LAS VEGAS – Cliffhanger was not in a mood to play, and Weston Timberman might have gotten the worst of the ordeal.

During Thursday’s eighth round of the National Finals Rodeo, the Beutler & Son Rodeo bronc slid down and turned in the chute after Timberman had wedged his left hand into the rigging. Already aching because of forearm splits (similar to shin splints), his wrist torqued. When he finally freed himself from the predicament, Timberman gathered his composure, remounted the horse and tried it again.

Cliffhanger was just having a bad day, and it continued once the chute opened. Part of the “eliminator pen” of bareback horses, he didn’t perform up to capacity. The result was an option for a re-ride for Timberman, a first-time NFR qualifier from Columbus, Montana. He took the chance, and it paid off.

He then rode Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks for 84.5 points to finish sixth in the round, worth $5,433. It was his fifth payday of the NFR and increased his Las Vegas earnings to more than $83,000. He’s also ridden eight broncs for a cumulative score of 678 points and sits fourth in the average race. Should he hold that position, he will add another $41,000 Saturday night.

Timberman is just a point behind reigning world champion Keenan Hayes in the aggregate race. Should Timberman move into that spot, it would be worth more than $55,000, so every ride counts over the final two days.

He sits sixth in the world standings with $237,451, which is a big move for the 2024 PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year who also earned his second straight intercollegiate title this past June while competing for Clarendon (Texas) College.

Timberman still has an outside shot to win the world championship, but things are going to have to go his way over the final two nights of ProRodeo’s grand finale.