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Bareback riding: 1. Tim O’Connell, 90 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix Ain’t No Angel, $26,231; 2. (tie) Richmond Champion and Kaycee Feild, 87.5, $18,193 each; 4. Orin Larsen and Clayton Biglow, 86.5, $8,885 each; 6. Wyatt Denny, 85.5, $4,231. Steer wrestling: 1. Ty Erickson, 3.5 seconds, $26,231; 2. Blake Mindemann, 3.7, $20,731; 3. Jacob Talley, 4.0, $15,654; 4. (tie) Scott Guenthner and Tyler Pearson, 4.1, $8,885 each; 6. Nick Guy, 4.2, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Derrick Begay/Cory Petska, 3.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira and Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 4.1, $18,193 each; 4. Bubba Buckaloo/Chase Tryan, 4.3, $11,000; 5. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 4.9, $6,770; 6. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins III, 9.2, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1.  Zeke Thurston, 90 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Brutus, $26,231; 2. Wade Sundell, 88, $20,731; 3. Isaac Diaz, 85.5, $15,654; 4. Jacobs Crawley, 82.5, $11,000; 5. Rusty Wright, 82, $6,769; 6. CoBurn Bradshaw, 79, $4,231. Tie-down roping: 1. Sterling Smith, 7.4 seconds, $26,231; 2. Matt Shiozawa, 7.7, $20,731; 3. (tie) Tuf Cooper and Jake Pratt, 7.9, $13,327 each; 5. Tyson Durfey, 8.1, $6,770; 6. Ryan Jarrett, 8.7, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 13.40 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Nellie Miller and Taci Bettis, 13.62, $18,193 each; 4. Lisa Lockhart, 13.63, $11,000; 5. Jessica Routier, 13.64, $6,770; 6. Jessie Telford, 13.71, $4,231. Bull riding: 1. Eli Vastbinder, 91.5 points on D&H Cattle’s SweetPro’s Bruiser, $33,565; 2. Chase Dougherty, 87, $28,065; 3. Roscoe Jarboe, 85.5, $22,988; no other qualified rides.

Rutkowski marks big score to advance to Championship Saturday in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS – Weston Rutkowski is a man on a mission, and he took care of business Friday during the Wild Card Round of the Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship. Rutkowski set the tone quickly in his match, taking advantage of an aggressive bull from Manuel Costa for 87 points to win his flight in the wild card. Now, the No. 1 man in the Pendleton Whisky World Standings advances to the final day of the BFO’s championship event at the Tropicana Las Vegas on Saturday. “I just did what I could with the bull that I drew,” Rutkowski said. “You are only as good as the bull that you draw.” While he owns the lead heading into the 2 p.m. showdown, there are four other men who can catch him for the world championship: Beau Schueth, Toby Inman, Ross Hill and newcomer Colt Oder, the latter of whom came up through the ranks this year after being part of the BFO Development Camps. Now it’s a battle of the best in the business to see who takes home the title belt. It’s going to come down to the final two bulls of the 2018 season to who wins the $50,000 bonus for claiming the BFO world title, along with the $25,000 Vegas Bonus. Rutkowski is the only world champion in Bullfighters’ Only history, having earned the belt in 2016 and 2017. But in a true battle of man vs. beast, anything can happen. In fact, it has in Las Vegas. Rutkowski suffered three facial fractures during the Roughy Cup on Dec. 6, then battled through two rounds of the Flexfit Preliminary Rounds. Though he didn’t advance directly to Championship Saturday, he made sure to take care of things during the Wild Card Round, where just three men advance to be part of the nine-man field. He’s joined by fellow veteran Toby Inman and young gun Riley McKettrick. They will be in the mix with other newcomers Oder, Chance Moorman, Andres Gonzalez and Tucker Lane McWilliams. In addition to Rutkowski and Inman, two other BFO pioneers, Beau Schueth and Ross Hill, will be part of the most exciting day in freestyle history. Six months ago, Florida’s McKettrick was graduating high school. On Friday, he graduated from the Wild Card Round. It sets up for a fantastic finish to a rough-and-tumble 10 days of freestyle bullfighting in the City of Lights. “It was a pretty meaningful fight for me so that I can move on,” said McKettrick, 18, who scored 85.5 points in the third round of the wild card to advance to Championship Saturday. “I’ve been ready to get back to it. I wasn’t happy with myself earlier in the week, so I wanted to redeem myself today. I’m glad I was able to do it.” His bullfight on Friday has been the perfect way to build on a career he hopes to have in the BFO. “Today’s fight boosted my confidence way back up,” said McKettrick, 18. “It gave me the ability to get my mind back up, too. I’m here for a reason, and I’m here to bring it. “Being in the BFO is a big deal for me. I’ve a lot of people back home tell me I probably wasn’t going to make it this far. To prove them wrong is huge for me. To be up here with the top guys like Ross Hill, Beau Schueth, Toby Inman and Weston Rutkowski, is great. I feel like I have a long future in this sport.” It’s set up like many legendary prize fights that Vegas has seen before, and fans who pack into the BFO tent at the Tropicana will be on hand for some glorious action. “I expect a lot of people trying big moves that they’ve been saving this week,” McKettrick said. “You’re going to see some great bullfighting and some good wrecks. “It’s been cool to watch the BFO all season long. It’s great to be part of that, and it’s going to be really cool to have a front-row seat.”

