Monthly Archives: December 2023

LAS VEGAS – Just a few days after making his final team-roping run of the 2023 ProRodeo season, Coleman Proctor was doing the things Coleman Proctor does. He was practicing and taking care of his daughters, Stella and Caymbree, while his wife, Stephanie, was working. When the horses and steers were put away, the three ventured to a movie; they had earned a break, and it was the perfect time for daddy-daughters bonding. In just a few months, the girls will welcome a little sister, so any time they get with Dad is special and important. It’s just as big for Proctor, one of team roping’s elite headers who has eight qualifications to the National Finals Rodeo. He had just wrapped the richest 10 rounds of the year in Las Vegas, and his mind and body were ready for some down time. “My poor wife,” he said, reflecting on the moments the family shared in the Nevada desert. “We just get home, and she has to go back to work, so I’ve been Mr. Mom and just hanging out with the girls. They’ve been wanting to watch the new Wish movie by Disney. I figured they give up so much and go out to Vegas with us. “They listen and do a pretty dang good job of minding, so I try to reward them when we get home. They got to go to the practice pen with me while I worked on my steer tripping for a little bit, and now we’re just having a lot of fun, daddy-daughter time.” It’s the perfect setting for the cowboy who stays busy most of the time he’s in Sin City. When he’s not competing, he’s often making appearances around town and also hosts the pregame show on the Purina Stage at the steps of the Thomas & Mack Center, the NFR’s home since 1985. Proctor and his heeling partner, Logan Medlin, had moderate success at ProRodeo’s grand championship. They placed in just two performances, but one of those was the Round 3 victory, worth $30,706 a man. All told, they left town with $53,583; $10,000 of that came via a bonus that all qualifiers earned. “When you look at that money, it gets stilted because the money has gotten so good,” said Proctor, originally from Miami, Oklahoma, but now living in Pryor, Oklahoma, with his family. “Las Vegas Events and all the sponsors that make the finals happen has helped make the money so incredible. When you’re out there, it’s just like poker chips; you don’t really put value to them, then you get home and realize it’s sure going to help buy some more Christmas presents. “We didn’t quite have the finals we wanted or the one you imagine when you’re roping the dummy in the barn alleyway, but I thought it was a great finals. My horses felt great, and I had a lot of opportunities. I was disappointed that I missed the 10th steer, because I went out there to spin all 10 for my partner.” Those things happen. They recorded times on five of their 10 runs and were part of a controversy when Medlin was called for a crossfire by the official flagger during the fifth round. Many fans and fellow ropers disagreed with the call, but Proctor took his medicine and moved on, handling the situation with humor and his distinct personality. He realized nothing he was going to say could change the outcome. “I love our team, and I think our team is on the rise,” he said. “We got a lot of confidence, and there were a lot of ifs and maybes during the week. You’ve got 10 days back to back, pressure for all that money each night. You start wondering if you could have done better at this or a little better at that. “Then, at the end of the day, we were as prepared as we’ve ever been. We felt better about it than we’ve ever felt. It just didn’t come our way the way we wanted. So you dust yourself off, enjoy the holidays with family, and then we get ready for how we’re going to start the new year.” Sulking won’t do anybody and good, and Proctor isn’t the kind of person to do that anyway. World champions Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp earned their gold buckles by having a phenomenal run of things in Las Vegas. They each earned $100,000 more than Proctor and Medlin. “By the time we bought our (NFR) tickets, I probably left there with $45,000,” Proctor said. “That’s not too bad. “It’ll get us started back to the winter rodeos and get going again. Honestly, it wasn’t that long ago that I was just hoping to make the finals once.” He earned his first NFR qualification a decade ago and has only missed the championship twice since then. Both times, Proctor was among the top 20 headers when only the top 15 play on the sport’s biggest stage. It’s the only rodeo in which he can compete that he can walk away with that much money and not consider it a success. “It was such a fun year, and we got to go to some pretty cool places and see a lot of great people,” he said. “We got to win some really cool rodeos, like Calgary (Alberta) and Sioux Falls (South Dakota). “My confidence has gotten higher, and I think our team is getting better. I think we’re ascending I think it’s our time to win, and that’s exciting and motivates you.” Christmas has come at a good time. Proctor and his family need a break from the pressures that come with rodeo, especially the NFR. While in Las Vegas, he had plenty of support and a crew of folks around to him compete and help keep his daughters entertained. He makes sure each person knows how much they are appreciated. “There are a lot of people that give up their time,”  Continue Reading »

LAS VEGAS – The dreams J.D. Struxness had of winning a world championship didn’t fade just because another man walked away with the gold buckle. They’re still vivid, still in his mind and still on the table for the upcoming seasons. Louisiana cowboy Tyler Waguespack may have walked away from the National Finals Rodeo with the title, but Struxness placed in six rounds and collected $117,307 during his week and a half in Las Vegas. His last payday came in Saturday’s 10th round, the final night of the 2023 campaign. He knocked his steer down in 4.2 seconds to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place, worth $4,292. He ended the year ranked fifth in the world standings with $239,704 in earnings. “It’s bittersweet because we wanted to do something more, but to be able to catch a check in the 10th round is always great,” said Struxness, a five-time NFR qualifier from Milan, Minnesota. “It wasn’t quite the check we wanted to get on that steer, but it’s what we got.” Earlier in the week, fellow Northwestern Oklahoma State University alumnus had the same steer and was 3.5 seconds to win the fourth round, so Struxness was hoping for a similar run. It didn’t work out that way. “That still ran a little bit harder than we anticipated, but we were still able to get him thrown down,” he said. “Any time you can add the money, it’s a good thing.” That’s true. The NFR features only the top 15 bulldoggers in the world standings at the end of the regular season. The men in the field can do some big things. Beating most of them is an accomplishment. Unlike his previous run with Anderson, the steer left the chute on Night 10 like it was shot out of a cannon. Struxness utilized his horse, Crush, to catch up in a hurry and still posted a fast run. He was just four-tenths of a second from winning the round, which is just a blink of the eye. “They’re just animals and can do anything at any time, but we did everything we planned to do on him; he just took off a little harder,” he said. “You can’t control that.” Crush is owned by fellow NFR steer wrestler Ty Erickson, and Struxness had help from veteran bulldogger Matt Reeves, who was riding his hazing horse, Kirk. Both animals were instrumental in any successes the Minnesota man had. “They worked awesome, and I was very pleased with our decision to use those horses,” said Struxness, the 2019 college champions while at Northwestern. “Matt did a great job, and that horse worked great on that side all week, too. It was a fairly good week. The better result was what we wanted, but we didn’t accomplish all our goals along the way. We can’t complain too much about it. “You always go out there to make money, and the goal is always to win over $100,000. One of the goals was to be in the top five, and another is to win a gold buckle and win the average title. We were able to accomplish two of the goals we had.” He also has a little momentum on which to build for next season, and he’ll take that with him.  

