadbolt is the fifth generation […]
Party to honor college’s NFR qualifiers
CLARENDON, Texas – The Clarendon College rodeo team has been gaining some incredible momentum over the last few years, and it has only gotten better in 2021. The proof is in the pudding with three former Bulldog cowboys having earned qualifications to the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale that features the top 15 […]
Hanchey trades diamond for gold
Champion roper switched from baseball to rodeo and has reaped rewards Shane Hanchey will be the first to say that rodeo wasn’t his sport of choice. “Baseball was my first love,” said Hanchey, 32, originally from Sulphur, Louisiana, now living in Carmine, Texas, northwest of Houston. “I thought I was going to play baseball for […]