LAS VEGAS – The two years he spent at Clarendon (Texas) College taught bareback rider Weston Timberman a lot about life, gave him experiences to cherish and prepared him for a career in professional rodeo.
He continued his education over the past two weeks during his inaugural qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, where the sport’s elite play for the biggest pay in the sport. He also figured out a way to ride bucking horses while in considerable pain and still earned nearly $140,000 for 10 days of work in Las Vegas.
Timberman wrapped the championship with an 88-point ride on J Bar J Rodeo’s Damn Straight to place for the sixth time during Saturday’s 10th round. He finished in a three-way tie for third place, pocketing $14,308. He also finished fourth in the aggregate race with a 10-ride cumulative sore of 848.5 points, worth another $41,000.
Early in the go-rounds, he began experiencing pain in his left arm, the same one in which he wedges his hand into a bareback rigging to secure himself onto a bucking bronc. Diagnosed with forearm splints (similar to shin splints), he received treatment from the Justin Sportsmedicine Team.
After opening the NFR with a win in the first round, Timberman failed to snag a check on the second and third nights, then placed fifth in Round 4. He reached the pay window again in the sixth round with a sixth-place finish, then jumped up to third in the seventh round.
Round 8 was another turning point for the Wyoming-born cowboy now living in Columbus, Montana. His horse went down in the chute after he’d put his hand into the rigging, torquing Timberman’s wrist. The animal then failed to perform well one the chute was opened, and judges awarded him with a re-ride opportunity.
Despite the pain in his forearm, wrist and hand, Timberman took the chance, scoring 84.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Hooey Rocks and scored another sixth-place payday. Learning to play through the pain can be a valuable asset for cowboys, especially those that compete in bareback riding, the most physically demanding event in rodeo.
When his time in Las Vegas came to a close Saturday night, he had accumulated $38,410 in NFR money. He finished the regular season seventh in the world standings with $292,509. It was a great conclusion to an incredible inaugural season in ProRodeo, one in which he was named the Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year.