Franks hits slots in 7th round

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Sometimes the penny slots cans still offer nice rewards.

After failing to find the pay window for three rounds at the National Finals Rodeo, bareback rider Cole Franks pulled the handle on an old campaigner and came up winner. It may not have been three 7s as he’d hoped, but his 84.5-point ride on Rafter G Rodeo’s Ankle Biter helped him to a $4,709 payday for finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in Wednesday’s seventh round.

“I got on him in the second round the last time I was here in 2022,” said Franks of Clarendon, Texas. “I was one point higher than I was the first time I got on him, but I placed both times.”

He has ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 596 points and is second in the aggregate race, just a point and a half behind the leader, reigning world champion Keenan Hayes. Franks has earned just shy of $70,000 at this year’s NFR and is eighth in the world standings with $209,000.

“That horse leaves (the chute) a little funky,” Franks said. “He leaves hard and a little back and forth, which is kind of hard to keep up with. Then once he starts angling to the left, it’s a lot of fun. It’s hard, but it’s still a lot of fun. I really didn’t know what he was going to do, because every now and then, he’ll turn back and spin like a bull almost.”

Did having familiarity with Ankle Biter help?

“It depends on the horse, but it’s a lot better going in knowing what the horse is, knowing how it fit and how it feels,” he said. “I’d never been on my first five horses before, and it keeps you guessing. You don’t know what to expect. I’ve been on these last two horses before, so it’s a little better going into it.”

That hasn’t really seemed to matter to Franks. He’s been consistent through seven nights, and he has three more rounds in this 2024 ProRodeo season to see what will happen. It’s all part of the process. His goal is to continue to remain on task. Winning the average championship would add more than $86,000 to his pocketbook and provide him with the second-most prestigious title in ProRodeo.

“It’s just a matter of staying consistent and trying to take advantage of situations when I can,” said Franks, the bareback riding and all-around intercollegiate champion and the PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year in 2021. “You just take each round for what it is and see where it all falls.”