LAS VEGAS – Two-time reigning world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell has placed just three times at this year’s National Finals Rodeo, but he made the most of those opportunities. He won Friday’s ninth go-round, making it his second top check of the 10-day championship so far, and returned to the No. 1 position in the world standings. That $26,231 payout provided him with a $13,000 advantage heading into Saturday’s final night of the 2018 ProRodeo season. “I wouldn’t say it’s been a rough week, but it has been a testing week; frustrating to say the least,” said O’Connell, 27, of Zwingle, Iowa. “It has been great. I can’t sit here and say that I’m upset or that my NFR has been horrible, because I’m in the race to win the average again; I’m in the race to win the world again. “It’s just been an atypical NFR.” He’s right. A year ago, he placed seven times and won $169,500 in Las Vegas. He won the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle by more than $100,000. This year, though, he relinquished the lead to the No. 2 man, Utahan Caleb Bennett, before grabbing it again Friday night. He’s $66,128 in nine nights of ProRodeo’s Super Bowl. “Money-wise, this is worse than my first NFR until tonight,” O’Connell said. “We just kept praying, kept positive, keeping negativity out and just keep spurring bucking horses.” Each night things didn’t go well, they just prayed more. “I have this peace about this rodeo; I have this peace about what I have been doing,” he said. “I have everybody in my corner. The people I’m with at home are out here. The people I look to for advice have been calling. We just keep negativity out. I’m not going to lie to you and say it’s been all rainbows around here, that I haven’t been negative, that I haven’t been down in the dumps. “They keep me up. My wife has just been amazing for keeping me positive, for keeping me ready to roll every night. I’m not going to say it’s been so much fun to be out here at the National Finals, but it is. At the end of the day, I love my job, I love this sport, I love everything about it.” On Friday night, he matched moves with Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix Ain’t No Angel for 90 points and proved why he’s in the hunt for his third straight world title. “I’ve seen that horse a lot, and by a lot, I mean I have watched all eight of his trips this year, and they were all in great big outdoor pens,” O’Connell said. “It’s different when you bring a horse into the lights, into the Thomas & Mack, into an arena that is blowing bombs off. “He did exactly what I wanted him to.” With one more night remaining in the 2018 season, O’Connell is on the verge of another gold buckle. He is second in the average with 762.5 cumulative points on nine rides. Should he stay in that position at the close of the 10th round, he will add a $54,577 bonus to his earnings. That alone might be enough to earn him the title he has fought for though the campaign, but he would prefer to add in another round win to that.

LAS VEGAS – Just like an old motorcycle, Bridwell Rodeo’s Ted needed a little help getting started. The gelding likes to take a bit of a run before he starts bucking, so bareback rider Orin Larsen had to find a way to get the horse in motion as soon as possible. “Caleb (Bennett) had some success on him earlier this year, and he said he was a fun little horse and that you need to kickstart him a little to get him to break,” said Larsen of Inglis, Manitoba. “After that, he said, ‘You’re going to get some points on him.’ ” That’s exactly what happened Friday night during the ninth night of the National Finals Rodeo. Larsen and Ted matched moves across the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 86.5 points. That helped Larsen to finish in a tie for fourth place. It marked the fifth time at this year’s finale that he has earned a paycheck, adding $8,885 on Friday night. He has pocketed $85,731 in Las Vegas. Most important, he has one more night to add some Nevada cash. “Rodeo and Las Vegas is a funny thing,” said Larsen, who lives in Gering, Neb., with his wife. “You don’t know what is going to happen until the last horse goes. I’m excited to see what the draw is for (Saturday). I’m pretty confident.” He should be. The 10th round of the NFR features the most electric horses in bareback riding. They get high in the air and show off themselves, allowing the cowboys to show off, too. Thursday’s horses were called hoppers, meaning they are the easiest to ride, and they come a night after the “eliminator” pen of horses perform. “You could definitely tell in the locker room, a night-and-day difference,” he said. “(Thursday) it was quiet, and everyone was in their zone. Today everyone lightened up. The dragons are over, so now we can have fun.” It showed. He is third in the world standings with $216,386. “I’m pretty fortunate to make this kind of money doing what I love to do,” Larsen said. “I’m pretty fortunate, pretty blessed to do what I do.” He’s pretty good at it, too.

LAS VEGAS – Blake Mindemann believes in karma, and it paid off Friday night. “I’ve had some ups and downs a little bit this week,” said Mindemann, a steer wrestler from Blanchard, Okla., competing at the National Finals Rodeo for the first time. “I thought we were rolling, and then we went back down. Last night we went all the way down to the bottom by hit the bucking chutes.” As his horse veered left Thursday night, Mindemann hung onto the right side of Django as the gray gelding raced to the opposite end of the Thomas & Mack Arena. He hit a metal chute with his left shoulder and head. He was OK, though and returned to action on Friday. “I had a good steer tonight, the one I wanted,” he said. “I actually called him. I thought I deserved him after last night.” He took advantage of the steer and wrestled the animal to the ground in 3.7 seconds to finish as the runner-up in the ninth round. That was worth $20,731 and pushed his NFR paycheck to just shy of $50,000. “I need every penny of it,” he said with a laugh. Mindemann has earned $127,650 this season. He has one more night to earn as much cash as possible. “Django was a little bit off last night. He’s been good, but I didn’t break like I needed to, and he just didn’t feel very good. I just stuck with him because he has been good all week, and he worked well tonight and felt good. He fired. I feel like I rode better and got a better start.” The NFR is a tricky place to play the game. The atmosphere is absolutely electric, and the arena is set up in the dimensions of a hockey rink. That’s considerably different than most of the rodeos cowboys go to throughout the regular season. It was just the third payday he has received since he arrived. He earned money in the second and fourth rounds, but also has two no-times. He hasn’t allowed himself to get discouraged, though, because the opportunities are too great. “When there’s $26,000 up every night, that’s all it is I need,” Mindemann said. “You can’t get negative and down, because even if you only win one round, I’ve never won $26,000 in one spot before, or even $20,000 like I did tonight. It’s hard, but you’ve got to stay positive and keep moving forward and do better the next day.” Now the next day is the final day of the 2018 season. He has one thing on his mind, and that’s hoping he draws the best steer in the pen. “No. 41 is the one I want,” he said of Saturday’s herd of steers from which each cowboy will be matched by random draw. “I just need to hit the barrier, ride good and bulldog good. It’ll all pay off. It’ll all work out. “You have to be on your game, because everyone else here is.”

