Top bareback riders hoping for Big Spring success

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BIG SPRING, Texas – Bareback rider Justin McDaniel has been in the winner’s circle plenty in his six-year ProRodeo career.

Justin McDaniel
Justin McDaniel

Twice he’s won the average at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and just three seasons ago he left the bright lights of Las Vegas with the most coveted piece of hardware in the sport, the world champion’s gold buckle.

And quite possibly the best regular-season paycheck McDaniel had in 2010 was at the Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo, where he scored 76 points on Carr Pro Rodeo’s Easy Does It to finish in a tie for second place behind Jared Smith. The $617 he earned last June was nothing compared to the $103,189 he won at the NFR, but it was just as important overall.

“That was a big rodeo for me because it was the first one I’d won money on after my injury,” said McDaniel, who missed the first half of season after having surgery to repair two herniated discs in his back. “I knew I was rusty, but it felt good to do well in Big Spring.”

McDaniel is scheduled to return to Howard County for the 78th Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo, set this year for 8 p.m. Thursday, June 16-Saturday, June 18. He’d like to improve on things from last year, and he’s already ahead of the game with three rodeo victories, including one the first week in June in Fort Smith, Ark.

But he’s not the only cowboy itching to get on some of the great Carr Pro Rodeo bareback horses. Matt Bright earned $81,489 last year riding bucking horses, the best season yet for the 27-year-old cowboy from Azle, Texas.

“Any time you can win first, it’s definitely good for a guy’s confidence,” said Bright, who has wins in Shreveport, La., and Guymon, Okla., already this year.

For cowboys who make their livings on the backs of bucking beasts, they know how important high quality animals are to their livelihood. Carr Pro Rodeo has them, and that’s why some of the top bareback riders in the business are scheduled to compete in Big Spring

“Pete sure enough has a bunch of great horses,” said Will Lowe of Canyon, Texas, a three-time world champion. “You dang sure know you’d better be ready when you get on one of Pete’s horses.

“Anytime you ride bucking horses, you’ve got to have your hammer cocked.”

Bright knows that as well as anyone. During the eighth round of the NFR last December, the Tennessee-born cowboy was prepared to ride Carr’s Real Deal, the rank 2005 Bareback of the Year. The brown gelding reared in leaving the chute, slamming Bright into the back of the metal-piped fencing. The result was a fracture of the lumbar spine and four months away from the game. In Guymon, Bright scored a strong 87-point ride on Carr’s Dirty Jacket, another bucking beast that is considered one of the best animals in bareback riding.

“I like Pete,” said Clint Cannon, a two-time NFR qualifier from Waller, Texas. “He’s always honest, and he always brings good horses to rodeos. He runs a good show.

“The great thing about Pete is that he’s not afraid to bring his good horses. We know when we go to one of Pete’s rodeos that you don’t have to get on a piece of junk. You know you’re going to have a chance to draw a good horse.”

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