Monthly Archives: December 2016

1. R.C. Landingham, 84.5 points on Pickett Rodeo’s Scarlet Fever, $26,231. 2. Tim O’Connell, 83.5, $20,731, 3. Winn Ratliff, 83, $15,654, 4. J.R. Vezain, 81.5, $11,000, 5. Richie Champion, 79, $6,769, 6. (tie) Jessy Davis and Orin Larsen, 78, $2,115.

First four have advanced to BFO Las Vegas Championship’s final day LAS VEGAS – Weston Rutkowski was so focused on his bullfight Wednesday, he doesn’t recall a thing about it. “I just blacked out and went into game mode,” said Rutkowski, who scored an 88.5-point fight during the first round of the Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It is the highest-marked fight so far in the opening round with the remaining four bouts scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Rutkowski is one of four men who advanced to Saturday’s championship round, joining Tate Rhoads, Kyle Lippincott and Daryl Thiessen. While that foursome is set for the final-day battle, the other four will advance to Friday’s Wildcard Round, where just two will move on to the championship. “I’m ecstatic to make it to Saturday,” Rutkowski said. “I came into this thing with the right mind and set to go to war, not just for today but for two more bulls in a few days. “Last year I won the Roughy Cup, then I got beat in this round. There’s a lot of unfinished business right here.” Rutkowski advanced in the tournament-style format by upending Jon Roberts, who had an 80.5-point score. Rhoads scored 83 points and moved on when his opponent, Wayne Ratley, was injured and couldn’t finish his fight. Lippincott scored an upset with an 82-point fight to beat Nathan Harp. The tightest match of the opening day of the BFO Las Vegas Championship was between Nebraskan Zach Call and Thiessen, a Canadian. Both men scored 83 points, and it was to come down to a tie-breaker based on bullfighter score, which also was the same; Thiessen advanced via a coin flip. “This is the BFO, where dreams become reality,” Thiessen said. Not only is the event a series of head-to-head matches, it is truly a battle of man vs. beast. It is a dangerous dance in the dirt, and the proof came in Ratley’s fight. He took two severe hookings, with the second knocking him out of the competition. He is scheduled to fight in Friday’s Wildcard. While that 88.5 was the best, the key is just having a better score than the other bullfighter. “Points don’t mean anything,” Rutkowski said. “I still had to handle my bull to the best of my ability. I was very blessed with a good bull. “Now I’m going to get ready for Saturday. I won’t be satisfied until it’s over with and I’m the champion.” Tickets for the final three days of the competition are on sale now at www.HardRockHotel.com and AXS.com.

LAS VEGAS – Coleman Proctor isn’t one to let a little bit of a struggle get him down. The Oklahoma team roping header proved it Tuesday night during the sixth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. After four straight rounds of frustrating runs during the richest rodeo of the year, Proctor and his heeling partner, Billie Jack Saebens, cashed in with a 4.3-second run, good enough for a three-way tie for second place and worth $15,795. “It has been a little slow, but neither Billie nor I are ones to be impatient,” said Proctor, a three-time NFR qualifier from Pryor, Okla. “It feels like we’ve been on the wrong end of bad breaks. The NFR is a grind, so you don’t let it affect you.” The tandem finished sixth in the opening round, then was saddled with a no-time on the second night. They suffered penalties in Rounds 3-5 that took them out of the money, so to reach the pay window as the NFR begins its second half is the perfect place to start a new momentum rolling in their favor. Both Proctor and Saebens, of Nowata, Okla., still have a chance to earn more than $100,000 over the course of the final four go-rounds if things go their way. That’s where having a strong mental game helps each of them as they close out the 2016 season. “I just need to keep scoring and catching,” Proctor said. “We’re finally getting in the groove. After a round, nothing changes. There’s $26,000 up for grabs every night, so you just try to make the best run you can. We’ve missed one, and we’re still seventh in the average.” The average is a bonus that is paid at the conclusion of the NFR to the top eight teams in the 10-round aggregate. If they remain in seventh place, they will add $11,423 each. The average winners will earn more than $67,000, so it’s a powerful carrot to dangle in front of the competitors. “Survival in this game is all about patience,” he said. “It’s hard, because it’s 10 nights and there’s so much money on the line. The main thing is to keep your focus and keep grinding it out every night.” While this marks Proctor’s third straight trip to the City of Lights for ProRodeo’s championship, it is Saebens’ first appearance. The two have shared many miles and many rounds over the course of the season, and they understand the ins and outs of team roping. They also understand the roller coaster of emotions cowboys can experience, whether it’s at a rodeo in a small Midwest town or in the Nevada desert. “Billie is a very experienced (NFR) rookie,” Proctor said. “He demands and expects the best of himself every round. I know he was a little bummed when he caught a leg a couple of times, but he has a go-win attitude.” So does Proctor. Each cowboy has earned $30,026 in Las Vegas over six days, and Proctor has pushed his season earnings to $92,048. He also has moved up two spots to 13th in the world standings. But he keeps everything in perspective. While he is battling for gold in Las Vegas, he understands there are bigger things in life. His friend and former college roommate when they were at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Kevin Foraker, became a father Tuesday. He and his wife, Katie, named their son Koleman, a tip of the hat to Proctor. “I was doing my best to win the round tonight and give that boy a buckle,” he said. “It didn’t happen the way I wanted to, but I hope to do that yet.” That humble approach to the game comes from years of trials and tribulations on the rodeo trail. It takes an exceptional amount of work to make it happen, and Proctor has had plenty of help from Greg, Tim and James at Riverbend Arena in Inola, Okla. “Billie and I are having a great time no matter what happens,” Proctor said. “We’re prepared, and we’ve worked hard to get here. We’re just going to stick to our game plan and try to win as much money as you can. “You can make so much money here, and that’s what you want to do so you don’t have to build as much fence when you get back to Oklahoma.” The gate to the NFR cash cow has been opened, and Proctor is ready to walk on in.

