Watch NFR
The 65th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) is scheduled to return to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas from December 7-16, 2023. The 10 nights of competition will feature the best 120 cowboys and cowgirls vying for a coveted PRCA World Championship. They will also be competing for their share of the $10.9 million purse, which set a record in 2022. With such high stakes on the line, you can be sure that this will be an event you won’t want to miss!
A new year brings new opportunities.
For Sage Newman, it’s about the path back to the National Finals Rodeo. He dreams of one day bringing home a world title. The Montana native kicked off 2023 on the right foot, claiming an average title at the New Year’s Eve Buck & Ball in Gillette, Wyo.
Newman started his party with an 87-point ride on Korkow Rodeos’ Onion Ring. The 2021 “Pendleton Whisky’s Let ‘er Buck Bucking Stock of the Year” award winner was a matchup Newman has been itching for.
“I’ve never drawn that horse before so I was pretty excited to see her name next to mine. I’ve been waiting a long time to get on that horse,” the 24-year old said. “Yeah, she had a good night and we matched up pretty good.”
Newman brought home the win with a 90.5-point trip on Powder River Rodeo’s Miss Valley in the finals. He finished with 177.5 points on two head, claiming the $2,394 winning check. The cowboy echoed excitement for his stop in Gillette, speaking highly of the unique opportunity.
“It’s a good time in rodeo. Everybody comes here to have a good time, ring in the new year, and have no worries doing it,” Newman said. “We’re just having fun riding some great horses.”
The saddle bronc rider emerged victorious from a strong field that included recent 2022 NFR qualifiers. Newman never takes winning for granted, knowing his event is loaded with talent.
“It’s awesome to compete against those guys. There’s a lot of great saddle bronc riders right now. In the top 30, any guy could jump out and win a rodeo on the right horse,” said the two-time NFR qualifier. “To be able to come out on top, it’s a pretty good feeling. I’m honored to be riding with them.”
After finishing fifth in the 2022 RAM | World Standings, Newman feels more motivated than ever for a gold buckle. He craves a chance at redemption in Las Vegas.
“It definitely made me hungry and coming back from that, it lit a fire in me for sure,” said Newman, who entered the 2022 NFR as the season leader. “I wasn’t super happy with how I ended up down there but I’m grateful to be down there… I’m ready to go back this year and redeem myself, that’s for sure.”
Newman doesn’t have plans on making big changes in 2023. Well, except for one thing.
“We’re not stashin’ and bashin’ anymore so now I guess we’re just straight bashin’,” he said.
Other winners at the New Year’s Eve Buck & Ball were bareback rider Dean Thompson (174.5 points on two head) and bull rider Blaine Beaty (82.5 points on one head).
Courtesy of PRCA
LAS VEGAS – Stetson Wright capped his Wrangler NFR season for the ages Saturday night.
Wright set the single-season PRCA earnings record ($927,940), all-around single-season record ($758,829), bull riding single-season record at $592,144 and bull riding earnings at the NFR at $271,545, counting ground money before 17,788 spectators at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge.
“This year has been the best and the hardest year I have had in the PRCA,” said Wright, 23. “It started off really hot, moving to No. 1 in the world in broncs and bulls. And it kind of didn’t slow down from that point on. But I had a few injuries where I had to have surgery, sit out and miss some rodeos. When you are missing stuff like that, you don’t feel like you are doing your best. I had to learn a lot of patience. I had to trust everything my mom and dad said when I needed to sit out. I learned that if you wait and get healthy, you will do a lot better.”
The Milford Utah, cowboy now has seven career world championships – four in all-around (2019-22); two in bulls (2020 and 2022) and saddle bronc riding (2021).
Wright also placed in 15 out of the combined 20 rounds he competed in saddle bronc riding (seven) and bull riding (eight) at the Thomas & Mack Center. Wright finished fourth in the saddle bronc riding PRCA | RAM World Standings with $335,797.
“I didn’t think it was,” said Wright when asked about winning more than $900,000 in one season. “I feel like I have shocked myself a lot this year. It came with patience and trusting that everything would be all right. That was what this year was about.”
Wright was quick to point out he has no plans of taking his foot off the gas pedal.
