Cooper

Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper, who is sitting eighth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $123,802, will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a hamstring tear on Aug. 5 at the Mountain Valley Stampede in Heber City, Utah.

Casper said the injury originally started bothering him after he partially tore it during the Fourth of July run in Red Lodge, Mont.

“I took a couple weeks off after I initially hurt it in Red Lodge,” said Casper, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “I tried to come back, but it was still hurting me quite a bit.

“I kept rodeoing at Dodge City (Kan.), Lovington (N.M.), and Heber City. Then, I ended up tearing it completely there because it wasn’t quite healed up yet.”

The injury will not require surgery, just rest and rehab according to Casper. He said the timeline for the injury to heal is four to six weeks. The timeframe would put him near the end of the ProRodeo regular season, which ends on Sept. 30.

His first thought was that he would be forced to miss the remainder of the regular season with hopes of competing at this year’s Wrangler NFR in December, but he now said he’s not ruling out a return to action in September if his body feels right.

“My original plan was to be out for the rest of the regular season,” he said. “I’m thinking now that there’s a chance, I might try to make a return sometime in September. I’ll just have to play it by ear and see how I’m feeling.”

As of Aug. 24, Casper is sitting fifth in the NFR Playoff Series standings, which would qualify him for the $1 million Cinch Playoffs in Puyallup, Wash., Sept 8-11. He said whether he competes or not is still up in the air.

Courtesy of PRCA

The amazing season of saddle bronc rider Sage Newman got even better this past weekend.

Newman earned $23,634 at four different rodeos, highlighted by his $13,902 payday at the Xtreme Bronc Finals in Rapid City, S.D., on Aug. 21.

By earning that amount Newman upped his season total to $233,360, which is a new regular season saddle bronc earnings record before the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The previous record was $224,488 set by Ryder Wright in 2019.

Newman is sure to add to his record total as the PRCA regular season doesn’t end until Sept. 30.

This season, Newman, who leads the PRCA | RAM World Standings, has won countless rodeos, including RodeoHouston. At RodeoHouston, he pocketed $57,500.

Newman won the coveted RodeoHouston title with a 93-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Billie in the Championship Shootout at NGR Stadium.

“That was unbelievable,” said Newman, 24. “That was the most memorable win of my career so far. It’s a legendary rodeo and to be able to win that is amazing. My traveling partner Kolby Wanchuk got on that horse (Billie) in San Antonio (Feb. 26) and was 90 on him, so I knew what he was all about and when I drew that horse, I was pretty excited.

“I was talking with some of my traveling partners, and I told them last year I was fighting to get $80,000 at the end of the year.”

From 2017-20, Newman earned a combined $33,000 and some change and then everything changed in 2021.

The Melstone, Mont., cowboy made his Wrangler National Finals Rodeo debut finishing 12th in the world standings with $82,718.

He earned $42,658 of that at the Wrangler NFR at the Thomas & Mack Center last December in Las Vegas, placing in two rounds, and finishing 11th in the world standings with $125,375.

Courtesy of PRCA

Las Vegas Events announced today that its long-tenured president, Pat Christenson, will retire on December 31, 2023. Christenson will continue to work with the new President once the position has been filled, prior to the start of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this December.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin in 1976 where he won an NCAA Wrestling title at 167 pounds, Christenson has carved out an impressive career in Las Vegas in venue development, event programming and development and sponsorship.

Christenson moved to Las Vegas in 1980 to be the assistant wrestling coach and event coordinator. In 1983, he was promoted to assistant director of the newly built 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack Center which was unfinished and projected to be a cash drain on UNLV. At the same time, UNLV took over management of the 30,000-seat Las Vegas Silver Bowl (now Sam Boyd Stadium). Christenson was charged with developing programming and developing an operation for both venues. From 1983 – 1992, the Thomas & Mack Center and the Las Vegas Silver Bowl were arguably the two most successful collegiate venues in the country. Christenson booked every event that toured the country, averaging 175 events per year in both venues. By 1990, both venues were solvent, had completed $15 million worth of improvements and amassed a sizeable reserve.

In 1991, Christenson was promoted to director of both venues where he lobbied for and managed a $40 million renovation of both venues. From 1991-1995, they sold out every show averaging more than 135,000 tickets per year. The Eagles, Metallica, Dave Mathews Band, N’Sync, Lollapalooza, George Strait and three U2 tours followed. He also lured the Grateful Dead to the Silver Bowl.

Christenson worked with Cox Communications to provide half the funding and then designed and opened a badly needed Olympic sports venue for UNLV, Cox Pavilion.

