We have a new World Champion Bareback rider!  Kaycee Feild joined his dad Lewis in the PRCA record books by placing in round 9 and eliminating the other guy’s chances.  Tonight is the night the rest of the World Championship races are decided and the gold buckles are handed out.

Bareback Riding

In order for Will Lowe to stay in the hunt he needed to win the round and get some help from Kaycee Feild.  Lowe rode his horse for all he could posting an 87 point ride on 158 Raggidy Ann from Growney Bros. Rodeo but unfortunately for Lowe, Kaycee Feild wasn’t willing to play ball and took 4^th place with an 83 point ride.  Like we already said Feild wrapped up the world and has dominated the NFR but there were some other guys riding at the Finals.  Casey Colletti has had a great finals and he kept it going with a win in Round 9 posting an 87.5 point ride on 191 Jessie’s Girl from Smith Harper & Morgan.   Round 10 should be interesting since all the World Championship talk is over and it’s just about winning the round.  Congratulations again to Kaycee Feild on winning the World Championship and joining his dad Lewis in the Pro Rodeo record books!

Steer Wrestling

Round 8 saw Luke Branquinho have some troubles and fall from the lead in the average to 3^rd place in the average.  Luke needed a good run in Round 9 to stay in the hunt and that is just what he did!  Splitting the round with Casey Martin and Jake Rinehart with a 3.6s run wasn’t enough to move Luke back to the lead in the average but he did close up some on Shawn Greenfield and Jason Miller.   Round 10 is where Branquinho, Miller and Greenfield will win or lose the 2011 World Championship!  It’s a one head race now and it’s worth the ticket of admission by itself!

Team Roping

The team ropers had it together on Friday night!  The winning time of 3.6s came from Chad Masters and Jake Corkill.  Masters/ Corkill’s time was followed by a 3.7, 3.8 and 3.8!  In the championship hunt Turtle Powell and Jhett Johnson moved to the lead in the average with a 5.0s run and a 14.0s run from Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith.  They will need to win the round and get some help from a few other teams but Clay Tryan and Travis Graves will be fighting to take the World Championship from Turtle Powell and Jhett Johnson and it should be fun watching!

Saddle Bronc Riding

The saddle bronc riding started out with the horses dumping the first 8 cowboys!  After Bradley Harter got the cowboys started with a 67 point ride Jesse Wright posted an 87 point ride that was good enough to win the round!  Taos Muncy who is currently leading the World Standings and being trailed by Jesse Wright scored an 82 on 290 Chuckulator from Sutton Rodeos. Taos is currently 2^nd in the average behind Jesse Wright but he has a lead on Jesse in the total earnings column but not a good enough lead to wrap up the championship.  Taos and Jesse will have to square off tomorrow to see who gets the gold buckle!

Tie Down Roping

Fan favorite Cody Ohl fell to ninth place in the average after he had a no time in Round 9.  This eliminated Cody and leaves the race to Tuf Cooper, Matt Shiozawa and Clint Cooper.  Shiozawa’s and Clint Cooper’s chances of taking the gold buckle home are pretty slim but it is still mathematically possible.  The race is Tuf’s to lose but Shiozawa has been hot at times during the NFR winning two rounds so there is no reason to think he can’t pull off the upset.

Barrel Racing

Lindsay Sears is sitting in the driver’s seat when it comes to the 2011 Barrel Racing
championship.  Sears’s only real competition at this point is Brittany Pozzi who would need to win round 10 and move up in the average significantly and keep Sears from taking home a check in Round 10 to win the buckle.  If you had a hard time reading that sentence you can imagine the hard time Brittany Pozzi will have taking the championship from Lindsay Sears.

Bull Riding

Cody Whitney won round 9 with a 90.5 point ride but the real story was JW Harris hitting the ground and Shane Proctor making the whistle.  Harris’s chances of winning his fourth consecutive gold buckle are in the hands of Shane Proctor, LJ Jenkins and Bobby Welsh who are all ahead of him in the average.  If these three guys buck off and Harris rides he could win the buckle but if Shane Proctor makes a qualified ride the championship is his. We can’t wait to see what happens!