LAS VEGAS – A year ago, Richmond Champion was please with is performance on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Control Freak. He scored 84 points to earn money in the fourth round of the 2017 National Finals Rodeo. He did a bit better Friday night, riding the athletic bay horse for 87.5 points to finish in a tie for second place in the ninth round of this year’s championship. With that, he pocketed $18,192 and pushed his season total to $82,487. More importantly, he surpassed the $200,000 watermark for the 2018 campaign and sits fifth in the world standings with one night remaining in the season. “She is always better the second time here in Vegas,” said Champion, 25, of The Woodlands, Texas. “I was excited about that. I know she stumbled with Will (Lowe) the first time she was out, but that’s a solid horse. “You might not win the round, but you are going to catch a check if you do your job.” He proved that was true. By finishing among the Top 6 in the round, he earned his fifth paycheck of this year’s NFR. Over his four trips to the Nevada desert, Champion has proven why he’s one of the very best to play this game. Even at his young age, he’s won nearly $2 million riding bucking horses. “I had a really good night,” he said. “This was the first night I really got to sit down and have some fun on one. I was excited, and it was fun. This is a good way to be going into Round 10.” On the final night of this year’s NFR, Champion will be matched with Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Faded Night, an athletic and electric bucking horse with outstanding genetics. The fifth and 10th rounds are dubbed the “TV Pen,” because of the high-scoring style the horses present the cowboys. Friday’s, though, were more of the easy-to-ride horses that allow bareback riders to show off a bit. “Those are the kind you want to get on,” Champion said. “I could get on 11 of those all day long.” He won’t need to. Champion sits fifth in the NFR average race, having ridden nine horses to a cumulative score of 754 points. Should he remain in that position, he will add a $22,846 bonus to his season earnings. He’d like to add a go-round check of $26,231 to that, too, but he’ll take what he can get.

LAS VEGAS – Bareback rider Clayton Biglow is feeling fantastic and relaxed heading into the final night of the National Finals Rodeo, and well he should. Biglow, 23, of Clements, Calif., has placed in six go-rounds so far. His most recent came Friday night, when he rode J Bar J Rodeo’s Painted Bunny for 86.5 points to finish in a tie for fourth place in the ninth round. “I honestly wish we had 10 more horses,” said Biglow, who has earned $80,654 through nine nights of ProRodeo’s grand championship, with a chance to add more during Saturday’s final performance of the 2018 season; he is fourth in the world standings with $215,820. “I feel great. I’m not even sore. You get back into riding shape like you are during the summer. “Your body gets used to getting on, and thank God I haven’t had any injuries while I’m here. I’m feeling 100 percent for (Saturday).” Las Vegas is a different type of rodeo animal. Cowboys who make it to the biggest pay for play in the game have to battle the top horses in the world for 10 December nights. They stay in one place and get into a routine of what happens throughout the day. It’s much different than those three months they are on the road, crisscrossing the country in order to make a living on the backs of bucking horses. “You’re not driving all night, and you are eating good,” he said. “The lights of Vegas are good, too. I don’t mind seeing the lights of Las Vegas every day, especially when we’re here. It’s a new site every day, and it is awesome.” So is the opportunity to make good money and showcase skills in front of 17,000 fans every night and millions who watch on national television. Round-winners pocket $26,231 each night. Even finishing in a tie for fourth, like Biglow did Friday, was worth $8,885. He didn’t know much about Painted Bunny, an athletic paint horse that is relatively new to the rodeo world. “I’ve just seen that horse on video,” said Biglow, competing at the NFR for the third time in his young career. “My traveling partner, Kash Wilson, got on him at San Antonio, and he was pretty good. It’s just 6 years old, so he’s a pretty young horse, but he’s still pretty dang good.” He has another night and another opportunity to add to his Vegas collection. Besides the chance to earn some 10th-round money, he is ninth in the average with a cumulative total of 683.5 points on eight of nine rides – he bucked off in the third round. He is just one point from eighth place, which would receive a bonus of $6,346. No matter what he pockets, this will be his most memorable championship so far. He recorded a new NFR arena record Monday night when he rode two-time Bareback Horse of the Year Craig at Midnight for 93 points to win that round. That same pen of horses is out Saturday, and they are the most electric, high-scoring animals in the game. “There will be 90-point rides (Saturday),” Clements said. “I don’t know how many, but I will guarantee it will take 87 or 88 just to win a check.” That might be the perfect ending to a very strong 2018 NFR.

LAS VEGAS – There isn’t a hotter tie-down roper over the last five rounds of the National Finals Rodeo than Ryan Jarrett. He has placed each of those nights, including at least a share of two round wins, and has pocketed $90,526 heading into Saturday’s final round of the 2018 ProRodeo season. He has increased his season earnings to $168,077 and has moved up to fourth in the world standings. More importantly, he can surpass the $100,000 barrier if he has a strong finish. On Friday night, he roped and tied his calf in 8.7 seconds to finish sixth in the ninth round of this year’s NFR. That’s a fantastic flurry that has proven beneficial to the Comanche, Okla., cowboy, who failed to collect a check on the first four nights of this year’s championship. But a late scramble is nothing new to Jarrett, who was raised on a dairy farm in Summerville, Ga. He earned his spot to compete in Las Vegas by winning the rodeo in Kingman, Ariz., on the final day of the regular season. He entered the NFR No. 15 in the world standings. Having moved up 11 spots is proof of the talent Jarrett possesses, but he had established that early in his career. He won the 2005 all-around title, claiming the most coveted Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in the game by doing well in both steer wrestling and tie-down roping. Since that season, he has focused his attention on roping, and he’s been one of the best in the business ever since. Counting his qualification in bulldogging 13 seasons ago, he has 12 qualifications to ProRodeo’s grand finale. His best finish in tie-down roping came in 2006, when he finished fifth. He has a solid chance to better that this year, and it will come down to Round 10 to decide. Though he’s out of the race for the world title, Jarrett makes his living in the game he loves, and he’s done quite well for himself in a week’s time. That’s a good thing. He and his wife, Shy-Anne, are expecting their first child, a baby girl, in two months. Life is about to change for the Jarretts, but in one of the most positive ways possible. Now, he is riding that wave as he closes out another solid campaign.