LAS VEGAS – Clay Elliott is on a hunting expedition in the Nevada desert. Elliott, a saddle bronc rider from Nanton, Alberta, came to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in hopes of bagging his portion of the $8.8 million purse that’s up for grabs over 10 December nights. After a few shots that missed their target, he’s got his sights zeroed in on the big prize. “I feel like my feet are my weapons, and that’s my niche in this event,” he said. “Therefore I have to take advantage of them while I can.” He utilizes a solid spur stroke from the front of the horse’s shoulders to the back of his saddle while doing so in rhythm with the animal’s bucking motion. The better the spur ride, the better the score. The better the score, the better the opportunity he has to finish among the leaders and earn Las Vegas cash. He did that during the sixth round of the NFR with an 82.5-point ride on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Pearl to finish in a tie for sixth place. That was worth $2,115 and pushed his Sin City earnings to $25,442. “I saw Jacobs (Crawley) get on that horse in the first round,” said Elliott, who was born in Vernon, British Columbia, and received his education at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. “It just looked like a really nice horse that could get away from a guy a little and maybe covered a little bit of ground. “I figured my feet could hold him up a little bit. I knew CoBurn Bradshaw was a lot of points on him at the All-American Finals, so I knew he was going to be a really good chance. I knew I had to put 23s and 24s on him to win anything, and that’s what I tried to do.” Judges base their scores on the 100-point scale, with half going to both the animal and the rider. Each judge awards up to 25 points for horse and cowboy, so Elliott wants to be as near perfect in his spurring motion as possible. Now he’s placed in back-to-back go-rounds and pushed his season earnings to $105,491. “Confidence is a big thing, but it’s more just feeling comfortable for me,” he said. “It took me a little longer than I had anticipated to feel comfortable, but I do now. “Now that I feel comfortable, and now I’m ready to do some winning.” The hunt continues over the final four rounds of ProRodeo’s grand finale, and his target is the biggest game in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – For every spur stroke he makes at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Tanner Aus remembers every mile he has driven and every rodeo he has competed in this past year. He remembers the all-night commutes, watching white lines for hours at a time. He remembers the miles of tape he’s used to keep his body strong. He remembers the great rides and the buck offs, the sore muscles and the exhilaration of winning. It’s all worth it now. “You have to think about all the blood, sweat and tears that it takes to get here,” said Aus, who rode Calgary Stampede’s Tootsie Roll for 84.5 points to finish fourth in Tuesday’s sixth go-round. “I feel great, and I’ve felt great the whole time. This has just been a great week.” Yes, it has. The Granite Falls, Minn., cowboy has placed in four go-rounds so far, including wins on the first and third nights. He has earned $72,122 in Las Vegas and sits third in the world standings with $184,436 through the season. Better yet, he’s just $620 behind the No. 2 man, Utah cowboy Caleb Bennett. “It feels good to be riding good here, especially after having a hiccup in the week,” he said. “We had some nice horses out tonight.” That included Tootsie Roll, one of the many great bucking horses out of the Canadian company. “That’s just a great bucking horse, one with a reputation and one they’ve won a lot of money on all season and seasons in the past,” said Aus, the 2012 collegiate bareback riding champion. “I was pretty thankful to have him. “He leaves the chute nice, and he had a great trip today. I feel like I was able to finish him strong, and I got a little paycheck.” That payday was worth $11,000, which is a pretty good day’s work. “I’m on pace to have a better finals than I did last year, even after taking myself out of the average by mistake,” said Aus, who finished last year’s NFR with $83,756. “That’s great, but this rodeo is about so much more than money “We’re rolling through. Night 6 is done, and we’re already on the back side of this rodeo. That’s kind of sad to think about, because when this is over, we’re back on the trail. We’re just going to enjoy the last four rounds, and there’s a lot of great action to come.” And Aus will be right in the middle of it.

