Feild Rolls Toward Vegas with Second Omaha Win
OMAHA, Neb. – When the bright lights come on, Kaycee Feild shines.
It’s nothing new to rodeo fans, who have seen the 27-year-old dominate bareback riding the past three seasons, collecting three consecutive gold buckles. On Friday night, the Spanish Fork, Utah, cowboy added more hardware to his expansive trophy case.
Feild captured his second Justin Boots Championships title in the last three years with an 85-point ride on Korkow Rodeo’s Flashcard Champ at CenturyLink Arena.
“I had never been on that horse before, but I had seen him in Gooding, Idaho,” Feild said. “He bucked a young kid off in about three jumps, and I’ve had my eye on him ever since, and I was very happy to see the draw. He came around tight to the left tonight, which meant he stayed close to the judges and showed off a little bit. That horse was one that was really fun to ride, and was one I could ride for 15 seconds.”
Feild came to Omaha with a lead of almost $40,000 over second-place Steven Peebles in the world standings, and the $9,484 he earned Friday will further increase the lead he carries to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
The defending world champ says Omaha is a springboard for Las Vegas, and that success here always gives him a mental boost in the two-month break between now and the WNFR.
“Omaha is one of those rodeos where if you come in and do well, it makes going to Vegas seem easier, and if you don’t do well here, it gives you a bad vibe to end the season,” Feild said. “A win here is pretty important to me, because then I have the right thoughts in my head the next few months.”
Feild tried to cut back on the number of rodeos he went to in 2014, in order to stay fresher and healthier as he enters the WNFR as the favorite to win his fourth straight gold buckle.
“I’m feeling great physically and mentally,” he said. “I tried to set a number at the beginning of the season for the amount of rodeos I wanted to go to, and it was about 60. Once you get to 75 or 80 rodeos, you get more bumps and bruises, which doesn’t allow you to ride to your full potential. I set season goals and long-term goals before every season, and I have a list of rodeos I want to win and rodeos I need to win each year. Omaha is one I always want to win.”
Other winners at the $248,594 Justin Boots Championships were steer wrestlers Clayton Hass, Billy Bugenig and Riley Duvall (3.9 seconds each), team ropers Tom Richards and Cesar de la Cruz (4.6 seconds), saddle bronc rider Taos Muncy (83 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Tipped Off), tie-down roper Ryan Jarrett (6.8 seconds, tied arena record), barrel racer Sarah Rose McDonald (14.51 seconds) and bull rider Tim Bingham (85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Chubby).
Courtesy of PRCA