In 2001, Christenson accepted a position as president of Las Vegas Events. In this capacity, he has been responsible for securing “Signature Events” and then ensuring their growth and success. During his tenure, Las Vegas Events has increased the number of events it has supported from 21 in 2001 to an average of 41 over the past five years prior to the start of the pandemic. Most notably, the list includes two events Las Vegas Events produced – the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo® and the FEI World Cup Jumping and Dressage Finals. In addition, LVE secured and supported four conference basketball tournaments, Electric Daisy Carnival, Rock in Rio, Life Is Beautiful, USA Sevens, NBA Summer League and numerous USBC Open Championships. The non-gaming economic impact of these events has increased from $108.9 million in 2001 to an average of more than $535.8 million for the period of 2015 – 2019.

As both the director of the Thomas & Mack Center and president of Las Vegas Events, Christenson has played a prominent role in the growth of the NFR since it first arrived in 1985. Known as the richest and most prestigious rodeo in the world, the NFR attracts the top 15 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding to compete for a share of the increased purse and the coveted PRCA Gold Buckle. In 2001, the NFR drew visitors for only tickets sold in the Thomas & Mack Center. He created the “NFR Experience” with a goal of dramatically increasing visitation by developing and promoting events outside the Thomas & Mack Center. Today, it is estimated that the NFR Experience draws more than 400,000 visitors annually, participating in 200+ events made up of 25 NFR Viewing Parties, 70 concerts, The Cowboy Channel Cowboy Christmas, World Series of Team Roping and more.

Christenson is a member of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame (Class of 2013), the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame (Class of 2019) and the Wisconsin Wrestling Hall of Fame and has been a member of the Board of Governors for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. During his career he has served on the Boards of MDA, Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation, Opportunity Village and Grant a Gift Autism Foundation. In 2007, he was named Las Vegas’ “Most Influential Sports Figure” by the Las Vegas Sun.

For more information on the Wrangler NFR, please visit NFRexperience.com or through social media at /LasVegasNFR and use #WranglerNFR. For the latest ProRodeo news and Wrangler NFR TV coverage, please visit prorodeo.com or through social media @PRCA_ProRodeo.

Las Vegas NFR will be held on December first week 2022 that it has launched the new mobile application for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Rodeo fans can now use the app to plan their rodeo experience in Las Vegas, which runs from Dec. 1 – 10 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

This year, we’ve enhanced our schedule features (including the popular What’s Hot category), so you can easily find the events you’re interested in. We’ve also made it easy for you to access all NFR blogs in one place, and we’ve enhanced our parking diagrams and maps. Plus, we’ve added NFR A/V, so you can catch up on daily video highlights and content, or listen to the NFR Playlist on Spotify. There will be a lot of fun things to do in October of 2022! In addition to the rodeo, there will be entertainment around town, live stats, scores, contestant information and more.

Wrangler NFR fans will be able to download a free application that includes the following features:

• Schedule: The Wrangler NFR app provides fans with a complete list of performance times, Wrangler NFR 9-5, NFR After Dark, Cowboys Christmas activities and What’s Hot. It also allows fans to add events directly to their smart phone calendar;

• Beyond the Dirt: If you can’t make it to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, don’t worry. Beyond the Dirt will be streaming live, so you can watch all the competition from anywhere;

• Parking & Maps: This year, Cowboy Christmas will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Parking details and maps are available, and there will be shuttle bus service to and from the event;
• Tickets: FAQs, info on the NFR Online Ticket Exchange through our safe, secure and authentic portal and more;
• Cowboy Christmas: Contains info about the official gift show of the Wrangler NFR and a full list of exhibitors and interactive areas, including booth numbers;
• Stats, Stock & Contestants: Get stats, follow your favorite cowboy and look for match ups on the stock roster;
• Junior NFR: Follow the ten days of action inside the Wrangler Rodeo Arena;
• NFR A/V: Watch unique video content, the best rides each night and check out the NFR Playlist via the Spotify integration;
• Blogs, News & Social: Keep up with the Wrangler NFR by following our stable of bloggers, signing up for push notifications, and connecting with fans and friends via social media;
• Sponsors & Partners: Connect to all of our key sponsors and supporters.

The NFR Experience Mobile Application is available for free on all platforms. You can download the iOS or Android app and schedule your NFR Experience today.

App Store

Google Play

The Wrangler NFR, which has sold out for more than 300 consecutive performances, attracts the top 15 contestants in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. Under the new contract with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association that runs through 2024, the purse in 2019 is $10 million. Qualification is based solely on the PRCA World Standings.

For more information on the Wrangler NFR, please visit www.NFRexperience.com or through social media at /LasVegasNFR and use