LAS VEGAS – Richmond Champion is enjoying himself at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo even though he’s not had the week he envisioned. “It bums me out to say that it’s almost Round 7,” said Champion, the No. 12-ranked bareback rider in the world standings from The Woodlands, Texas. “We’re already past the halfway point of the NFR, so it’s almost over.” If the rest of the week goes like Tuesday did, he won’t want it to end. During the sixth round of ProRodeo’s grand finale, he matched moves with Three Hills Rodeo’s Big Show for 85 points to finish in a tie for second place, pocketing $18,192 in the process. “This is the third time since January of this year that I’ve had that horse,” he said. “I knew size-wise she would be on the upper end as far as visual. She feels good, but I’ve never had her stall out in the arena like she did tonight. I’ve never been able to show her up that much.” The big bay horse continued to jump and kick, but she stayed virtually in one spot for a good portion of Champion’s ride. That allowed the judges to see the cowboy’s controlled spur ride with the animal’s bucking motion. “She had a phenomenal night,” he said. “We didn’t buck her the first time these horses were out, and knowing I had her, I was pretty excited and pretty confident. It couldn’t have gone any better.” The Texan has now pocketed $20,308 in Las Vegas and pushed his season earnings to $99,477. The best part for him comes in knowing there are four more rounds to go and he has a chance to increase his annual salary by $100,000 if things go his way. “The last three rounds have been unreal as far as bareback riding goes,” Champion said. “Before the round, it was just so cool in the locker room. I was sitting around and watching everybody tape, and everybody had the same think on their mind and the same little grin in the corner of their mouth like, ‘Let’s go spur stuff.’ “That’s why we’re here.” In bareback riding, cowboys spur from the front of the horse’s shoulders back to their rigging, then return and do so in time with the animal’s bucking motion. The better the spur ride, the better the score. Champion has been doing this professional for four years, and he’s turned himself into one of the very best in the business. But the rodeo trail keeps him away from home from his family many months out of the year. Having this 10 days in Las Vegas gives him a chance to reconnect with his parents, Greg and Lori, and his brother, Doug. “It’s awesome to have Dougie, my mom and dad and my girlfriend here and all the friends that come out for a couple of days,” Champion said. “This sport is awesome. Having them here is a healthy distraction from the thoughts of what we do every night, and it’s just good to see everybody. “This atmosphere is electric. Everybody is amped, and everybody can feel it. It’s good to know my family’s here to support me.” And he wants to continue to put on a show for four more nights in the Nevada desert.

LAS VEGAS – On the first night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Orin Larsen felt the pain and knew he had separated a rib. That was just the start of bad fortune for the bareback rider from Inglis, Manitoba. He entered the finale second in the world standings but failed to collect a check through the first five go-rounds. He changed his fortune Tuesday night with an 85-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s Ruby’s Girl to finish as one of two runners-up in the sixth go-round. “I’ve been battling between injuries and the drawing,” said Larsen, now in his second qualification to the NFR. “It feels good to just get a check and hopefully build some momentum from here. “I have nothing to lose at this point. I’m just going to win and that’s how it’s got to be.” That demanding tone worked well for Larsen, who spends much of his time living in Gering, Neb., with his fiancé, Alexa. His expectations are high, but that’s what comes with being one of the elite bareback riders in the game. Still, rough times come even for the best. “This is just a previous injury that I thought was healed,” he said. “It was just a freak accident, and the rib just came apart. The Justin Sportsmedicine Team has been doing a phenomenal job keeping me together. They do a lot of work. Earlier in the week, I was going in twice, and now I’m in there for almost an hour before I get on.” He’s battling through the pain because of the doctors and trainers, but he’s also making sure to keep his mental approach strong. His score matched that of Richmond Champion, and both cowboys earned more than $18,000 for it. Larsen pushed his season earnings to $166,488, and he’d like to keep adding more. “At this point, it’s just a mind game for me,” Larsen said. “There’s really nothing to fix it, so you just have to keep getting on and stay optimistic. It’s good to have won a little money to pay for a wedding and to get some momentum going. “I’m just going to nod my head at the next four rounds like they belong to me.”

LAS VEGAS – The man-vs.-beast combat of freestyle bullfighting has a new twist during this week’s Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship.  The tournament-style format will feature head-to-head matches Wednesday and Thursday during the competition set for 1:30 p.m. at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. There are four additional performances Friday and Saturday. Tickets are on sale now at HardRockHotel.com and AXS.com. “You don’t know what to expect,” said Weston Rutkowski, the No. 1 bullfighter in the BFO from Haskell, Texas. “It’s a head-to-head match, and you just have to beat one guy. With that being said, it doesn’t change how you go about your bullfight. I’m fighting against my animal, and I still have to do better than my animal.  Just like March madness, the BFO Las Vegas Championship has a survive-and-advance feel to it, only survival means many things in freestyle bullfighting. Men must tempt danger in their bouts with agile and athletic bulls that have been bred for these kinds of fights.  “It’s going to be electric in there,” said Nathan Harp of Tuttle, Okla. “It’s going to be a heck of a production, and the bullfights are going to be awesome. Everybody wants to get to the final day, and they want to advance in the first round.  “Nobody wants to go through the losers’ bracket. Everybody’s doing to just let it hang out.”  Harp will go head-to-head vs. Kyle Lippincott. The other match-ups are Wayne Ratley vs. Tate Rhoads, Daryl Thiessen vs. Zach Call and Rutkowski vs. Aaron Remmer. Ratley, Harp, Call and Rutkowski earned top seeds from their performances in the BFO Roughy Cup, while the other four advanced to the tournament through the Pendleton Whisky Qualifier Round – both events took place last week at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  “The tournament format works really well because of the unknown results of it,” Rutkowski said. “Last year I won the Roughy Cup and went into the qualifying rounds as the top seed, and I got taken out by the bottom seed. It sets a guy up for success whether you’re the top seed or the bottom seed.”  Whether they are first or second in their match, the men understand the factors in play as they fight their bulls. Those that are first must set the tone with strong bouts; the second bullfighter will have a score to beat, and that could mean taking more chances to get more points.  During his first-round set in last week’s Roughy Cup, Harp had already seen Ratley post an 89-point score; Harp finished his fight with an 89.5 to advance to the final round.  “I like the head-to-head,” Harp said. “It brings something different to the bullfight. It worked really well last year when we did it here.”  No matter the format, the bullfighters know they’ll be tangling with the best animals in the business over the course of the BFO Las Vegas Championship. That adds to the flavor of the competition and allows for amazing energy; it’s also a dangerous setting for true athleticism.  “We know the BFO is going to bring the heat,” Rutkowski said. “You saw it at the Roughy Cup. Nobody’s really safe, but you have to be willing to expose yourself that much. Somebody’s going to get hooked because they’re trying to dress things up to get the scores they need to advance.” 

