LAS VEGAS – When Pete Carr looked at Outa Sight and Deuces Night before the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, he knew there was something special in the 5-year-old mares whose daddy is Night Jacket, one of the most celebrated bucking horses in ProRodeo.
Carr, the owner of Carr Pro Rodeo, knew the athleticism that he’d seen in the bucking beasts, and he knew their lineage could lead to something special happening in the season-ending ProRodeo championship event. But alongside their stablemates, the fillies were standouts inside the Thomas & Mack center during the NFR’s rugged 10 go-rounds.
“I think it was a pretty successful NFR for us,” Carr said. “We had three horses that had firsts and three horses had seconds.”
He was referring to how cowboys matched moves with animals and their finish in go-rounds. In all, cowboys who competed on Carr bucking animals earned $114,676, while Deuces Night, Outa Sight and Big Lights – all part of bareback riding competition – helped cowboys to first-place checks worth $17,512: Steven Dent won the third round on Big Lights with an 85, Kaycee Feild won the fourth round on Outa Sight with an 87 and Kelly Timberman won the 10th round on Deuces Night with an 88.5.
“That was a phenomenal horse, and she was just the best one out today,” Timberman, the 2004 world champion, said of Deuces Night. “The fact of the matter is she was just the best one out today and will probably be one of the best horses in the world for a long time. I was real privileged to have the horse.”
Jason Havens matched moves with the mare for 86 points to finish in a tie for second place in the fifth round. Between those two rides, nearly $30,000 was paid out to cowboys who tested their mettle on Deuces Night. Meanwhile, Outa Sight and Big Lights rides that finished in fifth place, and cowboys pocketed $22,031 on each of those horses.
“That horse gives you time to show your talent and some different things about your riding, so it was a lot of fun,” Field said after his fourth-round victory on Outa Sight. “I was really stoked to have (her), because I really like those young horses.”
Riverboat Annie, the 10-year-old roan mare that was the runner-up bareback horse of the year in 2007, helped her riders earn checks in the second and seventh rounds – Clint Cannon finished second in the seventh round, while Dent placed fifth on the second night. Saddle bronc Miss Congeniality and J.J. Elshere worked together to split second place in the second go-round. Black Gold and Clayton Williams finished the sixth round of bull riding in third place, good enough for $10,451.
“We got along pretty good out there, it was a good ten days,” Carr said. “Now we are focused on 2011 and we are excited about next year. We have purchased several animals this winter that we feel should definitely enhance our rodeos and add to our numbers out here for years to come”