December 6, 2011 | By RodeOutfit

We have an All-Around Champion cowboy and we have just finished the fourth round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo!  Trevor Brazile wrapped up his 9^th All-Around World Championship on Sunday after he placed in the team roping and Shane Proctor was mathematically eliminated when he hit the ground early in the bull riding.  The All-Around race is over but some of the other races remain very hotly contested and are sure to keep us coming back for more!

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!