LAS VEGAS – When the curtain closed on the 2023 National Finals Rodeo, Bridger Anderson realized he’d earned $120,939 during his stay in the City of Lights. “It was a great week, and we had a lot of fun,” said Anderson, a two-time qualifier from Carrington, North Dakota. “It’s awesome to have family here the whole time, and I’m very thankful for the time we got to spend together and live the dream. “We had great starts. Whiskers felt great and showed he can do a great job out there. I feel like both horses are feeling good.” Whiskers is Anderson’s bulldogging mount, and NFR veteran Clayton Hass was riding Metallica, a haze horse owned by 2017 world titlist Tyler Pearson. That team found great success, including a 3.9-second run to finish third in Saturday’s 10th round, worth another $18,325. The bulldogger finished the season with $206,540 and moved up seven spots to seventh in the final world standings. “We’re feeling confident, and hopefully we can let that roll into the upcoming season and make it back,” he said. “In that last round, we had a good steer. We were a little tight and we missed the barrier a little bit, but Whiskers did a great job of firing and running hard. He gave me a good go, and Hass did a great job hazing on Metallica for both of us. “We got a little further down the pen and made it happen quickly on the ground to get a check and finish out the week.” Raised by Tyler and Jackie Schau, Whiskers has been a staple for Anderson for several years. He was one of the guiding forces behind the cowboy’s 2019 national championship while at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “He was definitely feeling good and running hard this week,” Anderson said of the bay gelding. “He did a great job of running those steers down, and he really felt like he was really running this week. “He’ll definitely get all the hay he can ask for, and he’s going to get a little break now. He did a great job, and he’s ready to home and get a little R and R.” It’s difficult to qualify for the National Finals. Only the top 15 in the world standings at the conclusion of the regular season advance to the 10-round playoffs. At this year’s finale, he placed five times, including two go-round wins. He has a lot to take out of his week and a half in Las Vegas. “You’ve got to go out there and take it just one run at a time if you want to make it back,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of good rodeos, and we’ll go to the best rodeos in the world. We’re hoping we start off by just having a good winter and let that stack up before we head out for the summer.” Being in the Nevada desert in December is the place to be for professional rodeo cowboys, and Anderson has $120,000 reasons to return.

LAS VEGAS – Concluding his eighth National Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Tanner Aus took many things back to his Minnesota home: Confidence, talent and satisfaction that he got on nearly a dozen of the greatest bucking horses over consecutive nights. There’s also that $90,480 in earnings. It was a job well done, and he wrapped his NFR experience with a 10th-round bow by placing on the final night of the 2023 season. He rode Frontier Rodeo’s Breaking News for 87.5 points to finish in a tie for fourth place, worth $10,401. He also placed sixth in the aggregate race, riding 10 broncs for a cumulative score of 837 points, which paid a bonus of $19,315. “I’m very thankful to place in this 10th round,” said Aus, 33, of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “This is undoubtedly the 15 best guys in the world this year, and we got on 15 of the best horses we could put together for the 10th round. “That horse had a fantastic trip. Mason (Clements) won the third round on that horse, and we moved him from the eliminator pen to the TV pen. I was happy to have him, because if there was one in there that was just a tick ranker than the rest, that’s the one I want. It might be money or mud, and I got a piece of the money. It was good, and I’m thankful.” He finished the season with $210,377, good enough for 10th in the world standings. He placed in five rounds at ProRodeo’s grand finale and is already looking forward to what he can do the next season, which actually began Oct. 1. “It was a great NFR,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t perfect, but I tried my hardest every chance I got. There are things I can improve on still and hope to; 2024 started two months ago.” Even after 10 days in the Nevada desert, there isn’t much of a break for the Minnesota cowboy. The Chase Hawks Rough Stock Weekend takes place this next week in Billings, Montana, and he’s exited to compete. “I’ve entered that every year,” Aus said. “There have been years when I leave here and I’m just banged up that I have to turn out. That’s a bummer, because that’s an awesome rodeo, an awesome benefit.” His plan, of course, is to return to Las Vegas next December. It’s the world’s richest rodeo with a $14 million purse. This year, nightly winners earned nearly $31,000 for 10 rounds. Aus collected a go-round buckle, sharing the sixth-performance title with Idaho cowboy Jacob Lees. Money has changed since his first qualification in 2015. When he won the 10th round that year, he made $21,000 and finished the championship with $74,000. He earned less then and finished four spots higher in the world standings. “It’s unreal what we’re experiencing with the money in rodeo,” he said. It’s cool to see the direction the sport is headed and the great sponsorships we have, both association-wide and individually. The partners I have make it possible. Without them, I couldn’t rodeo the way I need to in order to be here.”

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo is unlike any other, and Dean Thompson now understands that more than ever before. “Round No. 10 at the NFR is crazy,” said Thompson, 21, a first-time bareback rider on ProRodeo’s biggest stage from Altamont, Utah. “My body feels great. I feel like I’m riding bucking horses as good as I ever have before, but, man, I’ve never been through an emotional tester like that in my life. “That’s 10 days of just getting your ass kicked.” The pressure that’s packed inside the Thomas & Mack Center is immense and intense. This is where world champions are crowned with go-rounds paying out $100,000 per round for 10 December nights. Bareback riders test their mettle on the 100 best broncs in the business, and only the elite from the regular season play on this level. When it’s combined, there’s steam rising in the Nevada desert. He found closure, though with an 89-point ride on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Game Trail to finish second in Saturday’s 10th go-round, worth $24,268. It was the biggest one-day payday of his young career. He had placed just one other night, finishing sixth in Monday’s fourth go-round. “I feel so blessed that the horse went out there and had an amazing day,” Thompson said. “I knew that at the end of the day, it’s still rodeo, and you need to go out and do the best possible spur ride you can on the horse. “Game Trail had an awesome day, and that made it really fun.” Thompson entered the finale eighth in the world standings. Failing to add dollars to his spot on the money list for eight of those can take a toll on a cowboy’s mental game. He earned just $39,221 and finished his rookie season with $170,672 for 13th. When frustration was setting in, he began dissecting his rides. He found a few things. “Fundamentally, everything looks good, but just because everything fundamentally is almost great, it doesn’t mean it’s appealing to the judges,” Thompson said. “What I saw riding through Round 9 was just the tiniest bit of hesitancy; hesitating to pull my feet and, maybe, hesitating in believing in what my bareback riding ability is.” Through every ride, every jump, every spur lick, he learned something about himself and his life in rodeo. “I have two lessons from all this,” he said. “I heard this quote, and it’s been coming back to me this week; ‘Success is moving from failure without loss of enthusiasm.’ I feel like if you don’t go out with that attitude and give 200 percent effort and do everything you’re capable of, then you have no chance. No. 2 is to never stop improving. I obviously understand that we’re all going to have baubles, but what I’m most proud about was that every single day, I showed up here with confidence.” He’s ready to return “I’ll take this, and I’ll run from here right into next year’s NFR, because this is my No. 1 priority,” Thompson said. “I’m young, I’m agile, I’m free and I’m hungry to be back.”

