Ep. 24 - NFR Round 2 Recap
December 6, 2019 (Las Vegas, Nevada) - Round 2 is off with a bang and let’s talk about how it was ROUGH for the roughstock guys! We answer questions about ProRodeo Hall of Famers, equine athletes, discuss potential rule changes, and more in the round 2 recap!
Make sure to join us daily on Instagram and Facebook stories to answer our five-part NFR Round Quizzes and then listen to the podcast the very next morning to see how “in the know” you are!
Round 2 Quiz Questions
Our daily quizzes involve current rodeo facts, NFR happenings, rodeo terminology and history!
A tadbit of a trick question, the correct answer was Cutter. Lisa’s other horse’s name is actually “Rosa,” not “Rosie.” To start off Round 2 we wanted to throw you for a bit of a loop, keep you on your toes, and see if you’re paying attention in our daily recap podcasts.
While Trevor Brazille might be the King of the Cowboys, this future ProRodeo Hall of Famer hasn’t found himself in the hall of fame corridors….yet! It’s practically a guarantee that he will be someday soon but Trevor is STILL winning world titles (i.e. 2019 Steer Roping World Champion) and is going to finish in the Top 10 for the All-Around World Title.
When he made his announcement to not rodeo as intensely in an emotionally speech at the end of the NFR last year, he didn’t say he was “retiring,” just that he wasn’t going to pursue it as hard. Hear our thoughts about it in our EPISODE 1 WNFR recap episode at the beginning of this year!
Doug “Droopy” Brown is a bull rider who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame this year which also signified the 50th anniversary of winning his World Title. The 73 year old cowboy said, upon finding out that he was being inducted, “I guess it means that the 20-something years I put in on the road rodeoing DID make a difference in other people’s lives and in my life. I am glad other people noticed.”
We definitely noticed Droopy and are thankful that we have this podcast and blog to showcase your accolades to an even wider demographic!
We are so excited to say that we are the 10,000 plus answer! It’s been a long year full of a lot of hardwork but your support, feedback and commentary has been such a blessing to help us showcase the world of rodeo. In fact, some of our episodes alone have reached over 600 downloads!
We can’t wait to revamp for 2020 and bring you even MORE!
If you listened to the podcast or checked our NFR Workbook Calculator - you’d be quick to see that it was nine! If you join us in the Western Influencers Connection on Facebook, you can have access to this workbook for yourself!
What is one rule you would create, modify or remove from the PRCA? Fan write in.
Adding back the monies won at the 12 Ram Circuit Finals & the Ram National Circuit Finals.
This was the first year in the past few that the monies won at circuit finals or the national circuit finals wasn’t counted towards the next year’s world standing monies. Starting in 2016 and only happening for a few years, the That Western Life podcast team has talked multiple times about the significance of what the small rodeos mean as the backbone of the PRCA and how the removal of this rule hurts them extensively.
One of the benefits of those monies counting was that a contestant could weekend warrior for a year, win their regional circuit finals, and then win the national circuit finals to set themselves up financially, with their personal self-confidence, and with sponsorship opportunities to hit the rodeo-road HARD with the end-goal of making the WNFR. Under today’s system, this isn’t as likely.
Katie’s conspiracy theory is that the only reason this was even a rule for a few years was because of the Elite Rodeo Association (ERA). It was no secret that the PRCA wanted this competing association out and then, when they went under, counting these monies was a great way to hinder and provide barriers to ERA cowboys returning to the PRCA from winning the world title.
Dragging the arena between every event.
This lead into a further discussion on the podcast between co-hosts Rachel and Katie about what it would like with NFR specific rules such as dragging the arena between events and more that we discussed in our “official” pick for PRCA rules for today’s podcast.