“I love breaking my own records because that means I did better than I did the year before,” Wright said. “That’s my goal to be better. I feel like what I have done this year, I feel like I can do even better if I stay healthy and don’t miss anything. I really feel like I can do better and break more records.”
Tie-down roper Caleb Smidt collects fourth world and average titles
Caleb Smidt doubled his pleasure at the 2022 Wrangler NFR. The Bellville, Texas, cowboy won his fourth world title and fourth NFR average honor.
Smidt, a model of consistency, earned a PRCA tie-down roping single-season record $374,737. He also earned an NFR tie-down roping record of $225,221.
“It’s unbelievable. Just what I have accomplished is beyond my imagination,” Smidt said. “My belief in God and the horse I have, and my family pushed me to be better every day. It’s a tough sport to even do this. To leave your family in the summer to make it here is hard, and it’s a long 10 days here. It’s an unbelievable blessing to do this. And to have the success I have had and great friends I rope against every day who encourage me to be who I am, it’s amazing. I am happy for my family. They have been supporting me all week. I do it for them, for the fans and I give all the glory to God.”
Smidt won the average with an 82.5-second time on 10 head. He also won world and average titles in 2015, 2018, 2021-22. Smidt is tied with tie-down ropers Olin Young (1959, 1962-63, 1971); Roy Cooper (1976, 1979, 1983, 1995); and Fred Whitfield (1991, 1997, 1999, 2002) for most NFR average wins.
“I don’t even think I would have a gold buckle without him,” said Smidt of his star horse Pockets. “That’s how good he is. The consistency he gives me every time I nod my head. It’s unbelievable. When I am back in there, and I know it’s all on me to win something, it’s pretty easy. I don’t have to worry about my horse. A lot of guys this week were switching horses to try to find something that works. When I ride on him, I know I have a chance. When you have a horse that does the exact same thing every time it gives you a chance. He’s going to do his job.”
Steer wrestler Tyler Waguespack claims fourth world crown
Tyler Waguespack is no stranger to winning world championships – but his fourth world title on Saturday night was a bit improbable.
The favorites to win the world – Stetson Jorgensen and Will Lummus – stumbled. Jorgensen received a no time in Round 10 and Lummus broke the barrier. In came Waguespack to win his fourth world title. Waguespack also was the world champ in 2016, 2018 and 2021 and 2022.
Waguespack finished atop the world standings with $268,881. He narrowly defeated Lummus who finished with $266,188. Waguespack split fourth in Round 10 (4.0 seconds) and was third in the average with a 57.1-second time on 10 head.
“I feel undeserving of this world title,” Waguespack said. “That was the craziest round of steer wrestling I have ever seen. Will Lummus bulldogged great all week long. The steer he had tonight actually took me out of the average earlier in the week that’s the steer I got the barrier on. I would have never thought that would happen. Will should be sitting here instead of me. I was the lucky one who came out on top at the end. That was one of the craziest rounds I have ever watched.”
Waguespack is joining some elite company in steer wrestling world title circles. Only Homer Pettigrew (six) and Luke Branquinho (five) have won more world titles than Waguespack. The Gonzales, La., cowboy is tied with four world titles with Ote Berry, Everett Bowman and Jim Bynum.
“This is so awesome,” Waguespack said, “I grew up watching all my heroes and dreaming about having one gold buckle, you know. Ote Berry is one of my biggest role models and biggest supporters and helped me out so much. I can’t wait to see him here in a little awhile because I have got the same amount he does, and I get to rub it in that I am still going so maybe one day I will get lucky and get one more on top of him.”
Saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston nabs his third world crown
Canadian Zeke Thurston made it a hat trick on Saturday night.
Thurston won his third career gold buckle in 2022, thanks to earning a PRCA single-season saddle bronc riding record with $399,316. Thurston of Big Valley, Alberta, also won world titles in 2016 and 2019.
“This one was probably the hardest one I have ever had,” said Thurston of title No. 3. “I had to work for this one. The other 14 guys in the room are crazy talented and ride awesome. I had quite a bit of money to make up coming in here. I knew if I just made the best ride I could on every horse and kept placing in the rounds I would give myself a fighting chance. And that’s what I did. Having my family and everybody here, it is really cool. I have won a couple of others. To have them all here for this one is really special.”