1. Kimmie Wall, 13.46 seconds, $26, 231, 2. Jana Bean, 13.57, $20,731, 3. Sherry Cervi, 13.72, $15,654, 4. (tie) Amberleigh Moore and Mary Burger, 13.76, $8,885 each, 6. Stevi Hillman, 13.85, $4, 231.

LAS VEGAS – Riley Duvall knew he had to take a chance Tuesday night. It paid off with a 3.6-second steer wrestling run, which helped the Checotah, Okla., man share the Round 6 victory with two other cowboys at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “Tonight was wild,” said Duvall, who tied Tyler Waguespack and Billy Bugenig. “That steer let up a little the first time. I knew I wanted to take a crazy start, and that yellow horse worked so nice. I caught up a little faster than I thought, and I thought I broke the barrier. They told me that’s the way it’s supposed to feel.” The yellow horse is Ote, a 14-year-old palomino gelding owned by Bray Armes that has guided fellow bulldogger Matt Reeves to nearly $80,000 over the last six days. Duvall got on Ote the first time in Round 4 and promptly placed, then followed it up with another big run Tuesday. The latter was worth $20,872 and pushed his NFR earnings to $32,282. “Ote has been outstanding,” he said. “He’s leaving that corner so sharp and hunting those steers down. He feels great, and I’m very lucky Bray and Matt have let me on him. I’m pumped for these next four rounds.” He should be. He has earned $93,460 this season and sits ninth in the world standings. More importantly, there is a lot of money up for grabs on the final four nights of the season. In fact, he has the potential of earning more than $100,000 if everything goes his way. This NFR has been somewhat of a dream come true. Though he’s only placed two nights, it comes after earning his first qualification to sport’s premier championship. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Sam, who is serving as Riley’s hazer this week. “My dad is riding Matt Reeves’ hazing horse, Beamer, and it’s always been a goal of mine to have my dad haze for me,” Duvall said. “Matt was nice enough to let that happen. “In 1987, my dad was 23 and at his first finals, and his dad, Bill, hazed for him here.” So the family tradition continues. That custom includes winning – Riley Duvall is the third generation and fifth member of his family to compete at the NFR. His great uncle, Roy, is a three-time world champion, so winning is a big part of who Riley Duvall is and what he needs to do the rest of this week. “This gives me some confidence that I can compete out here,” he said. “It had been slow, and I hadn’t been doing that good. But by getting that win, I’m ready to roll now.” Just in time.

1. Tyson Durfey, 7.4 seconds, $26,231, 2. (tie) Marcos Costa and Marty Yates, 7.6, $18,192, 4. Blane Cox, 7.8, $11,000, 5. Hunter Herring, 7.9, $6,769, 6. Cory Solomon, 8.1, $4,231.

Steer wrestling: 1. (tie) Riley Duvall, Tyler Waguespack and Billy Bugenig, 3.6 seconds, $20,871 each; 4. Josh Peek, 3.8, $11,000; 5. (tie) Trevor Knowles and Cody Cabral, 4.0, $5,500. Team roping: 1. Luke Brown/Jake Long, 4.2 seconds, $26,231, 2. (tie) Dustin Bird/Russell Cardoza, Garrett Rogers/Jake Minor, 4.3, $15,795, 5. Tyler Wade/Dakota Kirkenschalger, 4.5, $6,769, 6. Cody Snow/Dugan Kelly, 4.8, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Zeke Thurston, 88.5 points on C5 Rodeo’s Black Hills, $26,231, 2. Jake Watson, 87.0, $20,731, 3. CoBurn Bradshaw, 84.0,$15, 654, 4. (tie) Jacobs Crawley and Allen Boore, 83.5, $8,884 each, 6. (tie) Cody Wright and Clay Elliott, 82.5, $2,115 each.

