Silcox Taking Southern Route back to WNFR
JACKSON, Miss. – Wesley Silcox has reached the pinnacle of his sport.
The Santaquin, Utah, bull rider won a coveted PRCA gold buckle in 2007.
Now, he’s trying to his end his three-year drought of missing the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
Silcox took a big step toward achieving that goal by winning the Feb. 12-18 Dixie National Rodeo with a 90-point ride on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Harlem Shake.
“I knew that bull because I’ve seen him before, but I had never been on him,” Wilcox said. “When I nodded, I didn’t know if I was going to get bucked off the next jump or not when the ride was going on,” Wilcox, 29, said. “I didn’t know if I was going to be in the dirt or I was going to be still on top of it. I guess the keys were I kept my hand closed and kept trying.”
Wilcox pocketed $6,119 for his ride which came on Feb. 15 at the Mississippi Coliseum.
“I wasn’t quite sure,” said Wilcox when asked what he thought his score might be. “I knew it was going to be really good or it could be mediocre, but I thought it was going to be all right and it was.”
There’s never been a question of Silcox’s talent as he has six WNFR qualifications (2005-08, 2010-11).
In addition to his title, Wilcox also was a reserve world champion to B.J. Schumacher (2006) and J.W. Harris (2010).
From 2012-2014, however, Wilcox’s best finish in the standings was 23rd in 2013 when he won $46,519.
“It has just been a mind game for me the last few years,” Silcox said. “It’s just one of those deals where bull riding is a mental game.”
This season, Silcox appears to be turning things around as he was 16th in the Feb. 16 Windham Weaponry High Performance PRCA World Standings with $8,903. His win in Jackson vaulted him all the way up to fourth place.
“I have it on my mind now that I want to be at the NFR and that’s my goal,” Silcox said. “I love to ride bulls and I love to rodeo. That’s all I know how to do. I definitely have my mind on the NFR and I feel like it is going to happen. To get a big win like this (in Jackson) really helps you out and when you have a good winter it is going to go well from there.”
Other winners at the $235,059 rodeo were all-around cowboy Clayton Hass ($3,009, steer wrestling and team roping), bareback rider Tim O’Connell (89 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Inky), steer wrestler Charles Harris (8.5 seconds on two head), team ropers Jacob Dagenhart and Zack Mabry (10.9 seconds on two head), saddle bronc rider Chuck Schmidt (88 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Short Stop), tie-down roper Hunter Herrin (15.9 seconds on two head) and barrel racer Benette Little (15.34 seconds).
Courtesy of PRCA