Wyoming cowboys perform at NFR
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) boasted 10 performances featuring the top cowboys and cowgirls vying for the world title Dec. 3-12 in Arlington, Texas. Several cowboys with Wyoming ties were among those competing.
Saddle bronc riding
Qualifying for his fourth NFR, Hillsdale native Brody Cress finished third in the world with a total of $173,847 in earnings this year. Cress tied for fifth in the first round with 84.5 points on Burch Rodeo’s Maria Bartiromo. He also took second in the fifth round on Calgary Stampede’s Special Delivery with a score of 89 points and placed sixth in the sixth round on Dakota Rodeo’s Cover Girl.
In the seventh round, Cress rode Bar T Rodeo’s Hell Boy for 88.5 points, earning second place. In the final round, he finished with a strong 90.5 point ride on Sutton Rodeo’s South Point. Cress finished 11th in the NFR average with 598 points on seven head, winning $64,308 during the NFR.
Casper College alum Shorty Garrett finished 10th in the world with 2020 earnings totaling $118,621. Garrett, who currently lives in Eagle Butte, S.D., split fifth in the third round with Ryder Wright on Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics’ Robin Hood with 84.5 points.
Coming back in round eight, Garrett rode Calgary Stampede’s Zaka Kibitz for 84.5 points, placing fifth in the round. Garrett finished eighth in the NFR average with 660 points on eight head and $12,269 in NFR earnings.
The 2020 NFR is Sheridan College graduate Zeke Thurston’s sixth finals qualification, finishing ninth in the world with $141,261 in earnings this year. With a slower start to the week, Thurston placed third in the sixth round with 85.5 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s All Country, third in the seventh round with 88 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Bartender and third in the eighth round on Three Hills Rodeo’s Angel Eyes with 86 points.
In the last round, Thurston split fourth place with Lefty Holman for 87 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman. Thurston earned $49,007 during the NFR and finished fourth in the average with 741 points on nine head.
Bareback riding
Kaycee native Cole Reiner made an impressive mount at his inaugural NFR, finishing fifth in the world. The Buffalo High School graduate attended both Sheridan College and Casper College.
Reiner split fourth place in the first round with Clayton Bigelow with 85 points on Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s horse Mary. In the second, third and fourth rounds, Reiner took fifth with 86 points on Pickett Rodeo’s Top Egyptian, 84.5 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Nutrena’s Bad Influence and 85 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeos’ Cactus Black, respectively.
A ride worth 87 points earned Reiner his first round win on Flying U Rodeo’s Lil Red Hawk in the sixth round. Reiner made a second round-winning ride in the ninth round on Calgary Stampede’s Arbitrator Joe for 89.5 points.
Placing sixth in the final round with an 85.5 point ride on Pickett Rodeo’s New Scarlet, Reiner finished sixth in the average with 764 points on nine head and a total of $83,783 in NFR earnings. His earnings in 2020 tally up to $154,325, only $123,323 behind World Champion Kaycee Feild.
Steer wrestling
In the steer wrestling, Central Wyoming College alum Stetson Jorgenson finished his second NFR second in the world standings with $198,830 in 2020 winnings, only $1,680 behind World Champion Jacob Edler. Jorgenson also placed second in the NFR average with a time of 43.7 seconds on 10 steers.
Jorgenson split the first round in fourth place with a time of four seconds and placed fourth in the third round with a 3.7-second run. He split second place in the fourth round with Jesse Brown with a 3.9-second run.
The sixth round first place money was split between Jorgenson and Edler with a 3.3-second run. Jorgenson placed third in the eighth round with his run in 3.8 seconds and fourth in the ninth round with 3.6 seconds.
World champions
Kaycee Feild of Genola, Utah won the world title in the bareback riding with total earnings of $277,648. The saddle bronc world title went to Ryder Wright of Milford, Utah with 2020 earnings totaling $358,470 and his brother, Stetson Wright, also of Milford, earned the world title in the bull riding with $267,940 and won the all-around with total earnings of $337,725.
The steer wrestling world title was earned by State Center, Iowa native Jacob Edler with $200,510 in 2020 earnings. Colby Lovell of Madisonville, Texas and Paul Eaves of Iondell, Mo. won the team roping title with $187,835 and $178,485, respectively.
Shad Mayfield of Clovis, N.M. kept the tie-down roping title throughout the NFR by $231 with a total earning of $198,399. For the third time, the barrel racing world title went to Hailey Kinsel of Cotulla, Texas.
The information in this article was sourced from ProRodeo.com. Averi Hales is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