1. Jake Vold 85.5 points on Burch Rodeo’s Jim Dandy , $26,231, 2. (tie) Orin Larson and and Richmond Champion, 85.0, $18,192 each, 4. Tanner Aus, 84.5, $11,000, 5. (tie) Evan Jayne and Jake Brown, 84.0, $5,500 each.

LAS VEGAS – If money at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is a building block, Clay Elliott now has something from which to create. The Nanton, Alberta, saddle bronc rider spurred Bar T Rodeo’s Son of Sadie for 86.5 points Monday night to finish in a tie for third place in the fifth go-round. He earned $13,327 and pushed his season earnings to $103,375 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. “I was getting a little impatient,” said Elliott, who was raised in Vernon, British Columbia. “I’m just trying to be patient. It didn’t start like I had planned, and it took me a minute to feel right. Now I do.” Winning does that to a competitor like Elliott, who won the 2015 college champion while attending Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Last month he earned more than $40,000 at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, which helped him win the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association’s championship. Now he has the momentum he needs to finish off the final five nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale. “You get that feeling of what it’s like to win,” he said. “It’s a damn good feeling.” Elliott bucked off his horses in the first and fourth rounds and finished out of the money in Rounds 2 and 3, so he was searching for that positive change. He has fallen from eighth to 14th in the world standings, but he realizes there’s still a lot of money on the table in Las Vegas. “I’ve been talking to Winston Bruce,” he said of the fellow Canadian and ProRodeo Hall of Fame cowboy who won the saddle bronc riding world title in 1961. “He’s got a very simple concept on everything. It was a refreshing outlook to it. This rodeo is only at the halfway point, and I’ve got some money won already. “You just go after every horse and put on the best spur rides you can on every horse I get on. It’s pretty simple, so I try to keep things basic.” He did that Monday on Son of Sadie. He knew he’d have to make a near perfect ride if he were to reach the pay window. With the classic spur stroke from the front of the horse’s shoulders to the back of his saddle, he made everything work the way it needed to. “I just wanted to get that feeling of winning,” Elliott said. “Now that I’ve got that, I just want to keep it. It’s not about the mechanics of bronc riding. It’s just the feeling that you get. In order to keep that rolling, I’ve just got to keep that feeling.” That comes with a solid mental approach to the game. Athletically and technically, the Canadian cowboy won’t change a thing. When the first four rounds didn’t go his way, he found a way to maintain a good attitude. “I’ve tried not to bring those rides on to the next horse,” he said. “It’s a little bit tricky, but I finally did that. “I just want to spur everything like I did (Monday) night.” If it works one time, surely it can again, and Elliott has five more nights to make it happen.

LAS VEGAS – No matter how he painted the picture, Tanner Aus had a bit of redemption on his mind Monday night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Aus was saddled with a no-score during Sunday’s fourth go-round because he did not have his spurs above the horse’s shoulders to start his bareback ride. With the penalty, the cowboy’s chances of a world championship diminished. He has little opportunity to earn any bonus money for placing in the average when the NFR concludes – only the top eight cowboys in the 10-ride aggregate race earn average money, with the winner earning more than $67,000. Nonetheless, he realized there is a lot of money available over the final nights of the 2016 season. “It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it also takes also takes a lot of pressure off,” said Aus, who cashed in Monday night with an 84.5-point ride J Bar J Rodeo’s Hell on Hooves to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place in Round 5, worth $1,410. “You can swing for the fence every night, and you can have fun. You’re riding for go-round money. Every night is like the final four of a big rodeo. “There’s so much money to be won here that you can’t dwell on it. I can still potentially have a better finals this year than I did last year even without the average.” The Granite Falls, Minn., cowboy earned $83,756 at the 2015 championship; through just five rounds this year, he has pocketed $61,122. More importantly, he has pushed his season earnings to $173,806. He’s already earned $4,389 more than he did all of last season, and he sits third in the world standings. “Hopefully I can continue and finish the week strong,” Aus said. “We’re halfway through, and I feel great. Last year after the fifth round, I was barely getting around. It’s going to be a good week. You can’t avoid good bucking horses here, because they’re all great.” Rodeo can be stressful, and playing the game on the biggest stage can be overwhelming at times. But those that overcome those troubles realize their dreams. Aus already has earned two go-round victories, and he has a chance for more. He has all the moral support needed from his family, including his new bride, Lonissa, who helped him get through the tough times he felt Sunday. “She’s solid for me all the time, and she’s right there and knows what to say,” he said. “She has a very good perspective on life, and when you want to be down in the dumps about missing a horse out in a go-round, she reminds you the things that are important. There are lots of people that ride horses phenomenally that aren’t here and wish they could be here. “You’ve got to remember that the possibility of failure is what makes success so sweet.” That approach has worked well so far.