Tanya Tucker brought the National Anthem to the more than 17,000 people at the Thomas & Mack for Round 8 of the WNFR.   After the country star had finished her rendition it was time for Round 8 to get started.   The math may not have allowed any champions to be officially named after the round but some of the circumstances that we would have to see to keep a couple of the guys from being the champ are pretty extreme.

Bareback Riding

Kaycee Feild continues to make life difficult on the rest of the bareback riders at the WNFR.  Round 8 saw Kaycee split 1^st place with Bobby Mote and Clint Cannon with 83.5 point rides.  Will Lowe still has a mathematical chance to be the champ but it’s going to take something crazy for Will to get by Kaycee and keep Kaycee  from joining his dad on the list of PRCA World Champions.   Feild is taking horses that might not be the best and using them to win rounds (five) and when you pair that with his lead in the average and current standings you can go ahead and put his name on the buckle!

Steer Wrestling

Luke Branquinho had been consistent in every round of the WNFR but Round 8 Luke had a problem that left with a time of 6.8s and no check.  Jason Miller on the other hand had a run of 3.90s to win the round and move to the top of the average standings.  Shawn Greenfield has also inserted himself into the race with some good finishes moving him to 2^nd in the average.  Branquinho has fallen to 3^rd place in the average but what’s to say he can’t rebound tonight and move back to the top of the standings.  This is one to keep your eyes on, it’s anybody’s race!

Team Roping

The team of Brady Tryan and Jake Long finished their run with a time of 3.7s to win Round 8.  The pair isn’t sitting to well in the average so it’s nice to see them earn some checks.  In the hunt for the gold buckle the average leaders had their first bad night at the Thomas and Mack but even after their round 8 problems Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith remain the average leaders followed by Turtle Powell and Jhett Johnson who are currently the projected winners of the championship but any slip ups in the final two rounds could change that so we’ll just have to watch to see what happens!

Saddle Bronc Riding

Getting by a horse in Round 8 was an accomplishment.  Several of the cowboys hit the ground early including Round 7 winner Tyler Corrington!  Jesse Wright made the whistle on 278 Flood Damage from Rosser for 82 points which helps his cause in the average standings as did Wade Sundell who has to make some big moves to catch Taos Muncy and company.  Taos remained at the head of the field by posting a score of 73 points.  The star of Round 8, however, was Jacobs Crawley who took his first go round win and 2^nd check at the WNFR aboard 238 Sundance from Flying Five Rodeo Company with an 83.5 point ride.   Cody Wright’s chances for another championship are not looking good but his brother Jesse is very much in the hunt for a gold buckle but will need some help from Taos to get the job done.

Tie Down Roping

Scott Kormos’s NFR hasn’t been what he would have hoped but in Round 8 things came
together when he posted a 7.2s run good enough for the 1^st place check.   In the fight for the
championship Tuf Cooper placed 2^nd with a 7.3s run which helps his cause especially if you consider the tough luck Cody Ohl had tonight.  Ohl didn’t place with a 8.7s run but did maintain his position at the top of the average.  Tuf Cooper is still the guy projected to win the title if it ended right now but Cody Ohl is still very much in the race.  Cooper must match Ohl’s earnings round for round tonight and tomorrow night to stay close in the average.   Cody Ohl who has had an awesome National Finals has not had the blazing fast runs he had the first few rounds.  If he is going to take the title from Cooper he needs to get back on that pace for the last two rounds.

Barrel Racing

Two of the three ladies at the top of the standings hit barrels tonight hurting them in the average.  Lindsay Sears was the one who finished the pattern with all 3 of the barrels still standing and a time of 13.99.  Sherry Cervi and Brittany Pozzi both left the arena with times in the 18 second range.  Tonight’s winner was Minnesota cowgirl Jane Melby who posted a 13.78s run to earn her second trip to the gold buckle presentation.  Lindsay Sears is in the driver’s seat after Round 8 but to stay there she will have to leave the barrels standing Friday and Saturday night!

Bull Riding

The reigning champ was at it again on Thursday night.  JW Harris scored 87.5 points to take the round win riding through problems with his back, left knee and a broken right foot.   Harris is within less than $10,000 of Shane Proctor in the world standings and is the leader in the average after Round 8.  The championship is going to come down to who can get the job done on Friday and Saturday night.  It’s hard to say who the favorite is because either of these guys can make it happen on any bull they run in the chute!

