Brody Cress Eyes World Title After Round 9 Win
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Saddle bronc rider Brody Cress keeps pushing his foot on the gas to give himself a chance to win his first gold buckle.
The Wyoming cowboy won Round 9 with a 91-point ride on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Kangaroo Lou before 17,210 fans at the 2021 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Cress is third in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $256,511 and leads the average with 772 points on nine head.
“You know that horse is a great young one,” Cress said. “I knew we had a great shot to be good. I’ve seen a lot of good videos and that horse has a lot of potential. I was trying to make sure and give us both a chance. She’s young and kind of gets skittish in the chutes coming into this arena with all of the noise. So, I knew if we could a good start out of there and I could help her along, we were going to have a good ride.”
Cress did take a moment to discuss his plan for Round 10.
“Come into the arena tomorrow and have fun,” Cress said. “I’m really excited about tomorrow night’s round with 15 of the best (saddle) bronc riders in the world and we’re getting to get on the horses you dream about. Just come in here, have fun, and get ready to roll.”
Tie-down roper Haven Meged captures another round win
Haven Meged has found his momentum at the right time.
The 2019 PRCA Tie-Down Roping World Champion won his second round of the Wrangler NFR, winning Round 9 with a 7.3-second run.
Meged also won Round 7 and was second in Round 6 and Round 8. He’s third in the world standings with $233,024 and is fourth in the average.
“I knew I had a good calf tonight; they had placed on her in an earlier round, I just knew I had to get to the outside on her because she will step left, and I knew if she went down, I wasn’t going to win anything.
“Shane (Hanchey) and Caleb (Smidt) are 1 and 2 in the average and the world, so I just got to come with the heat, hope I have a great calf and see where I end up. I’m a bit upset about the one calf that I went 19 on, I had a lot of confidence coming in, I let one get by so hopefully it didn’t cost me a world title.”
Bull rider Braden Richardson visits pay window with Round 9 victory
Bull rider Braden Richardson had a forgetful Wrangler NFR in his debut, failing to place in the first eight rounds.
His fortunes changed in Round 9.
The Jasper, Texas cowboy won with an 89-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Bouchon
“Man, it’s really special,” Richardson said. “After these first eight rounds, I was like man, it’s going to come. I don’t know, maybe I started doubting myself the first few rounds and then I just had to let it all hang out. It’s kind of hard to explain.”
Richardson acknowledged the week has been tough.
“Well, I just put in my head every day that I can ride anything on my worst day,” Richardson said. “Even with broken ribs, you have to keep that mind frame that nothing can throw you even on your worst day ever.
“The week’s been rough. I haven’t been the greatest (chuckles). You know, it’s crazy because about three hours before the rodeo, I pick myself up and make myself feel good. Now that I got the round win, I can’t wait for tomorrow. Before today, I was ready for the week to be over.”
Bareback rider Caleb Bennett gets well-deserved win
The 2021 Wrangler NFR has been a struggle for Caleb Bennett while battling injuries.
The veteran cowboy showed his grit as he took the win in Round 9 with an 88-point ride on Rafter H Rodeo Livestock’s Medicine Show
“That felt awesome,” Bennett said. “That horse was awesome. It gives a guy everything he wants. He has the kick and timing and the finesse to give a guy the opportunity to his job and show off his ability. I have seen that horse but had never been on her and that ride just felt so awesome.”
The victory was especially gratifying for Bennett as he fights through the pain.
“One thing that hasn’t been bothering me all year long acted up in the first round and that was my (right) riding wrist,” Bennett said. “Ever since I had surgery on my wrist two years ago, everything felt great. Then in the first round, my glove kind of rolled and it tweaked some tendons and stuff in my wrist. It was miserable clear to about Round 5 and we got the pain calmed down. Then, I strained my groin in Round 7 and I’ve been fighting some neck inflammation. This win is huge after this week and what I have been through.”
Quartet of steer wrestlers split Round 9 victory
Round 9 in the steer wrestling was a shared affair as Stetson Jorgensen, Jesse Brown, Stockton Graves and Tyler Waguespack all had identical 3.9-second runs to split the win.
“It’s been a little rough, but you just have to keep going at the barrier and make clean runs,” Jorgensen said. “You have to get all of that negative energy out of your mind, back in the box, go at the barrier and just keep knocking them down.”
Brown has kept a simple approach at the NFR.
“I just go for the go round win, I’m a little behind in the world standings race so I need all the money I can get, so I just see what happens and run at the rounds.”
Graves, meanwhile, has had a rough NFR so he was excited to turn things around.
“Yep, it has been rough for sure,” Graves said. “I brought my horse out here and he has been good at quick starts, then he decided he didn’t like it, so I decided I needed to make a change. I talked to Dirk Tavenner to see if I could use his horse and he was nice enough to let me use him. It took me a couple rounds to get him figured out but tonight it all came together for my first go round win in quite a while.”
Waguespack, a two-time world champion, is right in the mix for his third world title. He’s first in the world standings with $217,508 and is fourth in the average.
“After the second round, when I got the barrier, I knew I had to get at the money every night to give myself a chance to get that gold buckle,” Waguespack said. “Every night I have to do the best job on the steer I have and hope for the best.”
Team ropers Snow/Thorp, Proctor/Medlin split win
Team ropers Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp and Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin have been battling all week and they were rewarded Friday.
Snow/Thorp and Proctor/Medlin split the Round 8 win with 3.5-second runs.
“We were at the top of the list tonight,” Medlin said. “The steers were good, and everybody ropes good here. We were just going to try and go as fast as we could and set the pace. Even though you’re 3.5 and you are at the beginning the round you can’t take a deep breath until it is over. That’s the fastest I have ever gone in my life and that didn’t even win it outright.”
Proctor was happy about the results.
“We came out here with a game plan to beat every steer who walked in the chute,” Proctor said. “We haven’t done the best job all week but luckily for us Logan makes it so fast with him and his horse. My head horse is working great and anytime we catch we feel like it is going to be fast enough. I was just trying to pin the barrier back and give Logan another chance to through his rope.”
Snow had a simple explanation to his team’s success.
“We had a really good steer and we got to use it,” Snow said.
Thorp addressed what his team was thinking when they arrived at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“The main thing was we wanted to stick to our game plan,” Thorp said. “We made a couple adjustments throughout the week, and we wanted to take advantage of the right steer when we drew him. We had a good start, and a really good finish.”
Jordon Briggs, Stevi Hillman share Round 9 crown
Jordon Briggs is squarely in the hunt to win a barrel racing world championship.
Briggs kept that a reality by splitting Round 9 with Stevi Hillman. They each had 13.48-second runs.
“My goal is to always win a check and so the higher up it gets the more money you get,” Briggs said. “I am just happy to be here and happy to share this win with Stevi because we are both on young horses. This is their (the horses) first NFR and to be the first ones to win a second go round buckle is great. Everyone has been so dominate, this year so cool to see these young horses feed off this adrenaline.”
Hillman’s win allowed her to cross the $1 million mark in career earnings.
“I am not sure where it has gone but it is a neat thing to have accomplished. I am just grateful for all the horses that have gotten me here.”
Bullfighter Dusty Tuckness injured
PRCA award-winning bullfighter Dusty Tuckness suffered a fractured left leg in Round 9 according to the Justin Sportsmedicine report.
Tuckness rushed in to save bull rider Braden Richardson following his 89-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Bouchon and moments later he suffered the injury.
Courtesy of PRCA