Thurston earned an NFR saddle bronc riding record $256,078. He earned $74,150 for winning the average with 876.5 points on 10 head.
“I am not usually an average-kind-of guy,” Thurston said. “I darn sure didn’t come here with the mindset to win the average. When it comes down to it, it can make-or-break you. To be the guy leading it coming in, I would almost rather not have been in that position because it starts playing tricks on your mind. I just blocked it all out and went and made the best possible ride tonight.
Team ropers Driggers/Nogueira wins second straight gold buckles
Make it back-to-back for team ropers – header Kaleb Driggers and heeler Junior Nogueira – who won their second straight world championships.
Driggers/Nogueira finished atop their respective world standings with $340,708 each. They earned $112,830 each at the NFR and finished second in the average with a 71.4-second time on nine head.
“This is what we’ve always dreamed about, being here and winning a gold buckle,” Driggers said. “This week we had a lot of trials and tribulations. We had to overcome them. It didn’t go exactly as we planned. At the end of the day, we kept our faith in the Lord and our faith in each other and we persevered.”
Nogueira echoed his partner.
“It was one of the toughest finals (without winning a round), especially for me,” Nogueira said. “Kaleb did an amazing job of keeping me up. A great job. Perhaps, I just humbled myself a little bit, I guess. We had to fight through it. There’s nothing easy. We always compete against the best guys in the whole world, and they don’t make it easy on anyone. We were blessed to be good in average, and we really had to catch that last one, a tough steer. We were able to do it. And you have to give all the glory to God.”
Bareback rider Jess Pope snares his first career world crown
The wait is over for Jess Pope. After finishing third and second in the world standings in 2020 and 2021, respectively, the Waverly, Kan., cowboy is a world champion in 2022.
“This is awesome. The emotions right now, there isn’t anything like them. It is just so rewarding. I worked my whole life for this, and it finally came true.
“I knew I had it in me. It was just letting the cards fall right and drawing right where I was supposed to and doing what I was supposed to when I was. God’s plan, the way it was supposed to be I guess.”
Pope also won his third consecutive NFR average crown with 860 points on 10 head.
“Man, I was just showing up and taking it one horse at a time, being a cowboy,” he said. “When your day working or anything whatever you have in front of you, you have to do your job and that’s what I was able to do. This feels incredible.”
Barrel racer Hailey Kinsel wins her fourth world title in five years
Hailey Kinsel concluded her 2022 season with her fourth world championship in five years.
The Texas cowgirl finished as the world standings leader with $302,172 to capture her latest world title. She also won world titles in 2018-2020.
“Oh gosh. This is so much to put into words,” Kinsel said. “(Sister) is amazing. I really don’t know how and why she loves this so much and wants to be better every time. She got stronger as the week went on. She came into the last two rounds like she could go 10 more. I felt really good that I could tell her we are quitting while we are ahead. It’s good to give her a day off as a reward when she’s done that well. She’s so special to me. She’s like family. All our horses are. It’s been an incredible time to be with these ladies. We have a wonderful group of women and amazing horses.”
Kinsel edged 2021 world champion Jordon Briggs, who finished with $274,520.
Zeke Thurston snares Top Gun Award
Zeke Thurston, the 2022 saddle bronc riding world champ, also was the RAM Top Gun Award winner. Thurston was the recipient of the honor for the first time in his career as he won the most money in a single event at the 2022 Wrangler NFR at $256,078.
Courtesy of the PRCA
MINNEAPOLIS – The Unleash The Beast can sometimes be an intimidating place for newcomers. Riders who have spent their whole childhoods looking up to their heroes are then sitting next to those same idols competing for thousands of dollars on a weekly basis.
The 2023 season is a tad bit different, though, as many of this year’s potential Rookie of the Year contenders will already have spent three months competing at the PBR’s highest level of competition via the PBR Team Series.
However, even Daniel Keeping says there were still some butterflies knowing he is embarking upon his first full-time season on the Unleash The Beast despite becoming one of the diamonds in the rough to blossom during PBR Teams.
“I mean, it is still a little nerve racking, and you still have a lot of people cheering you on here and at home,” Keeping admitted Friday night in Minneapolis. “It isn’t like, ‘Oh my God!’ It is just doing my job correctly and doing it right. Showing everyone that all the work I am doing at home is paying off finally.”
