LAS VEGAS – J.D. Struxness understands the ups and downs that come with rodeo, especially during those magical 10 days of the National Finals Rodeo.

When times are good, ride the wave. When times aren’t so good, figure out a way to pull yourself out of the hole.

He’s riding the wave in Las Vegas this week. He’s earned $72,122 since arriving in Las Vegas, and the lion’s share of that came over the last three nights. He put an exclamation point on it all with a 3.6-second run to win Sunday’s fourth round, worth $33,687, and moved to second in the world standings with $219,388. He trails the leader, Mississippian Will Lummus, by just $6,800.

“We knew that steer was a good opportunity, and we knew what we needed to do on him,” said Struxness, from Milan, Minnesota. “The two horses we’re riding this week … we have a lot of confidence on them. We’re riding Ty Erickson’s horse, Crush, and then we have Matt Reeves on the hazing side on Kirk. We have a bunch of confidence in those horses, so when we get an opportunity on a steer like that, we know the horses are going to do their job and we do our job, we’re getting placed good.

“There’s still a lot of time left, so you get your confidence up, get things rolling and hopefully be a good rest of the week.”

This is the kind of momentum that can turn the tide. Struxness understands how that can work through each go-round. He’s slowly been building after starting with a no-time on opening night. He finished in a tie for third place on Night 2, was fourth in the third round and came away with the win.

“It’s always good out here when you can take a round, and to get one in the first half of the week is awesome,” he said. “(This) definitely helps the bank account to get that big of a check, still in the first half of the week, is a huge ice-breaker, lets you loosen up and roll, gives a confidence boost to keep it rolling.”

Crush was named the 2024 PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, and that’s a big piece of the puzzle for Struxness

“That horse is rock solid in the corner,” he said. “He leaves when we drop our hand just like you would want a horse to out here and runs hard all the way to the back end and gives you a chance to catch every steer.”

He celebrated by attending the go-round buckle presentation at the South Point Hotel and Casino and even had a guest on stage with him. He had spent part of his Sunday with youngsters associated with the Golden Circle of Champions, which raised awareness about childhood cancer, and one of the children accompanied him.

“We went over with the crew at Golden Circle, hung out with them,” Struxness said, noting that he came away with a strong realization. “You can’t take anything for granted and be grateful for what you have. To be able to go over there and spend a little time with them and see those kids, you have a good day. It just makes you relax, take it all in and remind you how lucky you are to be in the position you are.”