Photo by Tom Donoghue
LAS VEGAS – Kaycee Feild had watched Steven Peebles close in on his lead in the world bareback riding standings the last two nights, and when Peebles put up another big ride tonight, Feild responded.

During Round 4 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER Peebles posted an 84-point ride on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Belle on the second-to-last ride of the night, taking the go-round lead. Feild was the last rider out, and had to come up with a solid score – he did, also posting an 84 on J Bar J’s Pass the Hat.

“This was a fun pen of horses, and I knew I had to come out here and gas it,” Feild said. “Steven has been putting a lot of pressure on me the last few nights.”

Feild says he felt the pressure, and was paying attention to what Peebles was doing each night.

“Heck yeah, I watch it,” Feild said. “It’s fun for me because this is what I do for a living and this is what I study every day. I want a world championship and I want to break some records this year. Steven has put pressure on me, which has made it fun. It makes you push your limits each night.”      

Peebles is red hot at the moment. Sunday was his third straight victory lap, and he’s earned $95,356 so far in the first four rounds – which has him at the top of the RAM Top Gun award race. He leads barrel racer Cassidy Kruse by a little more than $13,000.

While Peebles didn’t overtake Feild for the world standings lead – he still trails by a little more than $6,000 – the Redmond, Ore., cowboy has made his presence known. He says if the WNFR turns into a duel with Feild, that’s fine by him.

“Kaycee and I battled it out at the 2013 NFR, and that was the best and most fun NFR I’ve ever had,” Peebles said. “Last year, I thought we would do the same, but I got hurt pretty bad, so I was looking forward to it this year. This is a lot of fun.”

Team ropers Derrick Begay and Clay O’Brien Cooper blew away the competition in the fourth round, posting a time of 3.6 seconds – which is the fastest team roping run of the rodeo thus far, by three-tenths of a second.

The blazing-fast run puts Begay and Cooper second in the world standings, less than $12,000 behind defending world champs Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill.

“Everything has to work out perfectly (for a 3.6-second run),” Begay said. “I have to get a good start at the barrier, get a clean head catch and I’ve got to give my partner a good, fast turn like that. Champ (Cooper), he’s not going to mess up when things happen like that. I started it, and he stopped it.”

It was the second round win in four nights for the duo, who took the Round 2 win with a time of 3.9 seconds.

While Cooper is a seven-time world champion and has been to the WNFR 29 times, he says Begay’s talent level is as crucial to the team’s success as his extensive experience.

“Your ability level is going to help you in all aspects of what you’re trying to do,” Cooper said. “Derek has been a cowboy since he was a little kid. He knows how to do things, including gritting up, bearing down and making things happen when they have to. That’s what makes our sport so awesome, is we’re cowboys.”

While Cooper and Begay are no strangers to the WNFR, the saddle bronc riding winner Sunday night is just getting his feet wet at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Rusty Wright – son of two-time World Champion Cody Wright – got his hands on his first-ever WNFR go-round buckle with an 85.5-point ride on Flying Five Rodeo’s Sundance.

“It was unreal – it’s a dream I’ve had ever since I started riding broncs,” the 20-year-old Wright said.

“The horse felt really strong and I kind of felt on the verge of bucking off the whole time, but that’s when the great rides are. Some of your best rides are when you have to give it your all to stay in the saddle.”

Wright’s first WNFR trip started off a bit slow, with only one check for a split of fifth place in Round 2. However, with a little advice from his family, Wright was able to win the round and move to third place in the world standings – less than $15,000 behind newly-minted world standings leader Jacobs Crawley.

“I had never been on that horse, but (uncle) Jesse (Wright) had been on him about five times and (uncle) Jake (Wright) had been on him and so had my dad (Cody, world champion 2008 and 2010). Dad won here on that horse in 2008, and Jake had won on him here, too.”

Crawley overtook Cody DeMoss for the world standings lead with a fourth-place check Sunday night. Crawley, the 2013 WNFR average champion, has earned a check in all four rounds thus far, and sits in a tie for second in the average race.

Bull rider Joe Frost finished second in the WNFR average in 2014, but through three rounds of this year’s competition, he hadn’t stayed on a bull. That changed Sunday in a big way.

The Randlett, Utah, native rode for 85.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Bell Ringer to take the round win and move to fourth in the world standings and sixth in the WNFR average.

“That’s the first time I made the whistle here this year,” Frost said. “I was a little stiff (the first three nights). Last night, I got slammed down pretty hard and I don’t know why, but it kind of freed me up a little bit. I didn’t need another one like that unless it was after the whistle. I wish I’d finished that ride a little bit better, but we’ve got six more to improve on that.”