LAS VEGAS – Several weeks ago, the top 15 bareback riders in ProRodeo convened on a conference call to decide the bucking horses to be selected to the National Finals Rodeo. It’s a tough list to crack. This is the sport’s Super Bowl and World Series wrapped into a 10-day championship, and only the very best get a chance to perform inside the Thomas & Mack Center. It’s an opportunity to showcase the top athletes, both human and equine. Tim O’Connell has ridden greatest horses in the world during his standout career, and he got on another outstanding bronc during Friday’s ninth round. He rode Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Square Bale for 86.5 points to finish second, earning $24,268; it was just his second check during this year’s championship. “I actually fought for this horse to get here,” said O’Connell, a 10-time NFR qualifier from Zwingle, Iowa. “I’ve seen this hrose for three or four years, and she’s always been that last horse to get cut off the list. I watched both her trips in Albuquerque (New Mexico), and I thought, ‘That horse needs to at the finals.’ “I don’t know if she’s got the round win in her, but you’re dang sure going to get a top-money check, so I stuck my neck out for her. Sure enough, I’m the guy that gets her, and she blew my expectations out of the water. I finished the ride like I wanted to, and it was, by far, the best ride I’ve made at this NFR.” It’s been a slow nine days at this championship. That’s unlike O’Connell, a three-time world champion who also has won the average title three times. He’s collected $55,564 heading into Saturday’s final go-round, pushing his season earnings to $213,891; he is sixth in the world standings. His roughest rides have come during the NFR’s eliminator pen, the rankest broncs at the field. He was 73 points in Round 3, then made an equipment change. He was 79.5 on Night 8, well off the pace to earn money in Las Vegas. “I’m always in the fight, but I took a bad shot on a horse (Thursday) night because he was leaning,” he said of how the animal was standing in the chute prior to the ride. “He stood up, and I nodded, then he went to go lean again and fell out of the box. “His butt was out in the arena, and his shoulders are back in, and I was starting to think he was going to turn out backwards. All of the sudden, he jumps out and spins himself around. I got to ride an eliminator 200 degrees around the corner into my riding hand.” It was difficult to get back into position, especially on a horse like that. “They’re eliminators for a reason,” O’Connell said. “He threw his weight around me, and there wasn’t a whole lot of timing to get me back in front. I didn’t have the ride I wanted.” But he rebounded well and hopes to carry that momentum into Saturday’s 10th round. “I’m way out of the average, so I’m just fighting to get go-round money,” he said. “If I keep getting these big round checks, I might get a little check in the average. “I’m just slinging it right now.” That’s not the style that he has formed over his career. His controlled and aggressive spurring style is why he’s had so much success, especially at ProRodeo’s grand finale. “Ten years ago, I was just a straight gunslinger,” O’Connell said. “I was either going to win first or I was going to go down, just go down swinging. As I’ve matured in my career, I learned how to be a little more conservative, then turn it loose when I wanted to if I needed. That’s how I took it the last six or seven years, and it’s worked out well. I’ve usually been in such a high position that I’m not going to take a chance out of going out of that big average check. “If you go out of the average, you go out of a world-title race, and I’ve been in world-title races, so I don’t cut it loose as much as I used to. “This old man still has some tricks up his sleeve.”

LAS VEGAS – When things are askew in his personal life, Orin Larsen leans on his family and close friends. When things are wrong in rodeo, he does the same thing. Whether it’s conversations with his mom and dad or a phone call to one of his siblings, they help him maintain a strong attitude and a belief in himself. He’s needed them a lot the last several days at the National Finals Rodeo. Lady Luck separated herself from Larsen early, and she stayed gone for awhile. He entered this year’s championship sixth in the world standings with a shot at the coveted gold buckle, then he struggled. He missed the pay window for eight straight rounds. “It’s been tough, but I’ve got a really good family and a really good support team to get me on the straight and narrow,” said Larsen, a nine-time NFR qualifier from Ingles, Manitoba. “They’ve helped me keep my head in the right spot this week. It’s definitely been a challenge for that, so they’ve helped me quite a bit.” They finally found a bit of satisfaction for all that love. Larsen rode Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo’s Hot Mocha for 85 points to finish in a tie for fifth place in Friday’s ninth round. It was worth $6,438 and a big sigh of relief. “Keenan Hayes placed on that horse earlier in the week,” he said. “I think everyone in the locker room was pretty happy that I drew one of the better ones. I felt really good. The horse came right out there, jumped in the air and gave me a chance to make sure I got my stuff together again. “We’ll just move forward from here.” Larsen first qualified for the championship in 2015 and hasn’t missed one since. He’s had great NFRs, but this one falls under a different category. He’s one of the elite bareback riders in the sport. Most ProRodeo cowboys dream of making the NFR just once; he’s done it nine times in a row. “It’s definitely a year to remember, and I’m looking at it as a view of what I want to do,” said Larsen, who now lives in Hydro, Oklahoma. “It’s not the finals I wanted, but I’ll remember it, because next year is going to be a hell of a lot better.” He will close out his 2023 season on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s New Scarlett, a horse that, like all the others Saturday night, is part of the TV pen of broncs. The 15 horses in the draw are recognized as the very best the sport has to offer. High scores happen often. Rocker Steiner and Clayton Biglow shared the fifth-round victory with matching 89.5-point rides the last time this group was bucked. With one ride on his schedule to chase the big bucks Sin City has to offer, Larsen is going to let it all hang out. “I’ve got to throw caution to the wind,” he said. “If I hit the dirt because I’m 90, then I can walk away pretty damn proud. We’re going to nod for 90 points and knock it out of them. If I limp away, I’ve got a few weeks to heal up, so I’ll be fine by then.” Ninety or nothing, Larsen plans to end his NFR going out in style.

LAS VEGAS – When he’s not on the rodeo trail, Jess Pope is quite comfortable working around his own place in eastern Kansas. He has a cow herd and also offers up his services for day work for other ranchers in the area. He’s a cowboy who knows the importance of handling his business. He’s also the reigning world champion bareback rider competing at the National Finals Rodeo for the fourth straight year. In each of the previous three years he’s played on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, he’s won the average championship, the second-most valuable title in the sport. He’s closing in on a fourth. Pope rode J Bar J’s Blessed Assurance for 85.5 points to finish in a tie for third place during Friday’s ninth go-round, adding $15,601. He has earned a bareback riding-best $124,158 through nine nights in Las Vegas and is fourth in the world standings with $251,206. Most importantly, he owns a seven-point lead in the average race heading into Saturday’s final round. “There’s still one night,” said Pope, 25, of Waverly, Kansas. “We’ve done it for nine nights in a row, so I’ve just got to show up, do the same thing one more time, and we’ll see what happens.” NFR go-rounds issue nearly $100,000 per day, which is divided into six spots. The average purse is nearly $300,000 and will be issued to eight cowboys. The winner will collect a $78,748 bonus when the curtain closes Saturday night. That can make up a lot of ground in a hurry when chasing another Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. Pope trails the leader, Colorado cowboy Keenan Hayes, by $73,000, so every dollar counts for Pope, who attended Missouri Valley College on a rodeo scholarship. With round winners earning nearly $31,000, Pope has a chance to close out his NFR with a $109,000 payday on the final night of the 2023 campaign. “I like being in chase mode,” he said. “I enjoyed being in the position I was last year, and the worst thing I had was all the phone calls and everybody telling me that all I had to do was not miss the horse out (the punishment for which is a no-score). I think that just added pressure.” There’s still pressure, because the NFR can be a steam bath. The money that’s up for grabs can play with competitors’ minds. Pope has remained consistent throughout his first nine days in Las Vegas, and it’s paying off. He’s placed in all but two rounds. “It’s a marathon and not a sprint,” he said. “Consistency is everything here. You just show up, try to enjoy the process and just take it day by day, no matter what happens the night before. You’ve got to forget about it and look at what’s right in front of you for the day. You can’t worry about tomorrow until it’s here.” Riding bucking horses is his business, but it’s also fun. He had that with Blessed Assurance. “Those are the kind of horses a guy wants to get on all the time,” Pope said. “They’re fun. I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re easy, but they’re not an eliminator like we got on (Thursday). With that horse, it was a lot of, ‘Go fast and rip them as hard as you can,’ but I was still trying to do everything correctly.” That’s just one thing that helps define a champion.

