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PRCA for the Record: Wrangler NFR Round 9

Luke Branquinho is the only steer wrestler with two standing go-round records at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo – 3.1 seconds during Round 2 in 2004 and 3.2 seconds in Round 9 in 2007, joining Derek Daye (1993) and Cash Myers (2001).

“There’s a lot to that, but mainly I would say it’s horsepower and being on the back of great horses at the Finals helps for those records,” Branquinho said. “Both of those records were on Gunner, who Jesse Peterson from Montana owns, and he (Gunner) is a superstar. I believe I’ve won 14 or 15 rounds on him.”

Branquinho entered the 2007 NFR as the season leader but was having a rough time at the Finals.

“I didn’t have a good Finals until the last two go-rounds,” Branquinho said. “Any time you’re 3.2 (seconds) or even 3.5, you know you’ve done your job right. I hadn’t been fourth in a go-round yet (during the 2007 NFR), so when you’re struggling like that it dang sure lifts your spirits.”

After his record-setting, Round 9 win, he won the 10th round in 3.5 seconds and finished ninth in the 2007 NFR average. Over his career, the California cowboy has won more than $2.5 million, five world titles (2004, 2008, 2011-12, 2014) and made 14 trips to the NFR (2001-04, 2006-15).

The NFR’s fastest steer wrestling record is 3.0 seconds, set by Steve Duhon during Round 5 in 1986 and matched by Bryan Fields during Round 6 in 2001. Branquinho believes that a sub-3.0 run at the NFR is possible.

“I don’t think you can never say never,” Branquinho said. “With the types of cattle now, they have a lot of electricity, so I do think it’s possible to even be 3.1 and 3.2, but to shave three-tenths (of a second) off is tough.”

The 2020 Wrangler NFR moved to Globe Life Field due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so a different arena means NFR records in timed events likely will remain untouched this year. But the best rides and runs of the past remain a good measuring stick as the 120 best ProRodeo athletes kick up dust on a new batch of arena dirt.

Every point counts and a fraction of a second can mean the difference between winning a world title or coming in second at the Wrangler NFR.

The following records, and the records for the other nine rounds, could be broken Dec. 3-12. Fans can check with ProRodeo.com for updates throughout the competition and can watch the action unfold live on the PRCA on the Cowboy Channel Plus app.


The NFR Round 9 records are:

Bareback Riding

90 points
• Rowdy Buechner on Kesler Rodeo’s Sky Reach, 2005
• Tim O’Connell on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix Ain’t No Angel, 2018

Steer Wrestling

3.2 seconds
• Derek Daye, 1993
• Cash Myers, 2001
• Luke Branquinho, 2007

Team Roping

3.3 seconds
• Chad Masters/Jade Corkill, 2009
• Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 2017

Saddle Bronc Riding

92 points
• Dan Mortensen on Kesler Rodeo’s Painted Smile, 2002

Tie-down Roping

6.6 seconds
• Hunter Herrin, 2015

Barrel Racing

13.40 seconds
• Hailey Kinsel, 2018

Bull Riding

95.5 points
• Zack Brown on Terry Walls Rodeo’s Red Alert, 2003

Courtesy of PRCA

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