LAS VEGAS – After a long season of riding bucking horses, a person’s body is bound to feel the jumps and kicks that come with that lifestyle. Even on the grandest stage of the sport, bareback rider Ty Breuer had felt a little stiffness through the first four rounds of rank competition at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He failed to record a score in either Rounds 3 or 4, and he needed a bit of redemption Monday night. He got it with an 86-point ride on Pickett Rodeo’s Top Flight, good enough for a tie for fourth place in the fifth go-round. He earned $8,885 and pushed his NFR earnings to $32,211. “That could’ve went anybody’s way with a that pen of horses,” said Breuer of Mandan, N.D. “There were a lot of really nice horses out. Everybody rodeos all year to get on horses like that. It was fun to watch, not just ride.” The fifth and 10th rounds of the NFR feature the most electric and fun-to-ride bucking horses in the game. The cowboys hand-pick the top 100 horses to buck at the finale, and they place the most elite are part of the TV pen. It certainly made for high scores Monday night. “I didn’t know if 86 was going to place,” Breuer said with a laugh, adding that Canadian Jake Vold won the round with an 89-point ride. Breuer did his part on Top Flight, an athletic bay that was voted as the third best bareback horse of the year in 2016. “My riding feels like it’s coming around,” he said. “The last two rounds, I haven’t had my back worked on. Today it was pretty seized up. I was at the arena early this morning and got it worked on. Now I know I just need to keep getting it worked on the rest of the week.” He proved Monday that when everything feels right, he is one of the best in the business. Of course, he wouldn’t be in Las Vegas this week if he weren’t. He earned the right to be here. He sits 11th in the world standings with more than $103,000 in earnings. He’d like to continue to pad his pocketbook. “Anytime you can get a paycheck here, it’s a big deal and a lot of fun,” Breuer said.

Bareback riding: 1. Jake Vold, 89 points on Hi Lo ProRodeo’s Wilson Sanchez, $26,231; 2. Jake Brown, 88, $20,731; 3. R.C. Landingham, 87, $15,654; 4. (tie) Ty Breuer and Tim O’Connell, 86, $8,885 each; 6. (tie) Tanner Aus, Wyatt Denny and Caleb Bennett, 84.5, $1,410 each. Steer wrestling: 1. J.D. Struxness, 3.5 seconds, $23,481; 2. Matt Reeves, 3.6, $20,731; 3. Tyler Waguespack, 3.7, $15,654; 4.l Ty Erickson, 3.9, $11,000; 5. Trevor Knowles, 4.0, $6,769; 6. (tie) Clayton Hass and Dakota Eldridge, 4.1, $2,115 each. Team roping: 1. (tie) Kaleb Drigger/Junior Nogueira and Levi Simpson/Jeremy Buhler, 4.0, $23,481 each; 3. Erich Rogers/ Cory Petska, 4.2, 15,654. 4. Matt Sherwood/Quinn Kesler, 4.3, $11,000. 5. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 5.5, $6,769. 6. Tyler Wade/Dakota Kirchenschlager, 9.4, $4,231. Saddle bronc riding: 1. Jacobs Crawley, 89.0 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman, $26,231, 2. Allen Boore, 87.0, $20,731, 3. (tie) Jesse Wright and Clay Elliott, 86.5, $13, 327 each, 5. Cody DeMoss, 85.5, $6,769, 6. Jake Watson, 85, $4,231. Tie-down roping: 1. Caleb Smidt, 6.7 seconds, $26,231, 2. Marty Yates, 7.4, $20,731, 3. Matt Shiozawa, 7.9, 15,654, 4. Cory Solomon, 8.0, $11,000, 5. Blane Cox, 8.6, $6,769, 6. Riley Pruitt, 8.7, $4,231. Barrel racing: 1. Amberleigh Moore, 13.62 seconds, $26,231; 2. Michele Mcleod, 13.76, $ 20,731. 3. Pamela Capper, 13.9, $15,654, 4. Mary Burger, 13.84, $11,000, 5. Stevi Hillman, 13.88, $ 6,769, 6. Jana Bean, 13.89, 4,231. Bull riding: 1. Scottie Knapp 87 points on Rafter H Rodeo Livestock’s Breaking Bad, $26,231, 2. Shane Proctor, 86.5, $20,731, 3. Jeff Askey, 86, $15,653, 4. Tyler Smith, 85, $11,000, 5. Brennon Eldred, 83.5, $6,769, 6. (tie) Joe Frost and Cody Rostockyl, 81, $ 2, 115 each.