LAS VEGAS – In the heat of competition, there are things that happen that can knock someone off his perch. J.D. Struxness experienced that during Wednesday’s seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo. His steer didn’t take the fall as expected, so the Milan, Minnesota, cowboy tried to grab a leg and pull the animal over. The steer kicked free instead, and Struxness was saddled with a no-time. “I should have slowed down a little bit more there, but I’ve never really been in that situation before,” said Struxness, a five-time NFR qualifier. “I just panicked and was trying to get him rolled over and jerked instead of making sure I had a hold of everything. I just grabbed his leg and jerked it, and it didn’t come out. “That was my mistake on the week.” He didn’t stew about it. In fact, he came back with a 3.7-second run to finish as the runner-up in Friday’s ninth round, earning $24,268. That increased his NFR earnings to $113,015. He is second in the world standings with $235,412 with one night remaining on the ProRodeo season. “Other than that, the horses are working good,” Struxness said. “We got on the good end of the steers and were able to play, so hopefully we can stay in there and take home some more money.” He was in the middle of a world-title hunt when he suffered the no-time, so it was a disappointing outcome. It took him out of collecting big money the average race, which pays contestants with the top eight aggregate scores. That bonus may have been the deciding factor in his first world championship. He is ninth in the aggregate with an eight-run cumulative time of 52.5 seconds. Should he move up a spot, he would earn a $7,429 bonus when the NFR ends Saturday night. Despite the frustrations, he responded solidly but trails the world standings leader, Dalton Massey, but nearly $30,000. “That’s a good rebound and hopefully we can get another good one (Saturday),” said Struxness, who has been riding Crush, a horse owned by fellow NFR bulldogger Ty Erickson, and utilizing veteran Matt Reeves as his hazer. “Crush is working great. Matt’s horse has been working great. The only bobble this week was my mistake. Struxness, who won the first Northwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo national title in 2016, was one of four Rangers to place in steer wrestling Friday night. Cody Devers won the round, while Bridger Anderson finished third and Stephen Culling was sixth. “It was a really good night for us,” Struxness said. “All of us made good runs. Devers did a heck of a job and came out with a round win on a steer that I thought was just a steer. It’s always a good night when you get four Rangers to place.”

LAS VEGAS – No matter how fast sprinter Usain Bolt is, he understands that a good start is the key to making a good run. Steer wrestlers compete similarly. They need to start fast to stop the clock in quick order, all while riding a fast horse that’s chasing a running steer. When Bridger Anderson has placed, it’s because he and his prized mount, Whiskers, have timed their starts at a precise moment. It certainly has made things easier when he launches himself off the black gelding onto the cow. “They were previously a no-time and a little longer on that steer, and he wants to slip a horn, so I knew I had to blast the barrier and try to get it early and get ahead of him a little bit,” said Anderson, who stopped the clock in 3.8 seconds to finish third in Friday’s ninth round of the National Finals Rodeo. “I felt like I got a great start. “(Hazer) Clayton (Hass) did a great job of walling him off on Metallica for Whiskers and I, and it ended up working out. I got ahead of that steer and got by him. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest, but we got by him.” He also earned $18,325 for his top finish. Heading into Saturday’s final go-round, he has earned $102,614 and has moved up six spots to eighth in the world standings with $188,125. “It’s awesome to break six figures at this NFR,” said Anderson of Carrington, North Dakota. “I know there’s been a few times we haven’t necessarily capitalized this week, and it would’ve been cool to see if we could have pulled out the way we have in the latter part of the week when it first started. “I’m super pumped for Cody Devers tonight. I’m so glad he got the round win and got a little redemption on his NFR experience. I’ve never seen anybody run so fast to get on that victory-lap horse than Devers did.” Anderson and Devers were teammates at Northwestern Oklahoma State University and are two of four former Rangers’ bulldoggers competing in Las Vegas. All placed Friday night, with Devers leading the way with a 3.5-second run. J.D. Struxness was second, and Stephen Culling was sixth. “With all four of us placing in the round, it was a good show and we had a good night,” said Anderson, the 2019 intercollegiate champion. He has placed four times with two round titles. That’s been key to his financial success this week, and he has one more night to catch Nevada money. “We’ve just been taking the positives,” he said. “We’re blowing the barrier out. We’re feeling good, and our horses feel great. As long as we get a dancing partner in Round 10, I have no doubt we’re going to be able to keep capitalizing and try to finish this week out strong.”

LAS VEGAS – Forgive Stephen Culling if he was hoping for more from his first National Finals Rodeo. He’s placed six times, which is an incredible feat considering only the best in ProRodeo play on this stage, but he’s finished at or near the bottom five of those nights. His only five-figure payout came Sunday night, when he finished in a tie for second place in the third round. In all, he’s earned $56,555 since he arrived in Las Vegas. All those payouts are critical. “I’d say $5,000 a night adds up if you do it every night, but I still want to win a little better check than that,” said Culling of Fort St. John, British Columbia. “We’ve got one more chance to still move up a little bit in that average money, and I moved up a spot with Dakota (Eldridge) having some bad luck. “I’m just staying consistent. With the steer I had, they broke a barrier on him and missed him once, so I knew if I drilled the barrier, he would be a chance to win something.” Steers are allowed a head start, and the barrier system allows for that. A rope is placed in front of the timed-event box, and once the steer reaches the starting line, it releases. The best runs are to have the horse at the barrier at that moment. “There were lots of good steers out tonight, and all these guys are doing their jobs, too, so I had to be sharp,” he said. He was, and he added another $4,952 to his annual salary. He is 12th in the world standings with a little more than $160,000, but he’s also fifth in the aggregate race with a cumulative time of 48.0 seconds on nine runs. Should he remain in that spot by the time the rodeo ends Saturday, he’ll add $26,744. If he moves up a spot, fourth in the average pays $37,445. “Fifth place in the average pays a lot of money, so it’s in the back of a guy’s head,” said Culling, who was one of four former Northwestern Oklahoma State University bulldoggers to place Friday. “You can’t start thinking of the average and miss the barrier on purpose, because that’s when you end up missing a steer or getting outrun. “The game plan never really changes, but the average is starting to come into factor a little bit more coming down to the final round.” Most ProRodeo cowboys ended their season two and a half months ago, so being able to still battle for big bucks in Las Vegas is a blessing. The final night of the campaign ends Saturday, and he’ll finish among the top 15 in the world standings, if not in the top 10. Culling has proven his rightful place at the NFR, and he’s looking to utilize it to build on what he’ll do in the future.

LAS VEGAS – The dollars and cents of rodeo are starting to add up for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper. Through nine rounds at the National Finals Rodeo, he has placed five times, the latest coming after an 86.5-point ride on United Pro Rodeo’s Awesome Sauce to finish in a tie for third place in Friday’s ninth round. “Getting down to these last days, making as much money as you can is what it’s all about,” said Casper, a four-time NFR qualifier from Miami, Texas. “I’ve seen Awesome Sauce a bunch. I’ve never been on it, but all my traveling partners have. I knew he was going to be a pretty tough horse but probably one of the better ones in the draw; I was pretty excited to have him.” Friday’s round featured the eliminator pen, the hardest-to-ride broncs at the NFR, but Casper was up to the task. It was his biggest payday so far. He is seventh in the aggregate race with 751 points on nine rides; if he maintains that through Saturday’s final performance of the 2023 season, he’ll add a bonus of $13,372. Heading into the 10th round, he’s pocketed $63,241 in Las Vegas and is 10th in the world standings with $205,662. “We’re nine for nine now, and I think that’s the most I’ve ridden out at the NFR since we were in Arlington (Texas in 2020),” he said. “I’m pretty pumped about that.” Cowboys arrive in the Nevada desert with rodeo’s gold on their minds. To win that coveted buckle, it takes talent, consistency and a little bit of luck. Casper has the talent and proved his consistency, but he needed a little more luck in order to walk away with the world championship. “Anytime you surround yourself with the top 15 of anything, it’s going to be pretty great,” he said of the field of bronc riders in Sin City this week. “I’m pretty lucky to be able to be around these guys in the locker room. There are guys in there like Zeke (Thurston) that were making the NFR before I thought I could even make the NFR. “It’s pretty cool to look up to them, but they’re good competition and make it a lot of fun.” That talented group of men is just one reason why Casper hasn’t made more NFR money. When he’s scored well and had a chance to take the top prize in a round, someone else has taken the luster from him. Take Friday, for example. Dawson Hay had already scored 86.5 to match Casper, but Lefty Holman was the last to go and was a point better. Thurston, the reigning and three-time world champion, won the round with an 88.5. Having the right horse matters just to get a check. “You can go through the list and pick out who you feel sorry for and who got the better end of the draw,” said Casper, the 2016 intercollegiate champion while at Clarendon (Texas) College. “I feel like I was one of the guys who got the better end of it tonight, so we just tried to capitalize on it.” Every experience can be a lesson, and he’s received that this week. “You just have to enjoy it while you’re here,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest lesson. We work all year to get here for these 10 days, so it’s best to just be patient. If it doesn’t work out, that’s OK. Just enjoy it.”