Fan Questions: Round 2
Miss Rodeo America Update Post Fashion Show
Make sure to join the Western Influencers Connection on Facebook to find out how your favorite state rodeo queens are faring at the 2020 Miss Rodeo America pageant! Currently leading the fan-voted standings in our group is Miss Rodeo Montana Kayla Seaman but the top five also includes Miss Rodeo Oregon, Miss Rodeo South Dakota, Miss Rodeo Florida and Miss Rodeo Kansas. Crowning will be live on the Wrangler Network Sunday, Round 4 morning!
Round 2 Event Recap
Bareback
Trenton Montero gets the Round 2 win with a 90.5.
Saddle Bronc
Saddle bronc continues to be a rough event for the NFR contestants. Brody Cress, with a 78 point ride GOT MONEY in the round and stays alive in the average. Only two contestants are left that have covered after two rounds; Brody Cress and Rusty Wright.
Tie Down Roping
We were bummed to see the Round 1 winner and 2013 World CHampion Shane Hanchey miss his calf but this opens up the average race to some young guns. The Round 2 winner was Marty Yates, keep in mind that this is a cowboy that can perform VERY well in crunch time. A multi-time winner of the Amerrican, he knows how to win and win FAST!
We have THREE contestants, though, that we want you to keep your eyes on:
Taylor Santos
Haven Meged
Shad Mayfield
Santos and Meged CONTINUE to win money in the rounds which has them sitting pretty for the average race. Mayfield, Katie predicts, will be the “new” Tuf Cooper as the most eligible bachelor in the PRCA and this young cowboy, fresh off a HIGH SCHOOL RODEO CHAMPIONSHIPS (yes, he’s THAT young), is winning money in the rounds and sitting great for the average as well!
Steer Wrestling
Round 2 winner was the back-to-back world champion Tyler Waguespack from Louisiana with a 3.6 second run. He didn’t quite steal the show, though, for being a round winner - that would have to go to Hunter Cure! A two-time world champion, he’s showing just how much grit you have to have in this tough, FAST event at the NFR. A late delivery off his horse, the steer got tripped up, RAN HIM OVER and then his HAZER’S HORSE RAN HIM OVER and he STILL threw his steer in 8.9 seconds!!! Are you kidding us? That’s cowboy tough!
Team Roping
Round 2 winners were Clay Smith and Jade Corkill with a 4.4 second run. In the projected world standings after the average monies are paid out, Kaleb Driggers is only a measly $242 ahead of Clay Smith! We’ve got eight more rounds left though and you know who is desperately wanting those rounds to be better? Ryan Motes. The heeler came in second in the world but after a 19 second run in round 1 and nothing in the second - he needs his luck to change!
Barrel Racing
The sixty year old first time WNFR qualifier Dona Kay Rule showed us how it was done in Round 2! Riding the WPRA horse of the year, Valor, she clocked a 13.69 second run to get her first NFR round win!
While Hailey Kinsel has no part in the projected average money after arriving in Vegas in second, she’s still sitting 4th in the projected world standings. What. A. Boss.
Moral of the story? Just keep riding through it all with consistency and that’s what round one winner Emily Miller is doing. Back in true form was Amberleigh Moore and Ivy Conrado.
Bull Riding
There was only three qualified rides in the round two bull riding and all three also covered in round 1. The shake up? Garrett Smith took home the round win with a 91.5 point ride! It’s a three-man race for average money between Smith, five-time world champion Sage Kimzey, and last year’s bull riding rookie Boudreaux Campbell.
One PRCA Rule Change, Remove or Create
On every podcast episode we ask our guests for one rule that they would change, remove or create to the PRCA or WPRA. Keeping up with tradition, we are sharing our thoughts or our fans’ suggestions on each episode of the NFR Podcast rounds.
Today’s suggestion came from Thomas from Idaho and a write in from Kody from Mississippi has to do with the mark out rule at the NFR. Suggestions for a penalty versus a disqualification arose so that we could have more qualified rides, while the second suggestion of the ability to throw a flag for a review on the instant replay were suggested as well!
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the Western Influencers Connection!
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