Bareback Riding

Any bareback rider wanting to get a pay check for his efforts at Monday night’s performance had to bring his “A” game.  The last paying place was filled by a pair of 86 point rides from Casey Colletti and Wes Stevenson.  On the high end of the score board and taking home the go round win was a 90 point ride from Ryan Gray on 125 MGM Deuces Night from Carr Pro Rodeo. The current leader in the World Standings earned a pay check with a 2^nd place ride for 88 points on 109 Black Cat from Beutler & Son Rodeo.  The PRCA Judges earned their money on Monday with the winning score being only 4 points higher than 6^th place it took a trained eye to pick up on the small differences between a go round winning ride and a ride that doesn’t earn a check.  The bareback riders are still chasing Kaycee Feild and while he may not have won the fifth round he did place second and that is not gonna be enough help for rest of the guys looking to overtake him in the standings.  Feild will have to change something in a bad way for him to lose this thing.

Steer Wrestling

Several of the steer wrestlers have stepped their game up and have been making solid runs.  The main problem for guys like Jason Miller and Shawn Greenfield who are having good NFR’s  is Mr. Luke Branquinho who is at the head of the World Standings and the head of the average.  Branquinho has thrown five steers in under 19 seconds which is making it difficult for the rest of the guys to gain any momentum.   Realizing it is still early to be making predictions it is pretty safe to say that it’s Branquinho’s title to lose.

Team Roping

We saw the fastest time of the finals on Monday night when Turtle Powell and Jhett Johnson posted a 3.8s run to win the round.  The current world number one team of Clay Tryan and Travis Graves finished the round in 2^nd place after finishing their run in 4.00s.  The average leaders after five rounds remains Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith who’s 5.6s run didn’t earn a check on Monday night but did earn some respect from the rodeo fans due to a fantastic head catch by Brazile.   After five rounds and with five more left it’s clear the Team Roping is going to be one of the more interesting races.

Saddle Bronc Riding

When you’re hot you’re hot is what we were all thinking when Jesse Wright won his third
round in a row with a 90 point ride on 221 Chugwater Blue from Burns Rodeo Company, LLC.  Jesse has moved up to fourth in the world standings behind Cody Wright, Taos Muncy and Wade Sundell who are all trailing him in the super important average standings.   Cody may currently be leading the world standings but he will need to pick up his efforts if he is going to fend off Taos Muncy and associates to win the gold buckle

Tie Down Roping

Cody Ohl got done in 7.5s and Tuf Cooper was finished in 7.7s which was important because round 4 did not go so well for the guys at the top of the average.  While Tuf Cooper is doing what he needs to do Ohl will need some help from Cooper if he is going to win this deal. One of the hot hands among the rest of the guys is Cory Solomon who tied Ohl’s time of 7.5s to split 2^nd and 3^rd. The hottest hand through five rounds, however, is Matt Shiozawa who with a time of 7.4s won round 5 taking his 2^nd go round win in a row.  We talked to Matt after his run and he said he had been staying focused on roping and not on partying in Vegas and we believe it because the guy has been fast!

Barrel Racing

If you need to get somewhere in a hurry you should probably get some advice from Carlee
Pierce who set a new arena record in round 6 with a run of 13.46!  Carlee said she had been feeling good all week but had some problems in the early rounds when she knocked down a couple of barrels.  It’s safe to say that while she may not be in the hunt for the average that after her performances in rounds 4 and 5 Carlee is one of the heavy favorites to win rounds 6-10.  While Carlee was the fastest barrel racer in round 6 the entire field continued to improve. The sixth place run by Christina Richman was 13.92s making round 6 the first round in which all of the paying times were below 14.00s.  If this trend continues we could see another broken record!

Bull Riding

JW Harris may have waited until round 4 to take a round win but he must have liked how it felt because JW picked up another win with a 90.5 point ride on Monday night.  Harris and his broken foot earned the 90.5 points with Burch Rodeo Company’s 311 Zombie Zoo.  The only other qualified rides came from 2^nd place finisher Jacob O’Mara with an 88 and L.J. Jenkins who posted a 79 point ride.  Shane Proctor didn’t make the whistle again and will now need to make some big moves or have some luck go his way if he is to be in the number one spot after round 10.