LAS VEGAS – Cody Devers dreamed of this moment from the time he was a young child. After two National Finals Rodeo qualifications and 14 go-rounds in Las Vegas, the Perryton, Texas, took the victory lap inside the Thomas & Mack Center. He wrestled his steer to the ground in 3.5 seconds to win Friday’s ninth round, earning $30,706. It was his first NFR paycheck, and it’s a moment he’ll likely never forget. “Everybody has adversity, and it’s just how life is,” said Devers, who first qualified for the finale in 2021 but was hampered by a torn pectoral, then suffered through a bad run of things over the first eight performances this year. “You can either get knocked down and stay there, or you can get back up each night and keep swinging. “I’d say they knocked us down for seven or eight rounds, but we started getting it figured out. We just keep pushing positive thoughts and prayers and kept working at it, and it’s finally come together.” He began his second NFR rough, settling for two no-times in the first three rounds. He also failed to score in Round 7 and finished out of the money in the other five performances – he missed the pay window by one spot Thursday night. His biggest adjustment came when he switched horses prior to Monday’s fourth round. “My mare started getting a little sore and wasn’t really working as well as I’d like, so I switched to Sam Dixon’s horse, Baby,” said Devers, who was the runner-up to the 2018 college champion while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “Each night she’s been feeling really good. We got the start the last two nights, and that’s made a world of difference. “Marc Joiner has been on the other side riding my hazing horse, and he’s been doing a great job just like today. He got that steer to pick his head up, and Baby put my feet on the ground really fast so all I had to do was slow down and do my job.” Making a run like that was valuable, and not just in the financial rewards. Winning an NFR round is tough; the top 15 guys in the world standings are ready to knock anyone off that perch. With the victory, he has upped his yearly earnings to $144,839 and gained a ton of confidence “I could have done a little bit better on my job on a couple of those rounds, then I missed a start on another,” he said. “It’s not my first time here, but this is a fast start, and if you get amped up and if you miss it, it’s unforgiving.” Having good horses helps, but making a run on a steer that fits is also beneficial. Devers liked what he saw in the animal that was selected to him by random draw. “I knew that if we blew the barrier out,” he said of getting a good start, “and my hazer and Baby do their jobs, he was going to pick his head up. I knew I was going to have my feet on the ground where all I have to do is slow down and make a good run. When I was missing the barrier, I was trying to go too fast on the ground and make up that time. “It’s really tough out here, and everybody’s been making good runs, so this time I could slow down and actually do my job.” Devers is one of four former Northwestern steer wrestlers in the field, and all four placed during Friday’s round. J.D. Struxness was 3.7 to finish second, Bridger Anderson was 3.9 for third and Stephen Culling was 4.0 to place sixth. “It’s been awesome,” Devers said. “We’ve been cheering for each other, helping each other out. It’s kind of having a big family up here.”

LAS VEGAS – When Stephen Culling backs into the timed-event box to make his runs at the National Finals Rodeo, he has all the confidence necessary to win at an elite level. That’s why he’s here. He was one of the top 15 steer wrestlers in ProRodeo when the season closed Sept. 30, and he’s proving why he is in this field. He has placed in five rounds and has slowly been adding to his pocketbook. His latest came with a 3.9-second run during Thursday’s eighth round. That’s fast, and it will likely win a lot of rodeos. At the NFR, he finished fifth and earned $7,924. “Yeah, it’s better than sixth,” said Culling, who has finished in that spot three times since arriving in Las Vegas. “I’m not going to complain about money. A check is a check.” It adds up. He’s earned $51,602 in Sin City with two rounds remaining on this year’s championship. It was his second-biggest payday of the week – Culling finished in a tie for second place in Sunday’s third round, worth more than $21,000. “It’s been good, and we’ve been consistent,” said Culling, who has an eight-run cumulative time of 44.0 seconds for sixth in the aggregate race. “The horses are working awesome, and Tanner (Milan) is doing a great job over there hazing. Everything’s coming together. We were on the stronger end of the steers on that run, so I knew I’d have to drill the barrier to have a chance to win something.” Steers are allowed a head start, and the barrier system provides the starting blocks. The best starts happen when the bulldogger’s horse arrives at the barrier as it is released once the steer reaches the starting line. It’s vital to make a good run, especially at the Thomas & Mack Center, which has an arena roughly the size of a basketball court. “They were longer on that steer in the first two rounds he was run,” he said, pointing out that the pen of steers had been run in both the second and fifth rounds. “I knew if I drilled the barrier and did my job that the steer had a lot of action, and a guy could win something on him. “We pretty well have a solid idea of what these steers are going to do and know the steers you have a good chance of winning on and the ones that you just have to get by on and try to win something. I knew that one ran a little too hard to be a short 3 (seconds), but I’m riding a fast horse. I hit that barrier and let the horse do his job.” That’s Eddie, the Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year owned by Milan; the hazer is riding Kirk, a horse owned by fellow bulldogger Matt Reeves. Riding a Canadian bulldogging horse and placing on Canada Night at the NFR was something special for the Fort St. John, British Columbia, cowboy, who is 10th in the world standings with $155,628. “It’s awesome,” Culling said. “It’s pretty cool to have as much representation from Canada as we have. There are 10 of us, and every day before the grand entry, we visit and talk about the bulls and the broncs and the steers and the calves that we all have drawn. We’re a pretty tight group of guys all from Canada, so it’s pretty fun to represent Canada with that bunch of guys.”

LAS VEGAS – Every athlete knows that performing well doesn’t always translate into wins. Richmond Champion has that figured out after he picked up just his third paycheck of this year’s National Finals Rodeo. He matched moves with Three Hills Rodeo’s Tarnished Silver for 85.5 points and finished fourth during Thursday’s eighth round. “I feel like I’m having the best NFR I’ve ever had riding-wise,” said Champion, an eight-time qualifier from Stevensville, Montana. “(Wednesday) night, I just got beat, but it brought up a good change for my equipment – it was nothing big, but some little adjustment to my rigging.” He placed on the opening two nights, then was blanked among the top spots for five straight rounds before collecting $12,877 Thursday. He’s made just $40,000 since arriving in Sin City, but he’s seeing the positives when he can. “This is the first time ever that I won money right off the bat and didn’t keep winning,” he said. “I’m used to not winning money early and just building into it, and then I just don’t stop winning. This year it’s, ‘I’m here,’ and then nothing. That makes you want to play mind games and start thinking about stuff you need to do.” Fellow bareback rider Caleb Bennett offered the idea of rigging adjustments, and it paid off. Tarnished Silver was part of the eliminator pen, the hardest-to-ride horses at the NFR. By scoring a nice payday, Champion increased his yearly earnings to $151,404. “The E pens have always been my jam, whether I like it or not,” said Champion, who attended Tarleton State University on a rodeo scholarship. “It’s my kind of pen, and there’s always confidence when we come to that. “You’re not worried about what anyone else is going to do. You’ve got to do your job, and you’ve got to do it right.” There are just two nights remaining on the 2023 season. The bareback riders get a reprieve in Friday’s round with the hopper pen of horses, the group of broncs that allow the cowboys to show off. They will conclude this edition of ProRodeo’s Super Bowl with the TV pen, the most electric and showy horses in rodeo.   “We’ve got two more good ones left,” Champion said. “I’m just going to let them roll. I have nothing to lose. “I feel like every year you get toward the end of the week, and everybody’s in their grove in the locker room, and you realize it’s bittersweet because it’s coming to an end. You’re not going to see these guys in that setting for a while and possibly not see them there ever again. Rarely do you ever have the same locker room. It’s been super fun. We build each other up, and we break each other down when we need it. It’s just a special experience in there.”