Bareback riding: 1. Shane O’Connell, 89 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Black Leg, $26,231; 2. Mason Clements, 88.5, $20,731; 3. Orin Larsen, 87, $15,654; 4. Richmond Champion, 86, $11,000; 5. (tie) Kaycee Feild and Clayton Biglow, 85.5, $5,500 each. Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.7 seconds, $26,231; 2. Bridger Chambers, 3.8, $20,731; 3. Scott Guenthner, 4.0, $15,654; 4. (tie) Jacob Talley and Will Lummus, 4.1, $8,885 each; 6. Curtis Cassidy, 4.2, $4,231. Team roping: 1. Bubba Buckaloo/Chase Tryan, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, Dustin Egusquiza/Kory Koontz and Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 4.1, $15,795 each; 5. Erich Rogers/Clint Summers, 4.2, $6,770; 6. Rhen Richards/Quinn Kesler, 4.6, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Chase Brooks on Dakota Rodeo’s Bartender and Rusty Wright on Rosser Rodeo’s Floodtide, 90 points, $23,481 each; 3. CoBurn Bradshaw, 89, $15,654; 4. Clay Elliot, 87.5, $11,000; 5. Zeke Thurston, 86.5, $6,770; 6. Cort Scheer, 86, $4,231. Tie-down roping: 1. Ryan Jarrett, 7.3 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Tuf Cooper and Tyson Durfey, 7.4, $18,193 each; 4. Shane Hanchey, Caleb Smidt, Jake Pratt and Cory Solomon, 7.6, $5,500 each. Barrel racing: 1. Taci Bettis, 13.57 seconds, $26,231; 2. Carman Pozzobon, 13.70, $20,731; 3. Amberleigh Moore, 13.71, $15,654; 4. Stevi Hillman, 13.72, $11,000; 5. Tammy Fischer, 13.81, $6,769; 6. (tie) Nellie Miller and Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 13.84, $2,115 each. Bull riding: 1. (tie) Joe Frost, on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Lumberjack, and Chase Dougherty, on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Dirty Dan, 89.5 points, $24,327 each; 3. Roscoe Jarboe, 71.5, $16,500; 4. Tyler Bingham, 67.5, $11,846; 5. Eli Vastbinder, 60.5, $7,615; no other qualified rides.

LAS VEGAS – There’s likely nothing Ryan Jarrett hasn’t tried to change his luck at one point or another during his ProRodeo career. “I know I won the other night in pink, but I’ve been wearing black ever since, and I’m sticking with it,” said Jarrett, the 2005 all-around world champion from Comanche, Okla. “I’ve got an old belt on that I wear every day. I hung up the other one with the all-around (gold) buckle and just changed a few things up. “If it ain’t going good, I will change it up and try to get it rolling on my side.” It’s working, or at least it seems that way. After failing to secure a paycheck on the first four nights of the National Finals Rodeo, Jarrett has filled his pockets four straight rounds. He’s won at least a share of two rounds, including the outright win on Wednesday night to win the eighth round. “I like the calf I had,” he said after posting a 7.3-second run to collect another $26,231. “I thought it fit my style. I got me a good start, and he was out there a little bit. I got him off his feet, and it was perfect timing, nothing out of whack. It went really good.” Yes, it did. He entered the NFR a week ago No. 15 in the world standings, securing the last spot in the field on the final day of the regular season. Over the last four nights, he has moved all the way up to fifth in the world standings. He has earned $86,295 in the City of Lights, more than doubling his earnings since arriving. He sits at $163,847 for the season. “I’m looking forward to (Friday) night,” Jarrett said. “The first few rounds weren’t worth you know what, and here we are now. It’s a totally different atmosphere. I couldn’t ask for it to be better.” Jarrett isn’t handling all this on his own. He’s got a fantastic support system, including his wife, Shy-Anne, and his father, DeJuan, who came out from his Summerville, Ga., home to handle some of the labor involved. Part of that is taking care of Jarrett’s horse, Snoopy. “Dad comes over (to the arena) at 6:30 or 7 (a.m.) and feeds, then I come mid-morning to get him out,” he said. “We put some different ointments on his legs and get him out and let him roll a little bit. We just want to make sure everything is good, make sure he feels good and tend to him.” Horse and rider seem to be doing very well, and the proof is in the money.

LAS VEGAS – Jim Boy Hash is a college rodeo coach in western Kansas and is an Oklahoma Panhandle State University graduate. He also raises bucking horses. Orin Larsen is from Inglis, Manitoba, who graduated from the College of Southern Idaho and Panhandle State. He also rides bucking horses. On Thursday night, Hash-raised, Hi Lo ProRodeo-owned Pretty Woman and Larsen matched moves inside the Thomas & Mack Center for 87 points to finish third in the eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. It earned Larsen an additional $15,654. “Caleb Bennett had that horse earlier in the week and didn’t get along with it,” said Larsen, who now lives in Gering, Neb. “It’s just your typical eliminator horse. She dang sure gave me the test. I’m happy to come out on top. “I thought that would be kind of cool to win the round again, from a Panhandle State kid to a Panhandle State horse. We got third, and I’m not turning up my nose at that.” The third and eighth rounds feature the hardest-to-ride horses in bareback riding called the “eliminator” pen. Larsen has excelled on those horses; he was 87 points both nights, riding the Calgary Stampede’s Trail Dust last Saturday. He made Thursday’s ride look easier than it was. “It didn’t feel that great,” he said. “There were a lot of things going on. I know I was swinging and hitting something; I just didn’t now what I was hitting. That’s how the eliminator pen is supposed to be. It’s the kind of pen where the boys become men.” In his eight nights in the Nevada desert, Larsen has earned $76,846. He has pushed his season salary to $207,501 and moved up one spot to third place in the world standings. He trails the No. 2 man, Tim O’Connell, by less than $20,000 and the leader, Caleb Bennett, by less than $33,000. “I’m pretty fortunate to come here and make the money,” Larsen said. “I’m able to do that and enjoy it.”