While everything was going Frost’s way last year, the 2015 WNFR hasn’t been nearly as kind. However, with some positive thinking and the right draw, he’s hoping the rough patch is behind him.

“I just showed up last year and things were working,” he said. “This year, I showed up and things were not working whatsoever, and it can get pretty tough on a guy. My dad, my whole family, and my girlfriend have been pretty good about keeping me positive.”

Home-state cowboy Dakota Eldridge won the fourth WNFR go-round buckle of his career Sunday when he clocked a time of 3.3 seconds – the fastest steer wrestling run of the 2015 WNFR.

“A great start and a great hazer (Sean Mulligan) were the keys to that run,” the Elko, Nev., native said. “I knew I could catch that steer fast enough to win something. That steer was slow enough where I could catch him quickly.”

The 24-year-old Eldridge is making his third-consecutive appearance at the WNFR. He’s finished fifth in the world standings each of the past two seasons, and having a lot of familiar faces in the crowd is helping him compete well in Las Vegas.

“My mom, my uncle and my girlfriend, and a bunch of other fans (from Nevada) are here, so it’s awesome to have a lot of fans here,” he said. “It’s really exciting.”

Eldridge moved up to fifth in the world standings with a total of $112,669.

Barrel racer Sarah Rose McDonald moved up a spot in the world standings Sunday when she clocked the fastest time in the first four nights of the event – a 13.71-second run.

The 23-year-old went from third to second in the world thanks to a stellar performance from her horse, Bling.

“The ground held every step of the way,” she said. “Running at the top (7th position) always helps, too. Bling is the type of horse you have to ride every step of the way, so that’s what I tried to do through the whole run.”

McDonald, the 2014 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Rookie of the Year, knocked over a barrel in the first round. This being her first WNFR appearance, it took a few nights to get comfortable. However, she and Bling broke out in a big way.

“Hitting a barrel that first performance was kind of a wakeup call,” she said. “With each run, Bling usually runs and fires a lot harder. By tonight we seemed to get the angle to the first barrel down pretty good. I definitely pushed every step.”

Cade Swor and Sterling Smith split the Round 4 tie-down roping title when both posted times of 7.2 seconds.

For Swor, it was the seventh WNFR round win of his career, while it was the first for Smith.

“The thing about tonight is that calf ran pretty hard, and I ran her farther than I wanted to,” Swor said. “I just tried to carry the momentum the calf had through the whole run.”

Swor – who moved to seventh in the world standings – is competing in his fifth WNFR, and knows the value of a good horse on the dirt of the Thomas & Mack Center. He’s quick to credit his mount, Floyd Money.

“He’s been more than I could ask for all of last year and the first four nights here,” Swor said. “He’s been as good as I could ever want.”

This is the second WNFR for Smith, who  is hoping this is the first of many future go-round wins.

“I just tried to make no mistakes and just make a smooth run and not to beat myself,” Smith said.”I just need to keep on doing those two things to be successful.”

The 57th annual Wrangler NFR continues Monday with the fifth round at the Thomas & Mack Center. The action will be televised live and in HD on CBS Sports Net (DirecTV channel 221 and DISH Network channel 158) from 7-10 p.m. PT.

 

Fourth Performance Results, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015

Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.

 

Bareback riding: 1. (tie) Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah, on J Bar J’s Pass The Hat, and Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 84.0 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Belle, $23,481 each; 3. Clint Laye, Cadogan, Alberta, 83.0, $15,654; 4. Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 82.0, $11,000; 5. (tie) Evan Jayne, Marseille, France, and Seth Hardwick, Laramie, Wyo., 81.0, $5,500 each; 7. Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 79.5; 8. Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 78.5; 9. (tie) Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 76.0; Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 76.0; 11. Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 75.5; 12. Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 75.0; 13. Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, 74.5; 14. (tie) Bobby Mote, Stephenville, Texas, and Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas, 73.5. Average standings: 1. Steven Peebles, 336.0 on four head; 2. Kaycee Feild, 320.5; 3. Seth Hardwick, 317.0; 4. Austin Foss, 316.5; 5. Tim O’Connell, 313.0; 6. Will Lowe, 312.0. World standings: 1. Kaycee Feild, $181,7711; 2. Steven Peebles, $175,441; 3. Austin Foss, $140,049; 4. Clint Laye, $133,461; 5. Evan Jayne, $129,251; 6. Tim O’Connell, $127,026; 7. Bobby Mote, $109,486; 8. Jake Brown, $107,994; 9. Will Lowe, $107,896; 10. Clint Cannon, $107,686; 11. Seth Hardwick, $101,639; 12. Orin Larsen, $101,041; 13. Winn Ratliff, $96,754; 14. Tanner Aus, $95,660; 15. Caleb Bennett, $91,302.