Keeping has shown early on this UTB season that his Teams success with the Texas Rattlers (11-for-16) was no fluke or setup via easy matchups. The 23-year-old is tied with world leader Cooper Davis for the most round wins in the PBR (2) and has begun the UTB season 5-for-7.
On Friday night at the Target Center, Keeping got off to a good start at the Minneapolis Invitational with an 87.25-point ride on Pearl Jam to tie with Derek Kolbaba (87.25 points on Mike’s Effect) for second place in Round 1. Wingson Henrique da Silva, another PBR Team Series breakthrough rider as a member of the Carolina Cowboys, took the round win via 89 points aboard Blown Away.
Keeping has drawn MagicBru (11-1, UTB) for Round 2 on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network).
“Just taking it one by one and eventually I will get them all,” Keeping said. “I’m ready for the second round and see what they got for me.”
Keeping understands how he is quickly becoming a household name because of his time with the Rattlers, but he also says he doesn’t worry about what people’s expectations may be for him now. Instead, it is about the belief he has in himself that is more important.
“Everybody is going to have expectations of other people,” Keeping said. “That is human nature. Personally, me, I have no expectations for me. It is only belief. The belief I have in myself is riding one bull at a time and doing your job. That is all I am worried about.
“That is how you get paid and move up. If you don’t, you are just sitting and waiting for the last one.”
Keeping credits his inner circle for also feeding that belief.
Rattlers head coach Cody Lambert called him on Friday morning to “get my engine running.” Keeping also has the support of three-time PBR World Finals qualifier Pistol Robinson, stock contractor Danny Mason, his girlfriend Shelby Baker, and a slew of others in his corner keeping him focused and not overthinking his goals.
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
Courtesy of PBR
LAS VEGAS – Athletes understand they can’t attack each opponent the same way.
If a pitcher knows a batter is a fast-ball hitter, the pitcher will throw more off-speed and try to hit a target directionally. The same can be said in rodeo. For bareback rider Tanner Aus, he tries to make his spur ride the same on ever horse, but he understands that there are differences he needs to make depending on the horse.
Such was the case in Wednesday, when Aus rode Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Meat Sweats for 81.5 points to finish sixth in the seventh go-round of the National Finals Rodeo. It was a much different ride than the 88-point marking he had Tuesday on J Bar J Rodeo’s Straight Stick.
“It could have went a little better, but the last time I got on that horse was the first round of 2019, and I took myself out of the average last night,” Aus said of how he played it a little closer to the vest and didn’t expose himself to as much danger. “I had a little bit of a vendetta for that horse, and it went better than it did last time … not by a lot, but still by a lot.”
It was more than that: He was 81.5 points better than three seasons ago. While it was the bottom payout of the placing scale at the NFR, it was still worth $4,664, which pushed his Las Vegas earnings to nearly $58,000. He has collected $184,700 this season and is sixth in the world standings with three nights remaining.
It’s all about taking a fundamental approach to his game.
“The good rides that I made all go back to the stuff I learned with I was 13, 14 years old,” said Aus of Granite Falls, Minnesota. “From my dad and going to Wayne Herman’s school a couple of times at the Anchor K with the Korkows’, it’s just the fundamentals. It is what carries me through.
“If that’s the key to success here, I don’t know, but I sure feel like I ride a lot better when I focus on those things. It’s just one rodeo every night for 10 days. If I can get in the money amidst this crowd of competition, which is as tough as it’s ever been, then that’s great.”
Wednesday’s round served as a warmup for Round 8, which will feature the eliminator pen of bareback horses. Aus admitted there is a different feeling when the cowboys know they’re about to strap themselves to the hardest-to-ride broncs in rodeo.
“I still get a little nervous; it gives you butterflies,” he said. There are some (horses) in there that darn sure strike fear in the hearts of man. They are the best of the best when it comes to bucking horses and what a bucking horse.
“You think if you can ride a semi-eliminator that with a little more try, you can ride an eliminator, too. It is a part of rodeo. It is a fun night to get through, a fun night to have over with.”
One thing Tanner Aus knows is that he’ll make the most of every opportunity he has to earn Las Vegas dollars while he’s here.
Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com