LAS VEGAS – Craig at Midnight is a giant of a bucking horse. Weighing 1,800 pounds, the gray gelding from Powder River Rodeo can be a bit intimidating. “He’s a huge horse,” said Clayton Biglow, who rode the animal for 85.5 points Thursday night to finish in a tie for fifth place on the eighth night of the National Finals Rodeo. “He is like crawling down on a bull. He has that scare factor to him, because he’s kind of bad in the chute. He doesn’t just stand there like the rest of the horses.” It was the second big gray horse he’s ridden this week; on Monday night, he set an NFR arena record with a 93-point ride on the reigning two-time Bareback Horse of the Year, Virgil of C5 Rodeo. “I’m glad I got him rode,” he said. “Last year, Craig took me out of it, so it was good to get some payback.” He added $5,500 to his Wrangler jeans, pumping his NFR pay to just shy of $72,000. Though he dropped a spot in the world standings to Canadian Orin Larsen, Biglow has pushed his season total to $206,935, and it did that on the back of a former horse of the year “His second trip here is usually weaker,” Biglow said, noting that reigning two-time world champion Tim O’Connell won Round 3 on Craig at Midnight with an 88.5-point ride. “He still felt bucky underneath me, that’s for dang sure. There is a lot of horse there, and you can still feel it no matter what.” He is $566 behind Larsen, so he could easily move up a spot in the world standings in the next two rounds, the final two nights of the ProRodeo season. “That’s nothing here,” he said. “The last two days, you just give it everything you’ve got. I’m in no situation to hold back right now, so just go out there and try to make the best possible ride you can make on whatever horse you draw.” A night after facing the toughest horses in the game, the bareback riders will be matched with the most user-friendly. They call this pen of horses the “hoppers,” which should make for a fun night for the top cowboys in the game. For Biglow, though, he just wants to keep his focus in the right place. He has all the physical attributes necessary to be in the mix for a world championship race. He’s been there each of the last three seasons. At 23 years old, his maturation is starting to reveal itself in his mental approach. “The first few rounds were good, but I was getting ahead of myself,” Biglow said. “Now I can relax and trust my body, let it do everything that I’ve taught it to. Now it’s just go out there and have fun. We don’t have the eliminators anymore, so you can take a deep breath and know you’re going to get on a good sucker. “I felt like I rode really good tonight, even though Craig didn’t have his day. Everything that I’ve been working on I put to work tonight, so (on Friday) it’s just go out and do the same thing.” It’s the perfect play to finish out his 2018 season.

LAS VEGAS – The last time Richmond Champion tried to ride Kesler Rodeo’s Illegal Smile, things didn’t go too well. He got a bit of redemption Thursday night, handling the big sorrel for 86 points to finish fourth in the eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. “That horse is underrated,” said Champion, 25, of The Woodlands, Texas. “Guys don’t know him. He spends a lot of time in Canada. Jake Vold, who I was traveling with this summer, and him; three jumps in, Jake was two hands down. “The horse has changed a lot since I had him. He has really found his spot. Duane Kesler came up to me tonight and asked, ‘You got your game plan?’ I said, ‘Squeeze that handle as hard as I can. I’m going to weather the storm.’ ” That’s because Illegal Smile was part of the NFR’s “eliminator” pen, which features the hardest-to-ride bareback horses in rodeo. Champion has found those horses to his liking. He also placed in Saturday’s third round. But the Kesler horse threw a little different style at the cowboy on Thursday. “I’m not going to say he’s an eliminator, because he’s not that strong, but he’s going to throw some stuff at you,” he said. “He doesn’t feel like a normal bucking horse. He probably feels more like a bull. “I knew he bucks. I didn’t want to waste the opportunity because it’s here. I told myself, ‘Go make the rid you can make on that horse.’ There’s nothing to think about because there’s no telling what he was going to do. It was straight to the basics for me.” It was the third time in eight nights Champion has drawn a Kesler horse. It seems like a perfect match. Kesler Rodeo is one of the biggest Canadian stock contractors in rodeo, and Champion won the Canadian bareback riding championship this season. “I think I have been on the whole Kesler herd, minus two,” Champion said with a smile. “I have a great relationship with the Keslers. That’s always fun. I want their horses to do good, and I spend a lot of time with them. To make a good ride on one of their best ones is awesome.” Thursday’s performance at the NFR was also Canadian Night, a nod to the great rodeo champions that come from the neighbor to the north. All the karma seemed to be working in Champion’s favor. In May, he will marry Paige Lawrence, a Canadian who has family ties to rodeo and is a skating champion that competed at the in Sochi, Russia. And because he competes north of the border much of the summer, he and Lawrence are considering a move to Montana after their nuptials. “It would be a little closer to her family and a little more along the way for rodeoing,” said Champion, who pocketed $11,000 Thursday to push his NFR earnings to just shy of $65,000. “I can leave for two weeks and come home for a few days instead of leaving for three months. It’s a little more of a central location for us. “Canada is special to me. To be a little closer is fine with me.”

