Ep. 33 - NFR Round 10 Recap
December 14, 2019 (Las Vegas, Nevada) - Can it be true?! Is the 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the Super Bowl of professional rodeo, officially over?? It is and boy have we got some exciting story lines for you! Make sure to listen to the podcast, you’ll catch insights from co-hosts Katie Schrock, Rachel Owens-Sarno and JJ Harrison who spent the past 10 days hosting Vegas’ LARGEST rodeo after party at the MGM Gold Buckle Zone!
Round 9 Event Recap
Injuries
Rookie saddle bronc rider Colt Garden was evaluated for a concussion after Round 9 but passed, being able to compete in his first Round 10 experience. Austin Foss (bareback), Koby Radley (bull riding), Garrett Smith (bull riding), and many more found themselves eithers medically disqualified from competing in the NFR or nursing injuries that may take some time to heal in the coming months.
That Western Life will be doing a follow up in January to see where all those contestants are for the fans at home.
Bareback
The Round 10 winner was Clayton Biglow with a 93 point ride and, to no surprise after a dominant Las Vegas performance, the California cowboy that Rachel called in the NFR Pre-Show not only left Vegas as the PRCA’s average winner and world champion but also as the Ram Top Gun winner! He set the record for the most points scored on ten head, a crazy thought when you realize that Tim O’Connell who didn’t win the world title also passed the old record this year! What a year of the bareback at the Thomas & Mack!
Thoughts are with Caleb Bennett who was fouled hard by his horse when it almost went over backwards in the chute. Like cowboys do, he took the re-ride and came off hard. One tough cookie, he’s still going to be feeling that down the road for quite a while!
Steer Wrestling
The Round 10 steer wrestling win went to Nevada cowboy Dakota Eldridge. The Average went to Matt Reeves which shows just how important that Round 7 re-run was to getting that $65,000 plus bonus!
The world champion was the guy that Katie said she “wished she could wish a Gold Buckle too.” Wish no more, Erickson is your 2019 World Champion! In a sweet acceptance, he thanked his wife and his horse for all that they did to make this possible.
Team Roping
First place in Round 10 went to Kaleb Driggers and Junior Noguiera with a 4.1 second run. Coming in fast at the end of the NFR, it wasn’t enough as Cody Snow and Wesley Thorp, the young guns, were able to claim the NFR Average title. The world champions in team roping were not a team, it was Clay Smith on the head side and Thorp on the heels.
Saddle Bronc
First place in Round 10 went to Wyoming cowboy Brody Cress who was so consistent this week! He also took home the NFR Average in the saddle bronc as well. The World Champion was the Canadian Cowboy who was crowned the Canadian champion only a few weeks ago - Zeke Thurston. This is Thurston’s second world championship.
Tie Down Roping
As we’ve said all along, whoever won the tie-down roping’s average race was going to win the world title and rookie Haven Meged did just that winning both! It was the first time that a rookie had won the world title in tie-down roping since legendary eight-time world champion and current CBS Commentator Joe Beaver did in 1985. This is also the first time that a Montana cowboy won that award.
Barrel Racing
First place went to Lisa Lockhart in Round 10 who was back on Cutter after giving the fans a few nights of celebration with Louie! The average winner was Ivy Conrado-Saebens who’s great mare JLo just handled the ground no matter where she was at in the line up every single night. You can’t stop Hailey Kinsel Lockwood though and she won her second consecutive barrel racing world title in a very competitive pen of jockeys and horses.
Bull Riding
First place in Round 10 went to Jordan Hansen with an 88.5 point ride. Sage Kimzey had this title locked down back in Round 8 according to Katie’s stats and predictions so it should come to no surprise to blog readers and podcast listeners that he won both the average and the world title. This is his sixth world title in a row; tying him with Jim Shoulders for most consecutive won world bull riding titles. He’s on the hunt for Donny Gay’s eight so the next few years should be really interesting!
All Around
While Stetson Wright made a valiant effort to catch Sage Kimzey with great bull rides and exciting races - he came up just short in his rookie year to beat the hall of famer. Something he may not have thought too much about though? That he was about to write the history books in his own way!
Also a saddle bronc rider like the rest of the Wright Family from Milford, Utah, Stetson became the first Wright to win a world title in something other than saddle bronc; All Around. In his rookie year, he also won the rookie bull riding and all around titles. He becomes the first rookie to EVER win the all around world title AND the first rough stock rider to do so since Ty Murray did in 1998.