LAS VEGAS – The hottest cowboy entering the fifth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was Utah saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright, who had earned wins through the first four go-rounds. Steer wrestler J.D. Struxness is trying to make that sizzling start transition to him. On Monday night, he knocked his steer to the ground in 3.5 seconds to win a round for the third straight night. “I’m just trying to catch Ryder Wright,” he said with a laugh. He’s doing a pretty fair job of it. Through five nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale, Struxness has pocketed $91,442; of that, $76,000 has been earned since Saturday night. “We all hope that it goes this way when we come out here,” said Struxness, 22, of Appleton, Minn. “My week turned around in the third round, and we got the momentum rolling. Hopefully we can just keep it rolling and finish out the week like we did the start.” He sits second in the world standings with just five nights left in the 2016 season. He has pushed his annual salary to $175,876 and trails the leader, Tyler Waguespack of Gonzales, La., by just $7,158. Struxness is more than $25,000 ahead of the No. 3 man, Arkansan Jason Thomas, but that ground can be made up in a hurry. That’s why it’s important that he remain on the roll he’s been on, and he has a solid team to which he gives the credit. “The success is a combination of things,” he said, pointing to having a solid mount in Peso, a 13-year-old sorrel gelding. “We’re hitting the start every night and catching up in a good spot where we can win money. My hazer, Jacob Shofner, is doing a great job. He’s on the ball, and he’s there every night keeping the steers straight.” Monday’s round featured the second time that set of steers had been run – each of the timed events includes three pens, so the steers in Round 5 had also been run in the second round. Each of the bulldoggers has done is homework and had a game plan for how they needed to make their run. Struxness conferred with Shofner prior to Monday’s race in the Thomas & Mack Center dirt. “We knew this steer tonight was going to run, and he was going to be good on the ground, so we took a really aggressive start,” Struxness said. “Jacob did all he could to keep him straight, and I went after him. We knew that when my feet hit the ground that he was going to be good, so I just reared back and tried him, and he took it.” While he has done well in four of five rounds, he did suffer a no-time on the second night. That puts him behind the leaders with regards to the average race, where the cowboy with the best 10-run cumulative time will receive a bonus of $67,269 at the NFR’s conclusion. “We’ll just keep going after the rounds and see how much money we can win,” he said. “We can’t worry about the average anymore unless more guys go out, so we’ll just keep going after the rounds and try to get out of Vegas with as much money as we can.” That seems like the perfect approach.

1. (tie) Kaleb Drigger/Junior Nogueira and Levi Simpson/Jeremy Buhler, 4.0, $23,481 each; 3. Erich Rogers/ Cory Petska, 4.2, 15,654. 4. Matt Sherwood/Quinn Kesler, 4.3, $11,000. 5. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 5.5, $6,769. 6. Tyler Wade/Dakota Kirchenschlager, 9.4, $4,231.

1. J.D. Struxness, 3.5 seconds, $23,481; 2. Matt Reeves, 3.6, $20,731; 3. Tyler Waguespack, 3.7, $15,654; 4.l Ty Erickson, 3.9, $11,000; 5. Trevor Knowles, 4.0, $6,769; 6. (tie) Clayton Hass and Dakota Eldridge, 4.1, $2,115 each.

1. Jake Vold, 89 points on Hi Lo ProRodeo’s Wilson Sanchez, $26,231; 2. Jake Brown, 88, $20,731; 3. R.C. Landingham, 87, $15,654; 4. (tie) Ty Breuer and Tim O’Connell, 86, $8,885 each; 6. (tie) Tanner Aus, Wyatt Denny and Caleb Bennett, 84.5, $1,410 each.

Canadian excited for a shot at BFO Las Vegas Championship title LAS VEGAS – Daryl Thiessen only thought he was done with freestyle bullfighting. Whether he was tired or had lost focus, the Elm Creek, Manitoba, man thought his time in the bullfight arena was over. He was ready to move on and focus on protecting cowboys during bull ridings and rodeos and remove himself from the competitive side of his life. “I went home, and I went to some rodeos and worked those,” he said. “When Fergie called me, I told him, ‘I ain’t into it.’ ” Aaron Ferguson is a fellow Canadian bullfighter and is founder and CEO of Bullfighters Only. He understood Thiessen’s hesitance but reminded the young cowboy about the talent he possesses in his 6-foot-5-inch frame. He also reached into the inner core of who Daryl Thiessen is. “That phone call got me back,” Thiessen said. “Seeing all those guys pave the way for the new age in the BFO and watching all the highlights, it crushed me that I wasn’t part of that, because I knew I had the talent to go there.” Thiessen will be part of the Bullfighters Only Las Vegas Championship, set for Wednesday-Saturday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. He advanced through the Pendleton Whisky Qualifier Round last week. “Fergie said, ‘You’re the most patriotic Canadian I’ve ever met; freestyle bullfighting needs a Canadian to be the man and build the sport in Canada,” Thiessen recalled. “Honestly I get goose bumps thinking about being the Canadian representative to that. “In a country with 36 million people, it’s great to think I’m the lone Canadian representative in the sport I love. To be able to represent Canada is the ultimate to me. I’d like nothing more than to go in there and win this deal. I want to show kids from Canada that you don’t have to stay in your little community or your little rodeo association; there is a living to be made out there doing something you love.” Theissen’s been in love with the game a long time. He grew up loving rodeo, ever since he attended his first bull riding at age 4. He started riding cows and even tried his hand at riding broncs, “I’m 6-foot-5, so I had a pretty big growth spurt,” he said. “I have a lot of background in hockey, so I thought I’d throw on some cleats and a cowboy hat and try the bullfighting deal. It just took off.” Freestyle bullfighting is truly a man-vs.-beast sport with danger and excitement at every twist and turn. By reaching for glory, the men will step closely to peril. It’s a tight-rope walk for every man who does it, but that’s part of the draw. It’s exciting to be inches away from an athletic bull that is hell bent on running them down. Thiessen has lived it and has loved it. Now he hopes to prove why he expects to be one of the best. “I’ve got a second chance, and I understand that doesn’t happen for everyone,” Thiessen said. “I’m so focused and determined right now. I’ll never let that happen to me again.” The BFO Las Vegas Championship is set for Dec. 7-10 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Tickets are on sale now at HardRockHotel.com and AXS.com.

