Tie-Down Roper Haven Meged Makes WNFR History with Round 7 Victory
LAS VEGAS – Move over ProRodeo Hall of Famers Trevor Brazile and Cody Ohl and world champion Shad Mayfield.
There’s a new tie-down roper who is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo record holder – Haven Meged.
The Miles City, Mont., cowboy clocked a lightning fast 6.4-second run to win Round 7 Wednesday night before 17,185 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“Honestly, I don’t really know because it happened so fast,” said Meged about his historic run. “I had a good calf and just tried to take full advantage. It’s pretty cool to break an arena record because there’s been a lot of guys here. To be etched in the record books with the best guys in the world who have roped before me, it’s just a dream come true.”
Meged, the 2019 PRCA Tie-Down Roping World Champion, broke the NFR record of 6.5 seconds shared by Ohl (2003); Brazile (2015) and Mayfield (2022). Speaking of Mayfield, he was the next roper to go in Round 7 after Meged and stopped the clock in an amazing 6.1 seconds, but his calf got up, which nullified the run.
“Yeah, I wish they’d let me go first every time honestly,” Meged said. “I don’t like to watch. I would rather go first and set the pace. It was just tough roping tonight with a great set of calves.”
Meged is second in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $309,238. Riley Webb leads the standings with $376,086. Meged and Webb are 1-2 in the average as well.
The first two places in the average pay $78,747 and $63,889, respectively.
“Keep my foot on the gas. I’ve been chasing that roping sucker (Webb) all year and the plan is to not let off,” Meged said.
Bull rider Ky Hamilton caps memorable day with Round 7 triumphant
This was a day that bull rider Ky Hamilton changed his narrative in memorable fashion.
Bull rider Ky Hamilton wasn’t supposed to compete in Round 6 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Wednesday morning – until he did.
Just 16 hours after losing consciousness and suffering a concussion when he was bucked off in Round 5, Hamilton was back in the yellow bucking chutes Wednesday morning and winning money.
Hamilton split third in Round 6 with his 85.5-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Love The Grind’s Bouchon.
Hamilton was knocked out during his ride aboard Honeycutt Rodeo’s Bales Hay’s MAGA Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. Hamilton, who smacked heads with the bull, was sent to University Medical Center Trauma Center in Las Vegas for evaluation and observation.
That was just the opening act for the Mackay, Australia, cowboy.
In Round 7, Hamilton claimed the victory with an 88-point ride on Duane Kesler’s Alberta Prime Devil’s Advocate. He also was the lone rider on Wednesday night – earning him a $99,053 payday. In total, Hamilton earned $114,654 for his 16 seconds of work in Round 6 and Round 7.
“The doctors pretty much told me I couldn’t get any worse by getting on and riding a bull, so to me, that was a green light,” Hamilton said. “What happened (Tuesday) night is behind me. There is no future in the past and I knew I had two great bulls to ride (Wednesday). I just figured I would go and do my job.”
Hamilton was upbeat when he returned to the Thomas & Mack Center Wednesday morning.
“Honestly, I was feeling a lot better this morning than when I walked in there last night,” he said. “I knew within myself that I wasn’t kidding myself if I didn’t go ahead and get on. It was just back to business.”
Hamilton acknowledged he’s driven by a coveted gold buckle.
“This is what I’ve wanted since I’ve started riding,” Hamilton said. “There was nothing getting in the way of that. To come this far and this close, there was no way I wasn’t showing up (Wednesday). Thank you to all my friends and family who were there supporting me at the hospital last night. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Hamilton, who is seeking his first world title, is leading the world standings with $516,667 and he leads the average with 514.5 points on six head.
Hamilton has won three rounds at the 2023 Wrangler NFR – Round 1 with his 86.5-point ride aboard Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Vitalix Theodore in Round 1 and Round 4 with an 89-point ride on Bridwell Pro Rodeos’ Fred.
Hamilton has earned the most of any competitor so far this year’s NFR at $262,502, counting ground money. Hamilton is making his fourth NFR appearance.