LAS VEGAS – The pedigree for Frontier Rodeo’s Full Baggage stands by itself. The big bay gelding is a two-time Bareback Horse of the Year and has appeared at the National Finals Rodeo for more than a decade. He’s one of the rankest horses in the sport today. On Thursday night’s eighth round, known as the “eliminator” pen for bareback riders, Full Baggage was half the equation for Mason Clements in their 88.5-point ride. With that, Clements finished second in the round, adding $20,731 to his Cinch jeans. “That was a rematch for me,” said Clements of Springville, Utah. “He got me in Dodge City (Kan.). He’s one of those you just don’t have fun on, but I was bound and determined to have some fun on him. “I felt like I made a pretty good recovery right off the bat, but having to recover is what probably cost me the round win. My start wasn’t as strong, but my finish is what got me an 88.5.” The difference in payout is $5,500, so that’s why he is even discussing it. But any score that high is still great, especially in the eliminator pen. Those style of horses can make bareback riders look bad. Three men failed to earn a qualified ride. But these are the top 15 men in the game, and they have proven over the course of the regular season why they are part of this field. Still, to the lay person, bareback riding looks painful. “It really looks like we’re breaking our necks every time,” said Clements, now a two-time qualifier to the NFR who has earned $70,782 through eight nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale. “It looks like it is ripping our arms off. When you see an animal and they are bucking like crazy, to the average eye, all they see is chaos. They don’t understand a good ride from a bad ride.” The key is having a more controlled spur stroke from the front of the horse’s shoulders back to the riggin’. When done in rhythm with the horse’s bucking motion, it can be poetry – it just doesn’t look that way. “If we are beating our horses, meaning we have our spurs back over their neck on each jump when they hit the ground, then it feels like when you win anything,” he said. “If we have our chin tucked when we set our feet and we are looking down that horse’s mane when he is full extension and hitting the ground, then doing it again each jump, we are having fun. “It’s like hitting a home run.” Clements has pushed his season earnings to $170,318 and has two more nights to add big cash. “I’m looking forward to winning,” Clements said. “I need two go-round wins. It makes me excited. That is what I look forward to and is what keeps me in the game. I want to keep having fun. I want to win.” Winning is fun, and Clements is having a blast in Las Vegas.

Nebraskan advances to Championship Saturday for a shot at the title belt LAS VEGAS – Beau Schueth is at the top of his game and the right time. A week after winning the Bullfighters Only Roughy Cup and the Wrangler Bullfight Tour championship, Schueth put together his second straight 86-point bout Thursday during the final performance of the Flexflit Preliminary Rounds of the Las Vegas Championship. “Advancing to the final day is huge,” said Schueth, the No. 2 man in the Pendleton Whisky World Standings from O’Neill, Neb. “If, for some reason, I was going to have to go through the Wild Card Round, it wasn’t going to bother me much because I’ve gone through Wild Card Rounds all summer. “But if I didn’t have to fight and could have a day off, that’s what I preferred. Another day of rest means a lot when you’re fighting five or six bulls.” Schueth won his flight with a two-bout cumulative total of 172 points. He moves on to Championship Saturday and will join Chance Moorman of Lytle, Texas, who scored 88.5 points, the highest score so far, and Colt Oder of Moorpark, Calif., who got through a tough bull to slip into the final day of competition. “I saw the bulls, and I actually fought that bull in the first round in Industry, Calif.,” Schueth said. “He was good there, so I knew he would fight good here. I didn’t want to bust him down (with fakes) too much, because I didn’t want to give him a chance to run off. It was a grind the whole time, but luckily it worked out in my favor.” The other three men who advanced Wednesday were Andres Gonzalez, Tucker Lane McWilliams and Ross Hill. The final six to advance to Saturday’s performance will come out of Friday’s Wild Card Round, including reigning two-time world champion Weston Rutkowski. “I’ve had a taste of it, but when you’re reading bulls well and drawing well, there’s no pressure on you,” said Rutkowski of Haskell, Texas. “He’s got a lot of confidence, and he’s going to be one of those guys that’s going to be tough to beat come Saturday. He’s fighting well at the right time of year and drawing the right bull to showcase his abilities.” That’s been the case since Schueth arrived in Sin City last week. He’s been the hottest bullfighter in the game since, and he now trails Rutkowski by only $6,300. “My confidence is pretty high, and I’m feeling good and healthy,” Schueth said. “I’m just having a blast out here. Going from sitting out last year and watching all my friends put on these great bullfights got to me. I’m just tickled to be sitting in this position.” The Nebraskan doesn’t say much, but he has something inside that allows him to excel inside a bullfighting arena. As one of the BFO pioneers, he’s proven why he’s in a position to battle for that coveted title belt. “We’ve been friends for a long time,” Rutkowski said. “He’s one of those guys that you wouldn’t think he’d have the desire to do the sport, because he’s so soft-spoken. “That’s a silent assassin.” Both men hope Rutkowski advances through Friday’s round so the No. 1 and 2 men in the standings can go toe-to-toe for the world championship. “That’s exactly what I want,” Rutkowski said. “I don’t want to go in there and win a world title and not go against the best in the world. In my mind, I’m going against Beau Schueth in the final round for the world title, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” No matter the sport, all fans want to see the top two in the game meet up to the challenge. “That would be amazing,” Schueth said. “He’s one of my best buds out here. I’d love for him and me to be facing down and let it come down to who has the better fight in the short round to win the world title.”

Bareback riding: 1. Orin Larsen, 89 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Tip Off, $26,231; 2. Caleb Bennett, 88, $20,731; 3. Tilden Hooper, 87, $15,654; 4. (tie) Clayton Biglow and Steven Dent, 86.5, $8,885 each; 6. Jake Brown, 85.5, $4,231. Steer wrestling: 1. (tie) Tyler Pearson and Hunter Cure, 3.6 seconds, $23,481 each; 3. (tie) Will Lummus and Tyler Waguespack, 3.7, $13,327 each; 5. (tie) Bridger Chambers and Jacobs Talley, 3.8, $5,500 each. Team roping: 1. (tie) Luke Brown/Jake Long and Derrick Begay/Cory Petska, 3.9 seconds, $23,481 each; 3. Chad Masters/Joseph Harrison, 4.0, $15,654; 4. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.3, $11,000; 5. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 4.8, $6,770; 6. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 4.9, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Wade Sundell on Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Total Equine Angel Fire and Chase Brooks on Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Diamond Fever, 90 points, $23,481 each; 3. Rusty Wright, 88, $15,654; 4. CoBurn Bradshaw, 85.5, $11,000; 5. Zeke Thurston, 84.5, $6,770; 6. Cort Scheer, 84, $4,231. Tie-down roping: 1. Tyson Durfey, 7.2 seconds, $26,231; 2. Sterling Smith, 7.3, $20,731; 3. Tuf Cooper, 7.5, $15,654; 4. Ryan Jarrett, 7.8, $11,000; 5. Rhen Richard, 8.1, $6,770; 6. Marty Yates, 8.2, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Hailey Kinsel, 13.61 seconds, $26,231; 2. Jessie Telford, 13.64, $20,731; 3. Ivy Conrado, 13.72, $15,654; 4. (tie) Taci Bettis and Kylie Weast, 13.74, $8,885 each; 6. Stevi Hillman, 13.77, $4,231.