LAS VEGAS – Chaney Duvall doesn’t really care if her father has had a good run or a bad one at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Chaney is the 13-month-old daughter of Riley Duvall, who is competing in ProRodeo’s grand championship for the first time in his career. After every run, the 24-year-old steer wrestler from Checotah, Okla., makes his way to Chaney and his wife, Megan; he hugs them and sits next to them and enjoys the moment. On Sunday night, the trio had a moment to celebrate after Riley Duvall downed his steer in 4.5 seconds to finish the fourth round in a three-way tie for sixth place worth $1,410. It was a much-needed payday after missing out the opening three rounds. “We got a start at least, so we’ve got something to feed off of now,” said Duvall, who pushed his season earnings to $72,588. “I wouldn’t say I’ve been frustrated, but it’s been an eye-opening three rounds. A guy gets here and expects to win every night.” That’s the mentality of a competitor. He just missed the pay window in Rounds 1 and 3 and had to settle for a no-time on the second night. Now he has six rounds remaining in the ProRodeo season to cash in as much as possible. “I think I’ve got things figured out,” he said. “The biggest key for me is the horse change. I got on Bray Armes’ horse, Ote, and I’ve got a lot of confidence on him for the next six rounds.” Ote is a 14-year-old palomino gelding that has helped a number of cowboys earn a lot of money in Las Vegas. He first appeared at the NFR in 2012, then guided Armes to the average championship in 2013. After realizing some of his struggles came in horsepower, Duvall opted to ride Ote. “I’ve run two steers on him in my life,” Duvall said. “I got on him before we came out here, and that was my second steer. He’s just so strong every time. When he leaves the corner, he gets you there in a hurry.” It showed in the fourth round, and he’d like to take it a step or two higher for the remainder of the NFR. “It’s good to just get a check and say I placed here,” he said. “Hopefully that can get the momentum going, and hopefully we can get some big checks the next few rounds.” Go-round winners pocket $26,231 each night, so he has plenty of opportunities to pad his bank account. He’ll need it. He trails the world standings leader, Tyler Waguespack, by nearly $95,000. But there’s enough time for him to make up ground, and he has no problem keeping that vision in site. “It pays so good a guy stays focused no matter what,” Duvall said. “Probably the best part for me is getting to hang out with Megan and Chaney every day. I love having them out here.” How did they help him when he didn’t earn a check the opening three days? “Megan keeps me sane and keeps me focused on the next round,” he said. And Chaney smiles and jabbers and keeps everything else in perspective for the bulldogger. He comes from a steer wrestling family, so he understands the ups and downs that come with the game. He also knows the joy he sees every time he looks into his daughter’s eyes. That’s worth every penny.

LAS VEGAS – The score wasn’t his biggest and the prize wasn’t his grandest, but Sunday night at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was just what Richmond Champion needed. “That was exactly what I needed to do, sit down and just take care of business,” said Champion, 23, of The Woodlands, Texas. “That’s all it comes down to here. I just didn’t expect it to take this long for me to feel that. I feel like my NFR just started.” He rode Korkow Rodeo’s Feather Fluffer for 83.5 points to finish in a tie for sixth place in the fourth round, pocketing $2,115. Most importantly, he found himself again and realized he needed to return the basics. “I finally felt something other than chasing my rigging around the Thomas & Mack the last three nights,” he said, explaining he hadn’t been comfortable during the opening three go-rounds. “I think what helped most was not thinking about things and not worrying about anything. “You can’t get too high or too low, and it’s really sinking in. I think I’m finding my groove.” It’s a familiar feeling. Champion had similar emotions during his inaugural run at the NFR in 2014. He failed to place in the first three rounds, then finished sixth in the fourth go-round. He followed by placing in five more rounds, including two wins. He finished that week and a half by compiling more than $108,000 in Las Vegas. He wouldn’t mind following the same script, especially with more money up for grabs in 2016. “I would love it if we could repeat that and just stay on track with the last time,” he said. Monday “will be one of the rankest rounds of bareback riding that I think the NFR has witnessed with the caliber of guys and the caliber of horses that will be out. It doesn’t matter what horse anyone gets on, it’s going to be awesome.” Champion has pushed his season earnings to $81,284, but he knows there are a lot of dollars available in the City of Lights. It’s just about controlling emotions and understanding the tasks at hand each night. “With this caliber of bareback riders, it’s great,” he said. “Everybody in that locker room is talented and has the same game plan. It’s the funnest locker room I’ve ever been in. Everybody’s spirits are high. It doesn’t get better than this, so we just need to slow down and enjoy, because we’ve already done the hard part. “Nothing really changes here. It’s all the same horses, but it’s bigger and brighter here. Just soak it up, and when it comes to riding, just do your job. It’s taken me this long to find out what I needed.” Now he’s ready to duplicate his performance of two years ago and walk away from Las Vegas with a carload of cash.