LAS VEGAS – Somebody may want to pinch Bradlee Miller.
Competing at the National Finals Rodeo for the first time, Miller didn’t show any newcomer nerves. In fact, he rode Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Shady Nights for 86.5 points to finish second during Thursday’s first round, just a half-point behind the winner, Weston Timberman. Miller was awarded $26,624 for his efforts.
“I don’t think I was nervous at all, because it doesn’t seem real,” said Miller, 21, of Huntsville, Texas. “Before it’s your turn to nod your head, you have your hand in your riggin’ and have probably 20 seconds of just looking around, and it didn’t seem real then and still doesn’t. Whenever I got off that horse and looked around, there was nothing that I’ve ever felt like before.
“It’s crazy. It shakes you to your bones. It’s amazing.”
That’s the energy that fills the Thomas & Mack Center during ProRodeo’s grand finale, a 10-day championship that will pay out $12.5 million. More than 17,000 pack into the home of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels each night, and they’re excited to watch the best cowboys and cowgirls from the 2024 regular season.
With his earnings, Miller moved from 11th to eighth in the world standings and increased his annual salary to $173,898. To top it off, he has nine more nights on which to capitalize on the small fortune being paid in Sin City. Getting started off on the right foot during his first round at his first NFR is a big step in the right direction.
“It just reassures me that I belong here because no matter how good of a year you have or how much you win, there are always those small doubts,” he said. “There are no doubts after to day. I’m ready to go.
“I came here and wanted to win the first round right off the bat, and I gave it everything I had to do that. I fell a half-point short, but tomorrow I have a good horse again, so I’m ready.”
Having a veteran horse like Shady Nights certainly helped ease any tensions he could have had.
“That horse has been around this game longer than I have, and she knew how to do her job,” said Miller, a senior at Sam Houston State University and a member of the rodeo team coached by his father, Bubba. “I just had to match her. She gave it all she had like she always had. I had no doubts about my horse coming into today.”
Whether it’s real or not, Miller’s first NFR has begun, and he’s in prime position to take advantage of every round.