1. Chase Dougherty, 87.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Lookin Up, $27,077; 2. (tie) Dustin Boquet and Boudreaux Campbell, 87, $19,039 each; 4. Roscoe Jarboe, 84.5, $11,847; 5. Jeff Askey, 84, $7,616; no other qualified rides.

Young Californian advances to BFO Championship Saturday with big fight LAS VEGAS – Andres “Sasquatch” Gonzalez conquered his beast and upset the Champ. He posted the highest-marked bout of this year’s Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship during Wednesday’s Flexfit Preliminary Round, scoring 87 points to advance to Hooey’s Championship Saturday at the Tropicana Las Vegas. “This was super big knowing that I was able to compete against Weston Rutkowski and knowing I was a point behind him going into today,” said Gonzalez, a first-year BFO bullfighter from Woodland, Calif. “Knowing what I had to do had me in the right mindset. “I just kept telling myself that I had to keep doing what I had been doing. I had to leave it in God’s hands and just do the work. I did whatever the bull gave me to do.” Combined with his 83-point fight in Monday’s first round, Gonzalez finished with a two-bout cumulative score of 170 points to outlast the reigning two-time world champion. By winning his flight, which was made up of three bullfighters, he advanced to the final day of competition, along with the other flight winners, Tucker Lane McWilliams of Oak Grove, Mo., and Ross Hill of Muscle Shoals, Ala. “I think it was awesome I was able to outscore Weston,” Gonzalez said. “Now, I know I am fighting exactly as hard as he is to win that belt. He might have been a little upset, but he can’t blame it on me or himself. I just had the better bull.” That was the main difference, but both men put on tremendous fights against bulls that had never seen the bright lights of Las Vegas. “All three bulls in our flight were fresh, so I didn’t know what they could do,” he said. “I just had to do what I could, and that was be as aggressive as I can. My plan is to fight my first bull Saturday and advance to the second fight, too. “In my heart, advancing to the championship round is already winning. It means the world to me just to be in the BFO and to be in Las Vegas. It’s been one of my dreams to make it this far. To meet my heroes and go against them is incredible.”

LAS VEGAS – He doesn’t like it, but Orin Larsen has figured out how to ride in pain. He did it two years ago, when he had rib issues at the beginning of the National Finals Rodeo and kept him out of the pay window for the first five rounds. He finished that year’s championship by placing in the final five nights, including the Round 8 victory. He’s dealing with the pain again this year, a few weeks after having knee surgery to fix a torn meniscus in his left knee. On Wednesday night, he blocked it out while riding Frontier Rodeo’s Tip Off for 89 points to win the seventh round and pocket an additional $26,231. “It’s going to be weird when I’m healthy,” said Larsen of Inglis, Manitoba. It’s something I’m really not wanting, but I’m fortunate to be here healthy or not.” When he won 660-some days ago, it was also on a Frontier animal, two-time Bareback Horse of the Year Full Baggage. “Once you learn to deal with a little bit of pain, you do whatever it takes to get through it,” he said. “The (Justin) Sports Med has done a great job with it.” He receives treatment several hours a day to make sure his knee is prepared for the rough-and-tumble game that is bareback riding. Cowboys wedge their hands into their riggings, which are strapped tightly to the backs of bucking horses. It was the second time cowboys have won money on the back of Tip Off. Clayton Biglow scored 86.5 points last Friday to finish third in the second round. The Frontier horse has helped cowboys to nearly $42,000 in his two trips inside the Thomas & Mack Center. “Clayton spurred the hair off him earlier this week,” Larsen said. “I knew he was dang sure a really good chance in this pen. Frontier has some of the best horses in the world, and they keep getting better and better.” While it’s been two years since his last go-round win, it’s something the Canadian cowboy appreciates. “I’ve wanted to do this for a few years now, and I’m happy to get it off my back,” he said. “You’ve got to learn to have fun when things aren’t really going your way. You learn to have fun and enjoy the process of being here.” He’s got $61,192 reasons to enjoy it; that’s how much he’s won through seven nights of ProRodeo’s grand championship. He’s pushed his season earnings to $191,847. He is fifth in the world standings. He’s doing it despite a knee that swells like a watermelon every night. “It’s amazing how much she’s done for me, both mentally and keeping me sound when I’m not in with sports med,” Larsen said of his wife, Alexa, with whom he’s been married for 14 months. “I can’t say enough about Lex.” Rodeo has always been a family business, and Alexa Larsen is proving it to her husband.

LAS VEGAS – Every step forward is positive for bareback rider Clayton Biglow. He proved that again Wednesday night, riding Frontier Rodeo’s Short Night for 86.5 points to collect his fourth paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo, this one worth $8,885. “I feel pretty good,” said Biglow, 23, of Clements, Calif. “I’ve had to work on a few things since I’ve been here. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to work on anything and just have fun. But I feel like I’m riding good. My body is holding up really nice, and I feel strong. “I’m ready for the next three rounds and just build off what I’ve done so far.” What he’s done has been fantastic. Through seven nights in Sin City, he has pocketed more than $66,000 and pushed his 2018 earnings to beyond the $200,000 threshold. He is now $39,000 behind the leader, Caleb Bennett, with three nights remaining on the ProRodeo season. “That horse was Short Night, and she’s a pretty good horse,” he said. “She turned out backwards and went around to the right pretty good. I think I rode her pretty good. When her butt came out first, she kind of missed a couple seconds, but she was pretty good across the arena.” Short night was the perfect precursor to Thursday’s eighth round, which will feature the top cowboys against the hardest-to-ride horses in bareback riding. The first time the “eliminator” pen was out last Saturday, only 11 of the 15 cowboys earned qualified rides. “You have to grit your teeth every time and get it rode,” Biglow said, noting that bareback riding is hard on each cowboy’s body because their hands are wedged into a riggin’ that is strapped tightly to the animal’s back. “(Thursday) night separates the boys from the men, and I’m ready to be a man about it. I’ve been no scores two years in a row, and I don’t like it. “I crave those horses. When you are bareback rider, those are the ones that are going to define how good you really want to be. That’s how I look at it, and everyone else should, because those are the ones that test you and are the ones you have to ride the best.” He’s ridden rank ones before. Though he bucked off Beutler & Son’s Killer Bee the last time the eliminators were out, but he rode another rank horse, two-time Bareback Horse of the Year Virgil from C5 Rodeo, for an arena-record 93 points on Monday night. “I feel like I rode Killer Bee really good for six seconds, but you have to ride them for eight,” he said with a smile. “Those are the rules. I feel good. I know I can ride them. I’ve done it before, but I just haven’t completed here twice. My first year here, I won the round with the semi-eliminator pen. “I like riding those horses.”

