Lucrative go-round payments increased yearend winnings for Kansas contestants at the recent National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas.
The top 15 Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) contestants in each event during regular season rodeos qualified for the finale.
Cooper Martin, Alma, calf roping; Jake Long, team roping heeler, Coffeyville, and Tanner Brunner, steer wrestling, Ramona, collected NFR checks.
Emily Miller, Garden City native now living in Weatherford, Oklahoma, also added nicely to her year’s barrel racing earnings. That competition is sanctioned by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA).
Cooper Martin
It was a most profitable NFR week for Cooper Martin finishing 13th in yearend world tie-down standings with $125,593. He moved up from 15th in the world going into the 10-round finals.
Best day for the Wabaunsee County cowboy was when he split first place three ways in the eighth go-round. Martin’s 7.5-seconds run netted him a check for $20,871.
Sixth place prize money of $4,230 was collected by Martin in each of the fourth and ninth go-rounds. He tied his calves in 8.7-seconds and 7.8-seconds respectively in those two rounds.
Martin had qualified runs on eight NFR calves with a total time of 80.2-seconds. That placed him tenth in the average which only paid prize money to eighth place.
Six NFR tie-down ropers qualified on 10 head, while two contestants had nine qualified runs. There were three ropers qualifying on eight runs, two had seven qualified ties and two recorded times on six runs.
World champion tie-down roper is Haven Meged, Miles City, Montana, who collected $246,013 for the year. Placing in four go-rounds, Meged won the finals average with 85.7-seconds on ten calves worth $67,269.
Jake Long
With Clay Tryan, Billings, Texas, heading, Jake Long of Coffeyville was tenth in world yearend heeling standings for winning $150,954.
Their 4.6-seconds run placed them second in the second NFR team roping round adding $20,730 to individual winnings.
The team’s 4.3-seconds run split third in the sixth round upping each one’s tally another $13,326.
Long and Tryan team connected on five steers in 36.9-seconds at the finals placing 13th in the average.
World champion heeler is Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, who won $249,180 for the year. He and Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Texas, roped nine finals steers in 43.8 seconds to win the average.
Four teams had nine qualified runs at the finals with six teams stretching eight steers. Each of the remaining team roping pairs had seven, six, five, four and three recorded times respectively.
Tanner Brunner
Splitting second place in the 10th go-round of steer wrestling, Tanner Brunner’s 3.8-seconds run was worth $18,192.
His 4.7-seconds run in the eighth round placed fifth for the night adding $6,769 to Brunner’s NFR winnings.
Total time was 46.1-seconds for Brunner’s eight qualifying runs in the NFR steer wrestling.
With $109,911 in winnings Brunner was 15th in the PRCA’s yearend world steer wrestling standings.
World champion steer wrestler is Ty Erickson, Helena, Montana, with $234,491. He was fifth in the NFR average with 62.7-seconds on 10 head to win $22,846.
Emily Miller
Winning two go-rounds and placing in three others, Emily Miller moved from seventh to third in the WPRA barrel racing standings.
Her winning times of 13.63-seconds and 13.64-seconds topped the first and third rounds respectively each adding $26,230 to Miller’s total.
The Kansas native was second in the third round, third in the second round and sixth in the ninth round.
A down barrel in the 10th-round moved Miller to second in the average with 143.25-seconds still worth $54,576.
Miller’s yearend total WPRA barrel racing winnings were $255,799.
Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, was the WPRA world champion barrel racer collecting $290,020.
Second in the world with $264,673 was NFR barrel racing average winner Ivy Conrado after clocking 138.44-seconds in ten runs.
Additional Highlights
Miss Rodeo Kansas Brooke Wallace, Council Grove, was third runner-up in the Miss Rodeo America Pageant being named Miss Congeniality.
John and Candy Teagarden, LaCygne, were honored as “Outstanding Individuals of the Year” by the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association.
Following the National Finals Steer Roping earlier at Mulvane, Pratt ranchers father-son Rocky and Cole Patterson ranked ninth and 15th respectively in PRCA world standings.