Cole Patterson Takes Aim at World Title No. 2 at 2023 National Finals Steer Roping
Records are made to be broken – even by the same person.
For the second time in three years, Cole Patterson has broken the record for the most money won by a steer roper in the PRCA regular season before the National Finals Steer Roping.
The Pratt, Kan., cowboy arrives at the 2023 National Finals Steer Roping atop the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $118,515, eclipsing the record of $104,516 he initially set in 2021.
The 2023 NFSR is Nov. 17-18 at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane. The Kansas Star has been the home of the NFSR since 2014.
“It is always cool see records get broken,” said Patterson, 28. “I definitely think this says a lot about where steer roping and the PRCA are headed. There’s probably going to be three guys who are going to get past the old record (of $89,427 set by Tuf Cooper in 2018). It says something about the direction this sport is headed.”
Cody Lee ($93,735) and Scott Snedecor ($90,037) are second and third, respectively in the steer roping world standings.
“Cole is going to be awful hard to catch, he has a pretty good lead, and he ropes awful good,” said Lee, who will be making his 18th appearance at the NFSR. “I’m just going to try and tie them all down and see what happens. Anything can happen. The Kansas Star is a great facility to rope at. I’m ready to go back (to the NFSR), I don’t know how many I got left and we better get after them while we still can.”
Lee is a three-time NFSR average winner in 2016, 2018 and 2022. Snedecor is a four-time steer roping world champion in 2005, 2008, 2017-18.
Reigning world champion J. Tom Fisher enters the 2023 NFSR eighth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $56,115. Vin Fisher, J. Tom’s other brother, is appearing at the NFSR for the 20th time this year. Vin is 11th in the world standings.
Patterson, a four-time qualifier to the NFSR, won his lone PRCA Steer Roping World Championship in 2021. He finished that season with $190,242, a single-season steer roping earnings mark. That year he also earned a National Finals Steer Roping-record $85,726. A year ago, Patterson finished second in the world standings to J. Tom Fisher.
Patterson has come in as the season leader to the NFSR three out of the last four years (2020, 2021 and 2023).
This year Patterson has two main horses, Dunny, 12, and Tigger, 18. Dunny was the 2019 PRCA Steer Roping Horse of the Year and Tigger claimed the same honor in 2021. Patterson was aboard Tigger when he won his 2021 world championship.
After failing to qualify for the NFSR in 2022, Cole’s father, Rocky Patterson, a four-time world champion returns to the NFSR in 2023. Rocky, who last won the world in 2016, will be making his 28th trip to the NFSR, second only to legendary Guy Allen’s 33 NFSR trips.
“I think a key to my (2023) season is that I had a lot of luck at some of the bigger stand-alone events early in the year and that’s really where a good majority (of the steer roping regular season) money comes from because this time of year it gets pretty hard to come by,” Cole said.
Patterson wants to keep adding to his 2023 regular-season total, but he knows to get another gold buckle it is going to come done to how he competes at the NFSR.
“The money has gotten so good at our Finals that there is really no way to win the world anymore without having a good Finals,” Patterson said.
Courtesy of PRCA