Bareback Riding

When Kaycee Feild nodded his head on Sunday he was going for a record 4^th  National Finals Rodeo round win in a row!  Fortunately for the rest of the riders Feild didn’t quite get the horse he needed to top the 87 point rides posted by Cody DeMers and Steven Dent. The bareback riders still need a lot of help if they are going to take the buckle from Field but we have just completed 4 rounds so who knows what might happen!

Steer Wrestling

Jason Miller took another round win by getting his steer on the ground in a blazing 3.3s.  Following Miller was Dean Gorsuch who finally got things rolling and Luke Branquinho with 3.5s and 3.8s runs respectively.  The race at the top is tight with Branquinho only 0.3s ahead of Miller for the lead in the average and about $3,000 ahead in the standings. This thing is anybody’s race and mistakes will be killer with a race this close.

Team Roping

It was a bit of a strange round in the Team Roping. The first several teams were having trouble on the heading end and several of the teams later in the round had problems on the heeling end.  In the end it was Luke Brown and Martin Lucero’s time of 4.3s that took home the round win. Following Brown and Lucero with a 2^nd place run was Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith who got done in 4.3.  The third place time was a 9.3 from Erich Rogers and Kory Koontz which shows that most of the teams weren’t having the best of nights.  Here’s to hoping Round 5 is better for the team ropers!

Saddle Bronc Riding

While it was certainly a tough round on the team ropers it may have been worse on the saddle bronc riders who did not make a qualified ride until after 9 cowboys had hit the ground too early.  Bradley Harter was the first cowboy to make the whistle by riding for 81 points on 231 Sacred Sacrifice from Cervi Championship Rodeo. Harter got the momentum going the way of the cowboys and Jesse Wright took full advantage for the 2^nd night in a row by taking the go round win with an 89.5 point ride on 202 Eight Ball from Bar T Rodeo, Inc.  Second place would go to the first round winner Wade Sundell with an 85 point ride on 279 Soduku from Sankey Rodeo.  The world standings leader Taos Muncy put 76.5 points on the board which was good enough for 4^th place and will put him splitting 2^nd/3^rd in the average if the race ended after round 4 but we all know that they don’t quit riding until 10 rounds are in the books so we’ll have to wait to give the gold buckle away.

Tie Down Roping

Matt Shiozawa’s 7.30s run was good enough to win the round 4 gold buckle in the tie-down roping.  The last paying place had a time of 7.80s from Shane Hanchey and Clint Cooper.  The times of the rounds top guys were close and fast and while Tuf Cooper and Cody Ohl  didn’t win a check with their 8.80s runs they did enough to stay one and two in the average.  The new All-Around Champ missed with his first loop and still got done in 14.90s!  I am not sure how many people could have a run that quick after missing with the first loop and that 14.90s run could mean something big in the average at the end of the finals!  The Tie-Down Roping has been super exciting and we can’t wait until round 5!

Barrel Racing

The ladies are turning up the heat as the rounds click off here in Las Vegas.  Times that would have been round winners a few nights ago weren’t so great today. It took a 13.81s run from Carlee Pierce to take the round win over the still fast times of Sherry Cervi (13.90s), Lindsay Sears (13.95s) and Lisa Lockhart (13.99s).  Brittany Pozzi and Sue Smith also took home checks with times just at or around 14 seconds.  Lindsay Sears and Sherry Cervi are both looking fast right now at the top of the average standings with aggregate times only .06s apart.

Bull Riding

JW Harris waited until round 4 but he got a round win when he teamed up with 364 Bailey Hou from Mo Betta Rodeo for an 88 point ride. Tyler Willis who now sits at the head of the average finished the round in 2^nd place by posting an 84 point ride aboard 314 Blended Skies from Burns Rodeo Company, LLC.  Shane Proctor who still has a commanding lead on the rest of the field didn’t fair well in the round.  He will have to get back to riding to stay ahead of Tyler Willis, Bobby Welsh and Trevor Kastner who have covered three of four bulls and don’t show signs of slowing down!