Ericka Nelson

Ericka Nelson – Century, Fla. ($93,433)
First-time WNFR qualifier

Ask Ericka Nelson about the learning curve in rodeo. It took her three years to get to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and it wasn’t from lack of effort or winning.

Ericka joined the WPRA in 2001. She went to circuit rodeos and stayed pretty close to home in Century, Florida. She rode outside horses and did some training. One of the horses that came to her in those days was PC Cash “Bud.” He came to Ericka as a three-year-old, she started training him and taking him to futurities. Because she didn’t want to travel and go “out west” but wanted Bud to have those opportunities he was sold.

Then Goodfrenchmanfriday “Friday” came into her life and she couldn’t turn down the opportunity to ride him. She saw it as an opportunity to show the rest of the world the quality of horses there are in Florida, so she hit the road.

In 2017, they went to 86 rodeos and finished 28th in the standings. Last year, a similar schedule saw them going to 83 and finishing 26th. Through it all, she learned where to go, how to get there and which rodeos Friday liked. Then her friends Beth Miller and Max Liddic bought back Bud and got him to Ericka last August.

This year her whole game plan has changed. She has had two horses, entered 65 rodeos and finished the regular season in 10th place with $93,433 in earnings. She will now make the 1,866 mile trip after Thanksgiving to compete on rodeo’s biggest stage.

Making the sacrifice to rodeo and leave her husband and daughter was a family decision. They all felt the horses needed the opportunity and that it was part of God’s plan. And while it would have been easy for Ericka to throw her sucker in the dirt many times and head home, she relied on her faith and her purpose and is now looking forward to 10 nights in Vegas showcasing Florida horses at the NFR.