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes in rodeo, it only takes one ride to make a change. That came for saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper after Wednesday’s seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo. He was just 74 points on King Rodeo & Wentz Bucking Bulls’ Popeye, and he knew things needed to turn around. Fast forward to Thursday, where Casper spurred Mosbrucker Rodeo Freckles for 87 points to finish fourth in the eighth round, pocketing $12,877. “I crewed up on that Popeye horse and had to redeem myself,” said Casper, a four-time NFR qualifier from Miami, Texas. “I really thought I’d have the round win tonight, but I was a half point off.” Three cowboys shared the round victory with scores of 87.5, so that dropped the Oklahoma Panhandle-raised cowboy down, but he’ll take what he can get. It was his highest placing so far at ProRodeo’s grand championship, where he’s collected $47,640. He has ridden eight horses for a cumulative score of 664.5 points and sits eighth in the aggregate race. “That half point decides a lot about money,” he said. “I feel really good, and we’ll just carry that into the eliminator round (Friday) and into the TV pen Saturday and just try to make all of the money we can.” This is the world’s richest rodeo, with nearly $100,000 up for grabs every go-round. The three men who scored higher than Casper each collected $24,433. Still, any check at the NFR is huge; only the top 15 in the world standings at the conclusion of the regular season play on this stage, a showcase of the sport’s elite. Casper beat 11 other cowboys, so he has some things to carry him through the final two nights of the 2023 campaign. He is 10th in the world standings with $190,061. “I’ve got mixed feelings about this NFR,” he said. “My week hasn’t really gone how I wanted it to go, and there’s part of me that wants 10 more. There’s also part of me that is ready to pack it up and go home. I’m going to make the best out of these next two horses and go into the new year and push forward to be a world champ.” No matter what happens in the arena, he knows his heart is with his wife, Lesley, and their two children, Cooper and Cheyenne. They have rented an Airbnb for their time in Las Vegas, so the kids have room to run around. Spending quality time with them offers the respite he needs when he’s not handling his business on the best bucking horses in rodeo. “We’ve enjoyed it,” said Casper, the 2016 intercollegiate champion while attending Clarendon (Texas) College. “Chey’s birthday is Dec. 6, so she has a birthday out here every year. We don’t do anything crazy, but we get to hang out with our family. “I’ve had a lot of family out here. We’ve been pretty lucky to be able to get everybody out here and enjoy it. I’m pretty lucky to be able to get some family out here; we really enjoy it.” He has two more chances to add to his annual income, so he’ll focus on the tasks at hand. It is, after all, the biggest business venture of his season.

LAS VEGAS – Just qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo is a major accomplishment for bareback rider Jacob Lees. He finished the regular season 14th in the world standings to earn his spot during the 10-day championship, which takes place at the Thomas & Mack Center. There’s a learning curve when it comes to competing at this championship, but he’s taking to it well. Lees has placed in four so far, his latest coming from an 87-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s San Angelo Sam, which earned him a second-place finish in Thursday’s eighth round, worth $24,268. “This is the third time I’ve been on that horse,” said Lees, originally from Caldwell, Idaho, but now living in Boyd, Texas. “I barely got by him the first time, and I was 83 points. The second time … he drilled me in the dirt at about three seconds (into the ride) and hurt me pretty good, so this was kind of a revenge ride. “I knew I had to get by him. It felt good to get a piece of the money.” He earned a chunk of cash for the second time; Lees also shared the sixth-round victory with Minnesotan Tanner Aus. He has deposited $81,070 with two rounds remaining on the 2023 season, two more chances to add to his bank account. He’s also eighth in the aggregate race with 667 cumulative points on eight rides. Should he remain in that spot when the rodeo ends Saturday night, the Arroyo Grande (California) High School graduate will add a $7,500 bonus. To top it off, his second-biggest check of the week came in the eliminator pen, the grouping of the hardest-to-ride bucking horses in the business. “I’m a pretty mellow guy and nothing really riles me up, but the eliminators rile me up, and I personally feel like I ride those ones better,” said Lees, who credits much of his success to his sponsors, Toste Construction, ProHats, Double-J Quarter Horses, Bet Hesa Boon; Servi Quarter Horses, Ghostwood Distilling Co., Fenoglio Boots and Gentry Custom Cowboy Shop. “I don’t feel like I get any less scared than the next guy, but I usually do better if I know a horse is harder to ride. I like the big, strong, heavy ones. I feel like they make me stay back and make me ride correctly, and I usually get a high score.” Being a newcomer to the richest rodeo in the world takes some adjusting. The famous yellow bucking chutes can be intimidating, but it’s still a competition he’s been doing professionally for five years. He’s kept that focus. “I started well before this just telling myself over and over that this is just like another rodeo,” said Lees, who also supports 17 Strong, a foundation based in Arroyo Grande that provides “victory trips” to young adults between the ages of 18 and 40 after they battled a life-threatening illness. “I’ve had so many guys tell me they don’t even remember their first round, and I wanted to remember my first round at the NFR.” Lees wasn’t raised around rodeo, but he came from a ranching family that raises livestock. He listened closely to an uncle who was competitive in team penning. He paid attention to that while dreaming of being a professional rodeo cowboy. “I always wanted to ride bulls since I was a little kid, and when I started listening to Chris LeDoux, I thought, ‘What’s this bareback riding thing,’ ” he said about the bareback riding world champion-turned-country artist. “I got into that and never looked back. I rode bulls for a long time but never really picked it up like I did bareback riding, which has brought me a long way.” Yes, it has. He finished 33rd in the world standings the last two years and was 54th in 2020. His rise toward the top is proof that hard work pays off. Riding bucking horses isn’t easy, and to score points, a cowboy must spur from the front of the animal’s shoulders back to his rigging in rhythm with the broncs bucking motion. Doing it on the biggest stage of his career is like a dream come true, and he has more than $80,000 reasons why he wants to get back. “At the beginning of the week, it seemed like it was never going to end,” said Lees, who attended West Hills (California) Community College and Western Texas College on rodeo scholarships. “Now, it’s coming to an end, and I wish there was another 10 days.”