LAS VEGAS – Just before halftime of the National Finals Rodeo, tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett gained momentum he needed to finish out the drive toward the end of the season. After finishing in a three-way tie for first place in Round 5, he has caught fire, placing in Rounds 6 and 7. On Wednesday night, he roped and tied his calf in 7.8 seconds to finish fourth on the seventh night of ProRodeo’s grand finale, earning $11,000. “Hopefully I can run it back down the field,” Jarrett said, continuing the football analogy. “I’m getting on the better end of the cattle. I know what the calves are going to do from the previous runs. I’m a little more in the groove and looking to finish strong. “Hopefully I can keep drawing well and keep making good runs to place.” Like a good coach, Jarrett conducted some film study. The calf on which he competed Wednesday had been run twice before, and the Comanche, Okla., cowboy knew what to expect. In addition, he’s having the kinds of runs he expects. He is a 12-time NFR qualifier, having played the richest contest in the game 11 times in tie-down roping. “I wish the first three rounds would have went this well,” he said, referring to three straight no-times to kick off this year’s NFR. “It didn’t, so I just have to bear down and do what we do: One calf at a time, and hopefully we keep cashing checks.” That’s an important part of the process in Las Vegas. Go-round winners pocket $26,231 each night, so there are a lot of dollars on the table yet to be won. He’s got a pretty good routine to set himself up for a solid final few nights of the 2018 season. “The last couple of nights, I haven’t felt real good,” Jarrett said. “Now my wife’s not feeling the best. We are just trying to stay rested up and get a little sunshine during the day. The weather has been really nice, and it feels pretty good to soak up some rays.” If it allows him to soak in some Vegas cash, that makes things even better.

LAS VEGAS – Hell on the Red has been one of the best barrel racing horses in ProRodeo in 2018, but she’s still just 6 years old. The sorrel mare with a National Finals Rodeo legacy is the guiding force for Kylie Weast in their first qualification to the bright lights of Las Vegas. The two started out on fire, placing in the first three rounds. By the fourth round, though, Reddy wasn’t happy with the setup at the Thomas & Mack Center, and she showed it as she and Weast tried to make their way down the alley and into the arena. The mare reared in the alley, then they knocked over a barrel, resulting in a five-second penalty. For the fifth round, Weast rode Morning Traffic, a 7-year-old mare with the nickname “Martini” owned by Cody and Michelle Darling, and two barrels went down. In Round 6, Weast saddled her own secondary horse, Namgus D15, a 9-year-old sorrel gelding she calls Wolfy. There were no penalties, but they finished out of the money. “Kylie thought it was better to give Reddy a couple runs off,” said her sister, Janae Ward Massey, the 2003 world champion. “She needed to let her young mind chill out a little bit.” It worked. On Wednesday night, Weast and Reddy rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 13.74 seconds to finish in a tie for fourth place in the seventh round. Weast pocketed $8,885 and pushed her season earnings to $147,253. The young red mare needed a break. After all, she’d only been on the futurity trail one year before breaking out in ProRodeo in 2018. The Las Vegas experience is a lot to throw at a young horse, much less a first-time qualifier. Weast is the fourth person in her immediate family to qualify for the NFR and the third to make a run down the alley at the Thomas & Mack Center – Massey was a three-time qualifier in the early 2000s, and their mother, Renee Ward, ran in the arena in 1985, the first year the championship took place in Las Vegas. “You can set up an arena like the NFR, but you cannot duplicate that alley in the Thomas & Mack,” Massey said. “The lights being turned off for a presentation, the smoke being blown in, the bulls down the side of it … it’s just a lot. Even the seasoned horses that have been there have a hard time with it, so you can only imagine what’s going through a young horse’s mind.” Things seemed to be figured out as Weast prepares for the final three nights of the ProRodeo season. But as a horse trainer and a member of the family that raises the equine athletes, Weast will always put the horse first. If Reddy needs another break, she will get it. That’s the respect she has for her precious mare.

Steer wrestling: 1. Curtis Cassidy, 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. Jacob Talley, 3.7, $20,731; 3. (tie) Nick Guy, Tyler Waguespack and Kyle Irwin, 4.1, $11,142 each; 6. (tie) Will Lummus and Scott Guenther, 4.5, $2,116 each. Team roping: 1. Tyler Wade/Cole Davison, 3.9 seconds, $26,231; 2. Bubba Buckaloo/Chase Tryan, 4.4, $20,731; 3. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 4.5, $15,654; 4. Lane Ivy/Buddy Hawkins, 8.7, $11,000; 5. Aaron Tsinigine/Trey Yates, 19.5, $6,770; No other qualified runs.

1. (tie) Zeke Thurston on Powder River Rodeo’s Miss Chestnut and Cort Scheer on Mo Betta Rodeo’s Sue City Sue, 89.5 points, $23,481 each; 3. Chase Brooks, 89, $15,654; 4. Ryder Wright, 87.5, $11,000; 5. Joey Sonnier III, 86, $6,770; 6. (tie) Taos Muncy and Wade Sundell, 85.5, $2,116 each.