 

Steer wrestling: 1. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 3.3 seconds, $26,231; 2. Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo., 3.6, $20,731; 3. Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 3.7, $15,654; 4. (tie) Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., and Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 3.8, $8,885 each; 6. Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore., 4.1, $4,231; 7. Casey Martin, Sulphur, La., 4.3; 8. (tie) Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., and Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 4.6; 10. Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 4.8; 11. Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 13.3; 12. Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 14.0; 13. Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas, 14.4; no other qualified times. Average standings: 1. Ty Erickson, 15.0 seconds on four head; 2. Seth Brockman, 17.1; 3. Trevor Knowles, 17.5; 4. Baylor Roche, 18.1; 5. Nick Guy, 18.3; 6. Luke Branquinho, 19.2. World standings: 1. Ty Erickson, $151,818; 2. Hunter Cure, $137,015; 3. Clayton Hass, $131,411; 4. Kyle Irwin, $118,458; 5. Dakota Eldridge, $112,669; 6. Luke Branquinho, $109,672; 7. K.C. Jones, $107,216; 8. Seth Brockman, $106,520; 9. Nick Guy, $104,429; 10. Baylor Roche, $101,440; 11. Tanner Milan, $98,538; 12. Blake Knowles, $92,304; 13. Trevor Knowles, $85,359; 14. Tyler Waguespack, $85,245; 15. Casey Martin, $84,041.

 

Team roping: 1. Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, Ariz./Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev., 3.6 seconds, $26,231; 2. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 3.8, $20,731; 3. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev., 4.1, $15,654; 4. JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas/Junior Nogueira, Scottsdale, Ariz., 4.2, $11,000; 5. Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz./Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., 4.3, $6,769; 6. Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla./Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 4.4, $4,231; 7. Nick Sartain, Dover, Okla./Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 4.5; 8. Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn./Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 4.6; 9. Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas/Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.8; 10. Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 6.4; 11. Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, 9.5; 12. Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas/Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, 10.5; 13. Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M./Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 12.3; 14. Riley Minor, Ellensburg, Wash./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 13.8; no other qualified times. Average standings: 1. Erich Rogers/ Cory Petska, 19.1 on four head; 2. Aaron Tsinigine/Ryan Motes, 23.2; 3. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 24.4; 4. Coleman Proctor/Jake Long, 25.6; 5. JoJo LeMond/Junior Nogueira, 28.3; 6. Colby Lovell/Kory Koontz, 28.6. World standings (headers): 1. Clay Tryan, $169,2662; 2. Derrick Begay, $157,329; 3. Aaron Tsinigine, $146,230; 4. Chad Masters, $123,389; 5. Trevor Brazile, $122,998; 6. Erich Rogers, $122,938; 7. Colby Lovell, $120,138; 8. Luke Brown, $103,140; 9. JoJo LeMond, $98,303; 10. Coleman Proctor, $95,783; 11. Clay Smith, $94,344; 12. Nick Sartain, $93,809; 13. Jake Cooper, $90,933; 14. Matt Sherwood, $88,436; 15. Riley Minor, $77,592. World standings (heelers): 1. Jade Corkill, $169,266; 2. Clay O’Brien Cooper, $158,449; 3. Ryan Motes, $145,098; 4. Patrick Smith, $122,998; 5. Kory Koontz, $119,775; 6. Cory Petska, $119,096; 7. Travis Graves, $115,996; 8. Kollin VonAhn, $109,755; 9. Junior Nogueira, $108,833; 10. Paul Eaves, $100,545; 11. Travis Woodard, $99,519; 12. Jake Long, $93,998; 13. Rich Skelton, $93,809; 14. Brady Minor, $76,263; 15. Russell Cardoza, $76,080.

 

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 85.5 points on Flying Five Rodeo’s Sundance, $26,231; 2. Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 85.0, $20,731; 3. Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 83.5, $15,654; 4. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 83.0, $11,000; 5. Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 81.5, $6,769; 6. Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., 80.0, $4,231; 7. Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., 78.5; 8. Wade Sundell, Coleman, Okla., 76.5; 9. CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 72.5; no other qualified rides. Average standings: 1. Jacobs Crawley, 330.0 points on four head; 2. Wade Sundell, 325.5; 3. CoBurn Bradshaw, 319.5; 4. Taos Muncy, 297.0; 5. Isaac Diaz, 243.5 on three; 6. Cody DeMoss, 241.0. World standings: 1. Jacobs Crawley, $172,593; 2. Cody DeMoss, $167,897; 3. Rusty Wright, $157,717; 4. Wade Sundell, $151,641; 5. Isaac Diaz, $133,451; 6. Jake Wright, $126,731; 7. CoBurn Bradshaw, $117,607; 8. Taos Muncy, $115,423; 9. Chuck Schmidt, $105,910; 10. Zeke Thurston, $103,009; 11. Heith DeMoss, $99,085; 12. Cort Scheer, $98,737; 13. Tyrel Larsen, $86,826; 14. Spencer Wright, $84,338; 15. Bradley Harter, $81,310.