Clayton Biglow stays hot, wins Round 7
Back in 2019, bareback rider Clayton Biglow went on heater winning five rounds at the NFR on the way to his lone PRCA World Championship.
Since then, Biglow qualified for the Wrangler NFR three more times but won just one round – in 2020 during Round 5 with an 89-point trip on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Biglow has jumped onboard of the victory train again at the 2023 NFR. He split the Round 5 win with an 89.5-point ride on the 2023 Horse of the Year Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Crawler.
Biglow was back taking a victory lap in Round 7 with an 88-point trip on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s South Point’s Happy Hour.
“That was what I’ve been looking for right there,” Biglow said. “That felt pretty good, so I’m happy. I believe that’s a young one of Bennie (Beutler’s). I saw a couple videos of him earlier and that’s what he does right there. I knew it was going to be a ride.”
After competing in Round 6 and Round 7 Wednesday, Biglow acknowledged he loves the Vegas NFR atmosphere.
“Oh man, I wish we could be out here doing this every weekend. I mean this is why we all rodeo right here is to come to this rodeo, this is something that you dream about as a little kid,” Biglow said. “Once you get to experience it, it’s just more than a dream come true because this is the Super Bowl of the sport. So, if you want to be the best this where you’ve got be.”
This year’s NFR is more special to Biglow because he and his wife, Annie, had their first child, son, Cal, in October.
“Oh man it’s really different it’s a breath of fresh air really, it really does put everything into perspective for a guy,” said Biglow about being a dad. “It really makes you realize that rodeo is just rodeo at the end of the day when you have mom and a kid to go home to. As long as you have them, life is good, winning is just the cherry on top.”
Tyler Waguespack, Stan Branco split Round 7 steer wrestling title
Reigning PRCA Steer Wrestling World Champion Tyler Waguespack knows how to compete at the Wrangler NFR, he has four world titles on his career resume as proof.
Waguespack kept himself in the world championship conversation in 2023 by splitting the Round 7 win with Stan Branco as each had 3.8-second runs.
“I was a little nervous about the steer I had drawn, they had broken the barrier on the previous round but I couldn’t really get on the ground, so I knew if I could get a good start that steer would do really good on the ground,” Waguespack said. “So, I got a great start, slowed it down, made sure I made a finish and glad it ended up being 3.8 to get the win. The confidence of being able to know that if I hit the barrier, I got enough time to slow down to make sure that I’m make a good run. It’s kind of like an insurance policy.”
Waguespack, who has earned $78,924 at the NFR, moved into third place in the world standings with $225,572.
“It’s still one steer at a time. I want to win as much money as I can with each one that I draw, so we’ll be at the drawboard (Thursday) and see which one it is and make the best game plan we can.”
Branco, who made his lone NFR appearance in 2013, is making new memories almost every night as he has earned $129,359 in Vegas, the most of any steer wrestler at this year’s NFR. Branco is second in the world standings with $227,648.
“I’m trying to push the barrier every round,” Branco said. “Biggest thing I want is a strong finish and see what happens. We have got to hit the barrier and get a strong finish. Same thing every time. I’m going to try and run it every round. If I break a barrier, I break a barrier, if not, Oscar’s giving me the chance to win on everything, so hopefully we have fun.”
Ryder Wright, Damian Brennan split Round 7 saddle bronc crown
Ryder Wright and Damian Brennan both put forth stellar efforts to split the Round 7 win.
Wright had an 89-point ride on Calgary Stampede’s Exotic Warrior and Brennan had the identical score aboard Powder River Rodeo’s Bet the Ranch.
“That’s an awesome young horse of Calgary’s (Stampede). Like I said, I’ve seen it a couple times in Calgary and then again earlier this week with Tanner Butner,” Wright said. “I knew he was going to have a few moves, stack up and be awesome, and he did just that.
“It (the 2023 NFR) has been slower than I’d like but I’ve been winning money here and there, so I’ll just keep plucking away,” Wright said. “There’s three more rounds, so hopefully I come away with three more wins.”
