WAVERLY, Kan. – There are times the belt that holds a gold buckle can get tight and suffocating. It’s happened to the greatest of athletes. Jess Pope experienced it early this year. It was less like a trophy and more like a noose. The pressure that comes with being the reigning world champion can be[...]

PERRYTON, Texas – During his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, steer wrestler Cody Devers was just trying to hold everything together. He’d suffered a partially torn pectoral ligament in his right shoulder a month before the finale in Las Vegas. He was excited to finally play on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, and he wasn’t[...]

MILAN, Minn. – Some folks just get by with a little help from their friends. Professional rodeo cowboys thrive in those situations. Steer wrestler J.D. Struxness is a prime example. He had a goal of making it back to the National Finals Rodeo on his horse, Izzy, an 11-year-old sorrel mare. Things were going well,[...]

PRYOR, Okla. – Trying to find one word to describe Coleman Proctor is a bit perplexing. He’s a husband, a father, a cowboy, a partner, a broadcaster and a podcaster. He’s also one of the greatest team roping headers of his generation, proven through multiple qualifications to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and his six[...]

CARRINGTON, N.D. – It’s crazy how things work out. Take Bridger Anderson as an example. He had competed all year and was inching closer to a second National Finals Rodeo qualification. In order to secure that bid, he had hoped to compete at the Cinch Playoff Series Championship, which featured the top 12 contestants from[...]

ZWINGLE, Iowa – In the fall of 2014, Tim O’Connell was a 23-year-old cowboy about to embark on the trip of a lifetime. He had qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for the first time and had a limited idea of what to expect when he arrived in Las Vegas that December. He’d never felt[...]

WINNSBORO, La. – Some of the greatest bronc busters in Louisiana history are giving back to the next generation of superstars. Led by brothers Cody and Heith DeMoss of Heflin, a free bareback riding and saddle bronc riding school will take place Dec. 27-29 at the Franklin Parish Activity Center in Winnsboro. The clinic has[...]

GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – Some veteran athletes utilize tricks of the trade to excel. Tanner Aus has that in his back pocket should he ever need it. Now 33 years old, he’s the oldest bareback rider heading to this year’s National Finals Rodeo. It’s the eighth time in nine years that he’s finished the regular[...]

INGLIS, Manitoba. – Winning a world championship is never easy. In rodeo, it takes amazing athletic feats and a little bit of luck. Orin Larsen has been close to claiming that Montana Silversmiths gold buckle. In 2019, he finished just behind titlist Clayton Biglow. Three years prior to that, he was third in the final[...]

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – Growing up in northern British Columbia, Stephen Culling didn’t have the typical childhood of a rodeo cowboy. “My parents are both wildlife biologists,” said Culling, 29, a professional steer wrestler for Fort St. John who has qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for the first time. “We had some pretty[...]