Brazile has Record-Setting NFSR Performance

MULVANE, Kan. – There doesn’t appear to be anything Trevor Brazile can’t do in the rodeo arena.

The legendary cowboy from Decatur, Texas, had his magic working again at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, Nov. 6-7.

Brazile won two rounds (Rounds 1 and 6) and placed in four others to capture his record 22nd gold buckle – and sixth in steer roping – at the Kansas Star Arena.

“It’s great,” said Brazile, 38. “I really love this venue. It’s perfect for this event. You have the perfect situation for fans to come and enjoy it, thanks to Boyd Gaming and the PRCA, and one of the coolest things about it is that new Polaris. This is the third Polaris I’ve won, but they never get old.”

This is the second year the NFSR has taken place at the Kansas Star Arena, and Brazile won the Polaris RANGER for winning the gold buckle.

Brazile did his best to rewrite the record book at this NFSR.

Brazile won $62,390, shattering his previous NFSR record total of $46,500, which he won back in 2007. He also won the world title with a single-season steer roping record of $121,112, eclipsing the old record of $112,692 he won last year.

Brazile has now won gold buckles in steer roping in 2006-2007, 2011, 2013-2015. That puts him in a tie for second place all time in the steer roping gold-buckle list with Everett Shaw. Guy Allen is atop the steer roping gold buckle chart with 18.

“There will never be another Guy Allen,” Brazile said.

Vin Fisher, Jr., who came into the NFSR as the leader, finished second in the 2015 world standings with $97,180.

For good measure, Brazile also took home the average crown with a new record time of 111.3 seconds on 10 head. That time broke the average record of 114.1 seconds on 10 head he set last year.

JoJo LeMond was second in the average at 126.6 seconds on 10 head, and was the only roper besides Brazile to stop the clock 10 times.

Despite Brazile’s amazing NFSR, he acknowledged his results didn’t come easy. He entered the second and final performance of the NFSR Nov. 7 ranked third in the world standings and first in the average, but just 1.6 seconds ahead of Jess Tierney.

“Jess put us all on watch,” Brazile said of opening night. “He won three rounds and he made me, even though I was winning the average, come out and go at them. The pressure he was putting on me was the only reason I tied one in (8.8 seconds) to win the sixth round. He had won so much, I just knew I had to win.”

Brazile had the average lead after the first performance Nov. 7, with a 56.9-second time on five head, thanks to winning Round 3 and placing third in Rounds 1, sixth in Round 2 and Round 5. On the final day, he was the Round 6 champ, was runner-up in Round 8 and split sixth place in Round 10.

The main drama Brazile faced in Round 10 was trying to set the NFSR average record. He needed a 13.0-second run to tie his average mark, and he clocked a 10.2-second run to crush the record.

“That steer actually almost ducked back to the left, so I was just trying to make sure that when I left there I didn’t want to miss the barrier much,” Brazile said.

Brazile also increased his number of National Finals go-round wins to 59 in team roping, tie-down roping and steer roping, including 33 rounds in steer roping, which puts him behind only Allen (47).

2015 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping

Round 6: 1. Trevor Brazile, 8.8 seconds, $9,155; 2. J. Tom Fisher 9.0, $7,577; 3. Scott Snedecor, 9.3, $5,998; 4. Brent Lewis, 9.4, $4,420; 5. Vin Fisher Jr., 10.0, $2,841; 6. Neal Wood, 10.3, $1,579

Round 7: 1. Mike Chase, 9.1 seconds, $9,155; 2, Neal Wood, 9.9, $7,577; 3, Cody Lee, 10.1, $5,998; 4. (tie) Chet Herren, 11.4, $3,631; Shay Good, 11.4, $3,631; 6. J. Tom Fisher, 11.9, $1,579

Round 8: 1. J. Tom Fisher, 10.1 seconds, $9,155; 2, Trevor Brazile, 10.4, $7,577; 3, Scott Snedecor, 10.7, $5,998; 4. Brodie Poppino, 10.9, $4.420; 5, JoJo LeMond, 12.1, $2,841; 6, Troy Tillard, 12.7, $1,579

Round 9: 1. Vin Fisher, 9.1 seconds, $9,155; 2. Scott Sedecor, 10.2, $7,577; 3. Rocky Patterson, 10.4, 5,998; 4. Cody Lee, 11.0, $4,420; 5. (tie) Brent Lewis, 11.7, $2,210; Chet Herren, 11.7, $2,210

Round 10: 1, Jess Tierney, *8.3 seconds, $9,155; 2, J. Tom Fisher, 8.6, $7,577; 3, Brodie Poppino, $5,998; 4, Vin Fisher, Jr., 9.6, $4,20; 5, Mike Chase, 9.8, $2,841; 6. (tie) Trevor Brazile, 789.25; Shay Good, 10.2, $789.25

*Tied the NFSR record set by Cash Myers in 2006

Average: 1. Brazile, 111.3/10, $27,347; 2, JoJo LeMond, 126.6/10, $22,632; 3. Cody Lee, 113.4/9, $17,917; 4. Scott Snedecor, 116.80/9, $13,202; 5. Brent Lewis, 129.1/9, $8,487; 6. Shay Good, 97.9/8, $4,715; 7. Troy Tillard, 86.5/7; 8. Chet Herren, 65.9/6; 9. Jess Tierney 66.8/6; 10. Rocky Patterson, 76.0/6; 11. Neal Wood, 76.4/6; 12. Vin Fisher Jr., 50.6/5; 13. J. Tom Fisher, 52.6/5; 14. Mike Chase, 57.8/5; 15. Brodie Poppino, 71.2/5

2015 Steer Roping World Standings: 1. Trevor Brazile, $121,112; 2. Vin Fisher, Jr., $97,181; 3. Jess Tierney, $96,195; 4. Cody Lee, $90,204; 5. Scott Snedecor, $89,772; 6. JoJo LeMond, $75,457; 7, Mike Chase, $73,086; 8. Rocky Patterson, $73,022; 9. Chet Herren, $70,701; 10. Neal Wood, $70,290; 11. Shay Good, $65,899; 12. J. Tom Fisher, $64,144; 13. Brent Lewis, $56,668; 14. Troy Tillard, $52,316; 15. Brodie Poppino, $48,329

For in-depth coverage on the 2015 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, see the Nov. 20 issue of the ProRodeo Sports News.

Courtesy of PRCA