The “Super Bowl” or “World Series” of rodeo has been going on since the 5th of December in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge. This ten-night event features the top 15 professional rodeo athletes competing in the cracker jack box arena known as the Thomas and Mack on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The arena is the basketball court transformed into a dirt-filled competition site for the best in the world. During the COVID year the WNFR was held in Arlington, Texas with a normal- sized arena. In my opinion, quite frankly, I liked it better, as far as a set-up goes. But the glamour and hoopla of Las Vegas has the Thomas and Mack packed every night and the “strip” hopping with rodeo fans donning cowboy hats. Airplane tickets are cheap, but the rodeo tickets are not. Cowboy Christmas trade shows are held all over Las Vegas at different hotels and casinos.
As of this writing, round seven has been completed and the timed-event horses, cowboys, and cowgirls are likely getting a little bit exhausted. The mental and physical demands of ten nights in a row can be nearly impossible to train and prepare for. Injuries in humans and animals start popping up. Some cowboys grit and push through and some injuries are enough to take them out. So, what are the stakes that make the athletes push through? Well, the main one is that every single night there is $33,687 in prize money to the winner of the round. Second place receives $26,624, third place gets $20,104, fourth place receives $14,127, fifth place wins $8693, and sixth place gets $5433. Secondly, the “cowboy way” is to finish what you started.
Still sitting in the “top dog” position in the all-around race is Shad Mayfield. However, he trails Riley Webb in the tie-down roping by $12,000. The flowing hair of Rocker Steiner has helped him score high in the bareback riding to sit in the number one spot. Okay, his riding ability is pretty good too. Colorado cowboy, Keenan Hayes is in 3rd place behind Steiner by $35,000. Ryder Wright is sitting in the number one position of the saddle bronc riding with $378,080 won. The steer wrestling is a tight race with Dakota Eldridge leading, but they are all brining their “A” game every night. Team ropers Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp have the lead with $326,162 won. The barrel race has been incredible to watch. Hailey Kinsel and her amazing horse “Sister” jumped out and won rounds 1, 2, and 3. Then Kassie Mowry and her horse, “Jarvis,” have set the arena on fire by winning rounds 4, 5, 6, and 7. Mowry’s back story of her incredible 6 year-old horse has made her a fan favorite. Her fiancé, Michael Boone, owned Jarvis and was very proud of him and Mowry’s run of heading back to Vegas. Boone passed away unexpectedly on June 1. He had told Mowry that Jarvis deserved to go back to the WNFR to showcase what a great horse he is. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the stout gelding is the rock star of the cloverleaf this week. The crowd and television viewers held their breath when 66 year-old barrel racer, Dona Kay Rule, made a horse change and her white horse tripped at the first barrel and nearly went down. The amazing rider stayed on but lost her broken reins and the horse ran freely throughout the arena. Another scary part was seeing if the horse would find the out gate without taking her leg off on the fence. Both cowgirl and horse made it safely to the alley way that was fenced shut.
A note about the money that has been won by these rodeo athletes. Some people look at the nightly payoff and say, “That is incredible.” However, I would like to remind you that these are the professionals in the business-the best in the world. They don’t even make a drop in the bucket to what professional football, basketball, or baseball players make. Just a thought to keep in mind.
I love watching the WNFR every night and watching the amazing bucking stock and the equine athletes that know their job and do it perfectly. However, the cowboy spirit of competition is alive and well as the competitors cheer for each other, help each other, and share the camaraderie that the sport is known for.
Happy Trails.