LAS VEGAS – Steer wrestler Bridger Anderson picked a good time to make the fastest run of his professional career. He stopped the clock in 3.3 seconds to win Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo, pocketing $30,706. That catapulted his Las Vegas earnings to nearly $85,000. What’s big is it was just his fourth paycheck in eight rounds, so it’s proof of how the roller coaster of rodeo is, especially on the sport’s biggest stage. “There’s not a cooler place to do it,” said Anderson, who also won Monday’s fourth round. “We had a good steer, then we had to blow the barrier out and break down the wall to try to get the steer to frame up. Clayton (Hass) did a great job hazing on Metallica for Whiskers and I, and the steer framed up nicely. We just had to be patient, go down and get it. “When he hit, I figured we were going to be quick, but I didn’t know we were going to be that quick.” The time is just three-tenths of a second off the NFR record, which was posted by Steve Duhon in 1986 and Bryan Fields in 2001. Fellow Northwestern Oklahoma State University alumnus was 3.3 to win Tuesday’s fifth round. Anderson entered this year’s finale 14th in the world standings. He has doubled his annual salary in a little more than a week; at $170,000, he is eighth on the money list. It’s not easy, either. While many of the competitors have hired someone to help take care of horses, Anderson has taken care of Whiskers by himself with just a little bit of help from family and friends. “I’m going to hire someone the next time I come out,” said Anderson of Carrington, North Dakota, who first qualified for the NFR in 2020, when the event took place in Arlington, Texas, because of COVID retractions. “We’re signing (autographs) and running all over the place. In Texas, I had (college rodeo coach and hazer) Stockton Graves just say, ‘I’ll take care of everything; you just show up and bulldog.’ “That was awesome. I came out here by myself, and it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day. The one thing you’re going to have to cut out is sleep, and I need sleep. I need about eight hours a night if possible, and there’s no way I’ve even come close this week.” That’s just one of the challenges he has faced in Las Vegas, but there are plenty of others. He’s just one of the top 15 bulldoggers competing on this stage, so the competition is tight. The stresses are high, but he has found a way to manage it all and try to stay healthy. “The biggest thing was the ‘Jesus Shot,’ ” he said of the medical assistance he receives from Next Level Health & Wellness, which sponsors cowboys during the NFR. “Cinch also got us Rodeo Performance Network to work on us a little bit. My chiropractor flew out and has been working on me the last few days, and that really helped to get me lined out with some neuromuscular balance and getting my spine lined back out.” It takes a healthy mind and a healthy body to compete at an elite level, and Anderson is figuring out all the aspects of his business venture in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – Like those championship bouts that have made this city famous for decades, Jess Pope doesn’t mind scrapping. This isn’t a middleweight match of Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler from two decades ago. This is the reigning world champion bareback rider vs. 1,200 pounds of bucking muscle, and it took place Thursday night during the eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo. “These are our hardest bucking and our rankest horses that we have going,” Pope said of his match-up with Championship Pro Rodeo’s The Crow. “It’s just a good, old-fashioned fist fight. I really like the eliminator pen of horses. That’s where the men stand out from the boys, and I was very thankful to be able to find success again in the eliminator round.” The two titans slugged it out for eight seconds on the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 88.5 points, good enough for the round win and $30,706 in Pope’s pockets. He has ridden eight horses for a cumulative score of 681.5 points and leads the aggregate race by five points over the No. 2 man, Coloradoan Keenan Hayes. “I knew I had pretty good odds of having a good shot at winning,” said Pope of Waverly, Kansas. “I got on that horse in the short round at Dodge City (Kansas) and got along really well. I was pretty tickled about it.” In fact, the two danced across the western Kansas dirt in August for 87.5 points, so they were able to muster another point when it counted most. Hayes leads the world standings with $324,597, but Pope is making up ground. He has earned $108,558 in Las Vegas, $50,000 better than the Colorado cowboy. Pope is third in the standings, $90,000 behind and has two more nights on the 2023 season to make his move. “There have been years and years of preparation that comes into this round, really all 10 rounds here at the NFR,” Pope said. “I’m fully confident that I can ride any bucking horse they run underneath me, and you have to have that confidence coming in. There are 14 other guys in that locker room that have the same amount of confidence that I have, but all I can control is what I do on the animal I have drawn. “I can’t pay attention to what the other guys are doing. If they make a good ride, I want to be there cheering for them, let them find success and me be happy for them.” There is a comradery that comes with competing against one another at rodeos across North America. They travel together, and they know its them vs. the animal. They’ll help one another out when the situations arise. “The brotherhood we have as bareback riders is like no other event out there,” he said. “I want to see those guys win as bad as I want to win. I’m not competing against anybody; I’m competing against myself and the animal I have. That’s the one unique thing about bareback riding.” He doesn’t look at the numbers. Those, he said, will take care of themselves. He has a job to do, and he knows what it takes to do it. There’s a reason he’s defending his title. “Whenever they announce the average results after 10 days, whoever wins I’m going to be plumb tickled for it, but when I enter a rodeo, I plan on winning,” said Pope, who has won the NFR average in each of his previous three years competing at ProRodeo’s grand finale. “I’ve had a great week. “When I first started rodeo when I was a little kid, it wasn’t rodeo for money. It was rodeo because it’s fun. Throughout the summer, there were times where it wasn’t real fun, but it’s been fun this week. I’ve really enjoyed it. I haven’t won as much money as I wanted to win, but it dawned on me that when I started, it wasn’t for the money. It was to be a bucking-horse rider who wanted to make the memories I get to.”

LAS VEGAS – Slowly but surely, steer wrestler Stephen Culling is making money at the National Finals Rodeo. ProRodeo’s grand finale offers a purse of $100,000 per day, and it’s paid out to the top six places in descending order: Round winners earn the most, $30,706. Culling has been among the leaders four times in seven rounds. Since he arrived in the City of Lights last week, the Fort St. John, British Columbia, cowboy has pocketed $43,678. Half of that came from his 4.3-second run Sunday, which resulted in a tie for second place, worth $21,296. In his other three rounds, he’s finished in sixth or a tie for sixth. Culling did that again in Wednesday’s seventh round, stopping the clock in 4.5 seconds. He added another $4,953 payday to his annual earnings, which are just shy of $150,000. He was raised in northeastern British Columbia and got involved in rodeo early. After receiving a little tutelage in steer wrestling, he took to it. In 2010, he won both the Canadian High School Finals Rodeo and the National High School Finals Rodeo, which catapulted him into his college career. Culling attended both Western Oklahoma State College and Northwestern Oklahoma State University on rodeo scholarships. He was the 2016 Resistol Rookie of the Year, but this is his inaugural trip to the NFR. He earned the right by finishing 10th in the world standings at the conclusion of the regular season. Through seven rounds, he’s added to his pocketbook but remains in the same spot on the money list. He has a few aces up his sleeve as he battles in Las Vegas. First and foremost, he’s riding Eddie, a bulldogging mount owned by fellow Canadian Tanner Milan that was named the PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year. He’s also sixth in the aggregate race, having knocked down seven steers in a cumulative time of 40.1 seconds. Should he hold onto that spot, he’ll add a bonus of $19,315 for placing in the average. He has three more nights to cash in before the season comes to an end. He’ll take every opportunity he can to make that happen.

LAS VEGAS – It’s not often that a cowboy can say they got on three elite bucking horses in one day. Tanner Aus can. His first came Wednesday morning during the sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo. His initial mount didn’t have a good day, so he was offered a re-ride so he had a chance to win money at the world’s richest rodeo. He did that and more, riding Flying U Rodeo’s Little Red Hawk, becoming the last cowboy to spur the legendary horse before she was retired. He shared the go-round win with an 87-point ride, matching the score with Idahoan Jacob Lees. His third was Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Uncapped, which helped him to a fourth-place finish in the seventh round during the nightcap. He was 86.5 points, worth $12,877. All told, he collected more than $40,000. That’s a significant day’s work. “I had some awesome draws; you can’t say very often that you get on three NFR horses in a day,” said Aus of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “What a blessing, but at the end of the day, that’s what we need to keep making this life work. I’m just thankful to have success and stand out here.” He’s placed in three rounds and has earned more than $60,000 during a week in the Nevada desert. He has pushed his season earnings to $180,661 and is 11th in the world standings. Having a chance to test his skills on the powerful Pickett horse was just a bonus. “That horse is awesome,” he said. “It’s been a few years since I got on him, but he’s big in stature, so your rigging fits on him just perfect. He’s just muscle, but he’s also long and lanky at the same time. He’s flashy. You don’t have to do very much to look impressive. “He’s not easy. He’s a strong horse but good to have, especially when you look at this pen of bucking horses. These guys are so good that it’s hard to differentiate between the scores.” Because of his round win in the morning, he was able to celebrate with his family during the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation at the South Point. “There’s nothing better than having them out here with me,” Aus said. “The support and focus they bring me while I’m here … I can’t imagine trying to do this with them.” The NFR features only the best contestants from the regular season. Only the top 15 on the money list in each event advance to ProRodeo’s grand finale, so the competition inside the Thomas & Mack Center is loaded in talent.   “It was all stacked here with really impressive rides,” he said. “You can’t tell me these guys aren’t prepared or belong here, because it’s just so tough here. He has three more nights to cash in on this business trip to Sin City. The first step is Thursday’s eliminator pen, the hardest-to-ride group of horses at the NFR. He’ll be matched with Rosser Rodeo’s South Point Kate, a mare that has had just a handful of qualified rides the last two years. No matter the horse he has, Aus expects to take care of business. “The game plan doesn’t change,” Aus said. “You want to look down the pipe (the horse’s mane and neck), set your feet and give it all you can.” It’s working in Las Vegas.  

