SALT LAKE CITY – Orin Larsen is on the outside looking in.
He’s qualified nine straight times for the National Finals Rodeo and entered this week of competition 16th on the money list; only the top 15 in the world standings in each event earn the right to play for the sport’s biggest pay this December in Las Vegas.
He’s doing everything in his power to make it 10 in a row, and he got a big push during Monday’s final performance of Utah’s Own PRCA Rodeo at Utah State Fairpark. He rode Summit Pro Rodeo’s Game Trail for 90 points to earn the bareback riding title and pocket $3,913.
“I got on Game Trail in 2020 at the tour finale in Rapid City (South Dakota),” said Larsen, 33, originally from Inglis, Manitoba, now living in the tiny western Oklahoma community of Hydro. “She was good then, but she was way better this time around. She was good that time, but she was better today.”
It was not only a boost to his financial status – money earned in Salt Lake City pushed his annual salary to more than $112,000 and shot him to 14th in the standings – but it helped his confidence. Any time a bronc buster can score 90 points out of a possible 100, it’s a big deal.
“Right out of the box, she got at it,” Larsen said of Game Trail, who has guided cowboys to championships at six events this year, including the prestigious Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days. “That kind of caught me off guard, and I felt like I was trying to play catch up from there on out. I was just trying to hit something.
“I was expecting her to trail off a little bit, and then start at it, but she pretty much did it right there. At that point, you just rely on what your body already knows and just press in your subconscious you know how to do this stuff.”
While he’s pocketed six figures this season, most of that has come in the last couple of months of rodeoing. He struggled early in the campaign, but he’s found a great deal of success since July. That’s been a game-changer, but he’s still in chase-mode. He has just three weeks remaining in ProRodeo’s regular season to earn his spot back in Sin City.
“Yeah, it blows,” Larsen said, a breath of desperation and relief coming in one sigh. “It’s a position that I’m fortunate enough not to have been really familiar with in the past, but I’m just taking it one horse at a time. I don’t want to be in this position, but it puts a little added pressure, which I like and enjoy and am going to play to my advantage.”
Utah’s Own PRCA Rodeo
Sept. 6. 7 and 9
Salt Lake City
All-around cowboy: Jake Hannum, $1,600, tie-down roping and team roping.
Bareback riding: 1. Orin Larsen, 90 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Game Trail, $3,913; 2. (tie) Jaceklane Frost, Bradlee Miller and Donny Proffit, 87, $2,217 each; 5. Lane McGehee, 86.5, $913; 6. Dean Thompson, 86, $652; 7. Sam Petersen, 85, $522; 8. Taylor Broussard, 84.5, $391.
Steer wrestling: 1. Tyler Waguespack, 3.6 seconds, $1,665; 2. Jesse Brown, 3.9, $1,448; 3. Coby Brown, 4.0, $1,230; 4. Zach Trapp, 4.2, $1,013; 5. Olin Hannum, 4.4, $796; 6. (tie) Eric Logan, Seth Peterson and Jake Stocking, 4.5, $362 each.
Team roping: 1. Kaden Richard/Whitt Crozier, 6.0 seconds, $2,443 each; 2. (tie) Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan and Rhen Richard/Coby Drake, 6.2, $1,965 each; 4. (tie) Ben Jordan/JR Gonzalez and Chris Olson/Riley Oberg, 6.6, $1,328 each; 6. Cole Eiguren/Tyler Eiguren, 7.0, $850; 7. Willow Wilson/Todd Wilson, 8.5, $531; 8. Travis Whitlow/Tyler Whitlow, 10.2, $212.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. Logan Hay, 89 points on Kirsten Vold Rodeo Company’s Crossbreed’s Cap, $3,863; 2. Ben Andersen, 88.5, $2,962; 3. Cash Wilson, 88, $2,189; 4. Jake Finlay, 87.5, $1,417; 5. (tie) Dawson Hay and Ryder Wright, 86.5, $773 each; 7. Q Taylor, 86, $515; 8. Q McWhorter, 85, $386.
Tie-down roping: 1. Britt Bedke, 8.8 seconds, $1,989; 2. (tie) Jake Hannum and Jase Staudt, 8.9, $1,600 each; 4. Colton Kofoed, 9.5, $1,211; 5. Justin Brinkerhoff, 10.1, $951; 6. Rylee Rogers, 11.3, $692; 7. Seth Hall, 13.3, $432; 8. Booker McCutchen, 13.7, $173.
Breakaway roping: Aspen Miller, 1.9 seconds, $2,438; 2. Kash Gay, 2.1, $2,090; 3. (tie) Zoie Bedke, Peggy Garman and Willow Wilson, 2.3, $1,470 each; 6. (tie) Kaydin Finan, Ryland Lufkin, Harley Meged and Jill Tanner, 2.4, $609 each; 10. Makayla Boisjoli, 2.5, $232.
Barrel racing: 1. McKenna Coronado, 17.01 seconds, $1,893; 2. Caitlyn White, 17.37, $1,623; 3. Anita Ellis, 17.44, $1,352; 4. Katelyn Scott, 17.47, $1,172; 5. Haylee Woodward, 17.51, $901; 6. Amanda Butler, 17.52, $721; 7. Sharon Harrell, 17.57, $541; 8. Sandy Bywater, 17.58, $361; 9. Terri Wood Gates, 17.64, $270; 10. Jordan Argyle, 17.68, $180.
Bull riding: 1. Luke Mackey, 86 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Kermit, $4,561; 2. Dixon Tattrie, 85, $3,642; 3. Miles Johnson, 82, $2,855; 4. Braden Richardson, 80.5, $2,067; no other qualified rides.