Reid Oftedahl Leads After Night One of Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale
PENDLETON, Ore. – Reid Oftedahl showed on Monday night he’s not afraid of the bright lights on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
The Raymond, Minn., bull rider, qualified for his first Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale in 2022 and in the first two rounds he showed he belonged and then some.
Oftedahl started the event with a bang by winning Round 1 with an 87.5-point ride on Four Star Rodeo’s Brandon. Just an hour separated his first and second ride, but it didn’t seem to faze him.
In his second ride, he delivered an 86.5-point trip on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s By The Batch. His total of 174 points on two head is enough to lead the average after the first night of action.
He said the level of competition in the Finale made him up his game in front of a near sellout crowd of 4,000 at Happy Canyon Arena.
“I really fed off the top guys in the world being there and the good bulls that we had underneath us,” said Oftedahl, 28. “That’s exciting when we can all compete together and make it a riding contest. So, it was fun.”
Headed into Monday night, Oftedahl was sitting 25th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings and 17th in the Xtreme Bulls Standings. He hopes his $8,353 windfall on night one was only the beginning as he searches for what could be a season altering payday.
“The last few weeks in the Northwest have been a little rough on me, but now we’re turning it around,” he said. “We are going to do the same thing (Tuesday), put our hand in the rope, ride the bull for 10 seconds and just have fun.”
Only two other cowboys were able to ride two bulls on the opening night. Stetson Wright and Trevor Reiste are both tied with 171 points on two head.
Dawson Gleaves marked the highest scored ride of the night. In the second round, he had a 91-point trip on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Time for Religion.
The Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale concludes at 11 p.m. (ET) Tuesday with the final two rounds of competition. The cowboy with the top score in the average at the conclusion of the event will be crowned the Pendleton Whisky Xtreme Bulls Finale Champion.
The PRCA Xtreme Bulls Tour year-end champion will also be awarded. Josh Frost has a $4,291 lead over Stetson Wright in the Tour standings.
The Pendleton Xtreme Bulls Finale will air live on The Cowboy Channel and stream live on the PRCA on The Cowboy Channel Plus App.
Courtesy of PRCA