 

Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, and Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 7.2 seconds, $23,481 each; 3. (tie) Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, and Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 7.4, $13,327 each; 5. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 7.5, $6,769; 6. Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 7.7, $4,231; 7. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 7.9; 8. Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 8.0; 9. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.1; 10. Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 8.3; 11. Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 9.0; 12. (tie) Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, and Tyson Durfey, Savannah, Mo., 9.4; no other qualified times. Average standings: 1. Monty Lewis, 32.3 seconds on four head; 2. Caleb Smidt, 32.4; 3. Matt Shiozawa, 32.6; 4. Shane Hanchey, 32.7; 5. Marty Yates, 33.3; 6. Marcos Costa, 33.9. World standings: 1. Tuf Cooper, $154,130; 2. Timber Moore, $149,452; 3. Marty Yates, $146,089; 4. Hunter Herrin, $134,063; 5. Caleb Smidt, $129,393; 6. Trevor Brazile, $128,209; 7. Cade Swor, $124,680; 8. Marcos Costa, $120,996; 9. Matt Shiozawa, $115,720; 10. Sterling Smith, $112,547; 11. Monty Lewis, $108,134; 12. Tyson Durfey, $105,540; 13. Shane Hanchey, $100,553; 14. Ryan Jarrett, $95,967; 15. Cory Solomon, $92,483.

 

Barrel racing: 1. Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 13.71 seconds, $26,231; 2. (tie) Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., and Cassidy Kruse, Gillette, Wyo., 13.85, $18,192 each; 4. Taylor Jacob, Carmine, Texas, 13.89, $11,000; 5. (tie) Callie duPerier, Boerne, Texas, and Nancy Hunter, Neola, Utah, 14.03, $5,500 each; 7. Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 14.06; 8. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 14.17; 9. Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 14.21; 10. Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 14.24; 11. Vickie Carter, Richfield, Utah, 14.29; 12. Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, 14.38; 13. Deb Guelly, Okotoks, Alberta, 14.45; 14. Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 18.74; 15. Fallon Taylor, Whitesboro, Texas, 18.97. Average standings: 1. Cassidy Kruse, 55.52 seconds on four runs; 2. Lisa Lockhart, 55.68; 3. Callie duPerier, 56.37; 4. Jackie Ganter, 56.49; 5. Sherry Cervi, 56.78; 6. Sarah Rose McDonald, 60.38. World standings: 1. Lisa Lockhart, $215,674; 2. Sarah Rose McDonald, $193,253; 3. Callie DuPerier, $189,192; 4. Cassidy Kruse, $163,269; 5. Mary Walker, $135,759; 6. Fallon Taylor, $130,886; 7. Taylor Jacob, $127,739; 8. Michele McLeod, $117,628; 9. Sherry Cervi, $114,744; 10. Nancy Hunter, $112,186; 11. Carley Richardson, $101,147; 12. Jackie Ganter, $87,780; 13. Vickie Carter, $72,768; 14. Jana Bean, $70,162; 15. Deb Guelly, $69,769.

 

Bull riding: 1. Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 85.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Bell Ringer, $26,231; 2. Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 83.0, $20,731; 3. (tie) Kody DeShon, Helena, Mont., and Clayton Foltyn, Winnie, Texas, 82.0, $13,327 each; 5. Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 81.0, $6,769; 6. Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas, 73.5, $4,231; no other qualified rides. Average standings: 1. Cody Teel, 238.0 points on three head; 2. Sage Kimzey, 165.5 on two; 3. Clayton Foltyn, 158.5; 4. Caleb Sanderson, 157.5; 5. Parker Breding, 86.5 on one; 6. Joe Frost, 85.5. World standings: 1. Sage Kimzey, $212,101; 2. Parker Breding, $158,477; 3. Cody Teel, $139,133; 4. Joe Frost, $120,043; 5. Brennon Eldred, $120,041; 6. Wesley Silcox, $115,778; 7. Clayton Foltyn, $114,784; 8. Shane Proctor, $109,744; 9. Caleb Sanderson, $106,845; 10. Chandler Bownds, $98,441; 11. Reid Barker, $89,501; 12. Brett Stall, $86,089; 13. Kody DeShon, $85,960; 14. Dustin Bowen, $75,250; 15. Ty Wallace, $73,905.