LAS VEGAS – Not many people in rodeo are more consistent at the National Finals Rodeo than bareback rider Jess Pope. He’s won the last three NFR average titles and is the reigning world champion, and he’s done it with a steady run of success since he first qualified in 2020. There’s more proof, though: In his fourth trip to ProRodeo’s grand finale, Pope has ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 593 points and shares the aggregate lead with Coloradoan Keenan Hayes with three nights remaining on the season. He continued his dominance inside the Thomas & Mack Center with an 84.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Wilson Sanchez to finish fifth in Wednesday’s seventh go-round. That was worth nearly $8,000 and pushed his Las Vegas earnings to $77,851. He is eighth in the world standings with $204,899. “This is the third time I’ve been on that horse at the NFR,” said Pope of Waverly, Kansas. “I got on it my first year in 2020 and again in the second round last year. I’ve pulled a check every time. It’s a pretty solid horse to have in this pen. No, it’s not a go-round win, but it keeps a guy solid in the average.” There are 100 bareback horses at the NFR, all selected by the cowboys that ride them in Las Vegas. They are separated into five groups, and each one has a few horses that stand out. Pope knew his match-up probably wouldn’t earn him the round title, but maintaining a solid performance is key; earning money at the finale is always nice no matter the size of the payment. “It seems like I’ve drawn a lot of horses that are middle of the pen all year,” he said. “It got me here, and it’s still winning me money. I would sure love to get some horses that you can win a round on, but my time will come. Everything happens for a reason. God’s plan is what it is, and He is preparing me for something bigger than what I’m thinking there’s going to be.” Seeing the bigger picture is important, though it’s difficult at times. A week ago, an armed man invaded one of the buildings on the UNLV campus and shot four people; three died. It was just a few buildings away from the Thomas & Mack Center. Officials opted to delay the start of the NFR and add a special morning performance that took place Wednesday. That meant the contestants competed twice on the same day. While their hearts go out to the families that lost loved ones, the contestants were appreciative of the opportunity to still compete for 10 rounds. “The locker room is good,” Pope said Wednesday. “We had our ‘slack’ for the first time ever at the NFR this morning, and it was a lot of fun. This is probably the funnest day in the locker room that I’ve ever had with two performances in one day. “I’m feeling really good. I’m sure there are some guys that are sore right now, but I do my preparation for a reason coming in here, and I’m ready for 10 more bucking horses.” He’ll settle for three and await the close of this year’s championship while hoping to continue his hot streak in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – Three-time world champion bareback rider Tim O’Connell scored a little redemption during the seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo. “That’s the horse that actually threw me off in 2021, which was the first time I’d been thrown off a horse in about 88 rounds here at the National Finals Rodeo,” O’Connell said of Big Stone Rodeo’s Mayhem, a horse on which he scored 87 points Wednesday night to finish in a tie for second place with his traveling partner, Louisianan Kade Sonnier. “I knew I had my hands full, and I knew that I made an error to trust my rigging for three rounds. I even knew after Night 1 I should have scrapped it. “But I waited until things got really bad after the eliminator pen (Sunday) to actually move forward and make a rigging swap.” Adjusting equipment proved to be beneficial, and it finally paid off. He earned $21,296. Most importantly, his he gained needed confidence as he heads into the final three nights of the ProRodeo season. “I’m just thankful to finally get on board in a round,” said O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa. “I have never been shut out that long to get a paycheck, but I stayed with the same mindset that it was going to come and was able to not go off the deep end.” Oh, there were frustrations. This is the richest rodeo in the world, with go-rounds paying nearly $100,000 for 10 straight rounds. When a competitor battles six times without placing among the leaders, emotions can boil. “I feel like how I’ve prepared mentally and physically has shined through Rounds 4 through 7, and it finally came together,” he said. “The National Finals is tough if you don’t get hot out here right off the get-go. All I can do is just keep doing what I’ve been doing since Round 4, and that’s nod my head, be aggressive and do the right things I prepared myself to do. I’m doing everything I can do, and it finally paid off.” The paycheck was the perfect reminder of how things can go in Las Vegas, and it helped him celebrate the birthday of his wife, Sami. “I really tried to get her to the South Point,” he said of the casino on the south side of Las Vegas Boulevard that hosts the nightly go-round buckle presentation. In fact, that’s the person he leans on most when things aren’t going right. During the regular season, it’s a phone call or a quick trip home. At the NFR, the two communicate about everything that happens in the arena – the joys and the frustrations. “My wife is just the strongest person I know,” O’Connell said. “I know she’s just as frustrated; I think she’s been more frustrated than me. The most important things to me are my faith and my family. Rodeo is starting to fall down the list of importance. I love rodeo. It’s what I do, but it’s not who I am anymore. I lost my identity in that at one point, and I actually despised what I was doing for a career. “I really love doing this, and that mindset helped me find the love I had for it again. To have the opportunity to just be out here for 10 straight years and feel like I’m still one of the most dangerous bareback riders in the world is amazing.

LAS VEGAS – The times are fast at the National Finals Rodeo every year. Even though he’s never played on this stage, Stephen Culling knew what to expect. He wanted to be one of the fastest steer wrestlers in the field, and earning a spot among the top 15 is a major accomplishment. He has pride in the work he did through the regular season to get to Las Vegas, and now he’s hoping to build off a modicum of success he’s had inside the Thomas & Mack Center so far. He was fast during Wednesday’s special, stopping the clock in 4.1 seconds to finish sixth in the sixth round, earning another $4,953. It was his the third time he’s placed in Las Vegas, pocketing $38,725 for it. He is seventh in the aggregate race with four rounds remaining. “It’s a learning curve right now,” said Culling of Fort St. John, British Columbia. “I broke the barrier one night and then missed the barrier the next night, so I kept bouncing back and forth. I need to get back to the game plan and just try to blow the barrier out every night and not worry about that broken barrier the other day and just go after these go-rounds the next four nights.” The special performance came about after last Thursday’s opening night was canceled because of the shooting on the UNLV campus. It was a way to have all 10 rounds without disrupting the rest of the schedule. The seventh round is scheduled for Wednesday evening. “We’re used to running in slack,” he said. “It’s a little different feeling being in a slack in Vegas and a quarter-full Thomas & Mack, but I know we’re fortunate that we were able to make up that lost performance, so we’ll take what we can get.” The bulldogging steers the cowboys ran in the morning session were known as the “strong pen,” and times showed. “This pen of steers is a little trickier,” said Culling, who has pushed his season earnings to $142,751. “They’re all over the map, so getting a check out of here is another step in the right direction.” As he plans for the remaining four rounds, he’s looking to build to his NFR resume. “My NFR has been all right,” he said. “I’ve been picking a way and placing in three rounds. Obviously I would have liked to be placing a little higher in these rounds than the bottom half, but there’s still a lot of rodeo left.”