Brennan, who is making his NFR debut, has now won two rounds in his inaugural appearance. He also won Round 4 with an 89-point ride on TNT Pro Rodeo’s Cancun Moon.
“Yeah, that’s a good horse (Bet the Ranch). I just tried to get a good solid spur out and pick that timing up,” Brennan said. “That horse really stacked up and allowed me to do my job.
“After getting the win in Round 4 it gave me a heap of confidence. I’m just trying to keep the ball rolling, keep things simple, and let everything play the course.”
Wright is fifth in the world standings with $254,750 and Brennan is sixth with $234,587.
Trio of teams split Round 7 team roping title
Round 7 of the team roping was one of sharing.
Derrick Begay/Colter Todd, Clint Summers/Jake Long and Clay Smith/Paden Bray all shared the round win with 4.0-second runs.
“It’s the softest round that it’s been all week,” Todd said. “Usually a 4.0 (second run) has not won much. I hadn’t been heeling very good, so I just wanted to make sure I got to our steer tonight and caught him by two feet for a change. That was my game plan and well, here we are.”
Todd, who is making his fourth NFR appearance and first since 2008, is fourth in the world standings with $195,640.
“You have to have confidence every night whether you miss or you win. Regardless of the outcome, you have to come out the next day with all the confidence you can get,” Begay said.
Begay is competing in the NFR for the 10th time and is ninth in the world standings at $180,473.
Clay Smith knows something about winning NFR Rounds as he is a two-time world champion in 2018 and 2019.
“I started to turn the steers, that seemed to help,” Smith said with a chuckle. “Paden has roped great this week and fired off two of them today. I just got to turn them for him.”
Bray, who is making his third NFR appearance, was thrilled with Round 7’s outcome.
“We kind of got on a roll today. We started this morning with a 3.8 (second run) on a stronger steer and had another one tonight,” Bray said. “Clay did an unbelievable job to hit the horns tight and give me a chance to finish the job.”
Summers/Long have been spent so much time in the winner’s circle they should pay rent as this was their fourth-round win.
The duo is first in their respective world standings. Summers has $227,075 and Long $240,578.
“Man, we’re just having fun. And like Jake said, when you’re doing good it’s easy to have fun, but I feel like we’ve grown together as a team,” Summers said. “We are continuing to learn about each other while focusing on trying to make a good run and see where it leads us this week.”
Long was happy to be celebrating again.
“Well, he sure wouldn’t have been our pick of the litter,” Long said. “He surprised us both. We thought he had some decent speed, but he beat us out of the box pretty good. I’m not sure how Clint was able to turn him, but he did, and we were able to get him cleaned up.”
Barrel racer Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi closes in on world championship with Round 7 title
Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi had a record-breaking regular season and is on the verge of becoming a world champion.
Tonozzi made sure of that by winning Round 7 with a 13.47-second run.
“Yeah, you know Benny just keeps getting stronger and stronger and that’s kind of his personality,” Pozzi Tonozzi said. “We knew that coming in. He always gets better with more repetition. I was just waiting my turn to get to the top of the ground, and I was glad we could clinch it tonight.”
Pozzi Tonozzi is first in the world standings with $403,389. She has earned $132,826 at the NFR. Pozzi Tonozzi leads the average with 95.64 seconds on seven runs.
“It’s crazy good,” Pozzi Tonozzi said about the NFR field of barrel racers. “We have a lot to attribute that to. Our breeding program has gotten amazing, the riding has gotten so much better, and the ground has gotten so much better. This is such a cool time in our sport. To see it growing and people putting in all the hard work, it does show.”
Pozzi Tonozzi is now ready to clinch her third career world championship. Her first two came in 2007 and 2009.
“Yeah, it’s pretty close. I always say you don’t start thinking about a gold buckle until Round 8, so I’ll leave that thought for (Thursday). Now, we kind of have the average on our mind. We’ve set ourselves up pretty good for the average and we’ll just wait and see how it goes.”
Courtesy of PRCA