Franks Gets a Bit Dirty at WNFR
Cole Franks rides Pete Carr’s Resistol’s Dirty Jacket for 85.5 points to place in Thursday’s first go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
(PRCA PRORODEO PHOTO BY PHIL DOYLE)
LAS VEGAS – When Cole Franks was a youngster, he knew there was something about bucking horses that drove him.
His dad, Bret, rode them, competing in saddle bronc riding for years. Bret Franks is a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier who now coaches tomorrow’s stars at Clarendon (Texas) College. Naturally, his sons, including older Cole’s brother Clint, followed suit.
On opening night of the 2022 NFR, the youngest of the Franks boys was matched with one of the legendary horses in the sport, Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Resistol’s Dirty Jacket, a top-three bareback horse for four straight years and a two-time Bareback Horse of the Year.
“I love that horse,” Cole Franks said after posting an 85.5-point ride Thursday night to finish in a tie for fifth place. “I’ve loved that horse ever since I was little. He was one of the first horses that I actually knew when I was little. I’d hear Dirty Jacket’s name come on the TV, and it’d pop my attention and I’d be watching.”
The first time the two matched up was during the 10th round of last year’s finale, and they also scored 85.5 points together.
“I was excited tog et on him last year,” he said. “I was a little more excited this time around. It was a different pen of horses, a different standout.”
And it worked out. For his finish, Franks added a little more than $6,000 and pushed his season earnings to $132,489. That’s key; not only does money help cover expenses and pay bills, but dollars equal championship points. The contestants in each event who earn the most money in a given season will be crowned world champions.
“That ride felt really good,” Franks said. “I felt like I got a little behind there at the end, but it was still good. He’s a dream to get on. We just want to keep building on it. Tomorrow I will be shooting for higher, better, more every time. You keep pushing to the top until you get there.”
He’s been close already. In his rookie season and his first trip to the NFR in 2021, he finished third in the world standings. He is 12th on the money list but has nine more nights to cash in. Each night offers a different challenge, and bareback riders will face the top 100 animals from this year’s season.
He will be matched with Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter on a night when the cowboys will face the semi-eliminator pen of bucking horses. The Round 2 horses will be a big test, but it’s also a stepping stone; the third round features the hardest-to-ride broncs in rodeo.
“I have yet to get on Ankle Biter, but I’m excited for that,” he said. “He’s awesome for that pen, too.”
Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com