This Week

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Professional athletes have been known to play with pain. Bareback rider Weston Timberman is proving that during his first National Finals Rodeo.

“In the second round, I acquired some pretty gnarly forearm splits; it’s like shin splits in your forearm,” said Timberman, 20, of Columbus, Montana. “It’s been a pretty serious thing for me the last couple of rounds, but it’s just something you’ve got to really fight through and deal with.

“At the end of the day, you’ve still got a bucking horse to ride, and that’s what we’re doing.”

His mental game is a big reason why he scored 86 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Fox Hole Gunner, good enough for third place during Wednesday’s seventh round and worth $20,104. He’s ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 593.5 points and is third in the aggregate race. He’s collected $77,918 in Las Vegas, and if his status in the average holds up could add another $55,000 when Saturday’s final round ends.

Fox Hole Gunner has been selected to perform at the NFR two times. The 11-year-old gray bronc is part of the “semi-eliminator pen” of bucking horses, and the animal proved his place in the round.

“I’ve seen that horse a couple of times, and I knew that if he did his job, it was going to be a big score,” said Timberman, a two-time intercollegiate titlist at Clarendon (Texas) College who earned the PRCA Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year title in 2024. “I was just going to have to match him.”

He’s sixth in the world standings with $232,017. He was hoping that match-up would be worth a first-place payday, but he understands just how difficult it is to win rounds in Las Vegas. He won the title on opening night and has now placed four times in seven days.

“You can’t be too mad when you’re making $20,000 in a night,” he said with a grin.

To score big at the NFR, it takes extreme talent, a good match via the random draw and a little bit of luck. For Timberman, he’s having to administer a mental pain block to make sure he’s at peak form. He’s chasing every dollar the City of Entertainment has to offer.

“I think I’ve come out here proving my point, and I’m just here to take one horse at a time, keep doing my job and keep chasing that (world) title,” Timberman said. “It’s not over until it’s over, and I feel like I still have a pretty good shot.”

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Over his five qualifications to the National Finals Rodeo, Wyatt Casper has developed a bit of a routine.

He enjoys spending time with his family and also has NFR and sponsor appearances, where he signs autographs and meets with fans. It’s there that he gains a true understanding of what’s special about rodeo.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Casper of Miami, Texas. “You wouldn’t think anybody would even know you, but it’s pretty cool to go in there and have people tell you how good you’re doing. I enjoy it because rodeo is all about the fans. We wouldn’t have a sport without the fans.”

There are about 17,000 who crowd into the Thomas & Mack Center each night, but there are more than 100,000 folks in Las Vegas per day just for the rodeo and to experience the cowboy culture in the City of Entertainment. It’s a sought-after ticket for the fans, and Casper is putting on quite a show.

He has placed five straight nights, most recently in Tuesday’s sixth round by finishing in a tie for second place after posting an 86.5-point ride on Outlawbuckers Rodeo’s Little Muffin, worth $23,364.

“I’ve had Little Muffin out here before, and, shoot, this is probably the fifth time I’ve been on Little Muffin,” he said. “It’s a really good horse. This was our nice horses tonight, kind of the weaker ones the whole week, but you’ve still got to treat them all the same.”

His mindset is working. Casper has ridden six horses for a cumulative score of 513.5 points. He is first in the aggregate race by two seconds over the field and has pocketed $92,769 so far. He’s fourth in the world standings with $313,553.

“It’s always nice to collect those top-three checks,” said Casper, the 2016 intercollegiate champion while attending Clarendon (Texas) College. “Anytime you can do anything in a day for $20,000, that’s pretty dang nice.”

With rounds paying so much, the Texas cowboy is holding his focus per night. He understands that he can make a ton of money each of he four nights, but doing well in the aggregate race is also vital when competing for a world championship. The average winner will be awarded a bonus of $86,391 when the NFR concludes Saturday night.

“I’m just trying to take it horse by horse,” he said. “It’s nice to look at that and see I do have a little bit of a lead (in the average), but I’m not ever going to safety up. I’m going to just treat every single horse like I’m trying to win the round.

“I think that’s where you can stub your to is when you start thinking about the average and maybe trying to stay on your horse instead of riding them.”

Casper is $45,000 behind the money-list leader, two-time world champion Ryder Wright, but there’s a lot of money remaining in the round payouts. Wright has also had a no-score and is not in the aggregate picture just yet, so it could all come down to who has the best final four rounds. After two years of struggling through injuries prior to the NFR, he is healthy and ready to race toward the finish.

“I feel good, and I got to treat this fall how I wanted to instead of being hurt,” Casper said. “I got to get on all the practice horses I wanted. I enjoy not having a torn hamstring.”

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Through the first half of the 10-day National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc rider Brody Wells has placed three times and collected just shy of $90,000 in Sin City.

He’s earned at least a share of two go-round wins, which offers the lion’s share of the nightly payout. He’s proven that he’s in the right place at the right time, and he’s capitalizing on his opportunities.

“That felt great,” he said after posting an 89.5-point ride on The Black Tie of Sanky Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics to tie for the fifth-round win with two-time world champion Ryder Wright; each man collected $30,155. “That felt just like the first time I had him. He just fell of the ground, jumping up in the air, kicking hard, and it felt amazing.

“He gave a guy every opportunity to show off, still bucking. You’ve got to ride him, but he’s a great horse.”

The two tangled five months ago at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City and matched-up for 92 points. That earned Wells a $13,000 payday and the gold medal during the unique event that features an Olympics-style championship round. Having had The Black Tie before helped provide a ton of confidence, something he felt when he saw the draw.

“I already knew what he was going to do in the chute and how he was going to feel and the M.O. on that horse,” said Wells of Powell, Wyoming. “So, to win in Salt Lake on him and then have him here and win a round on him is pretty cool.”

He has pushed his season earnings to $223,772 and has moved up four spots to eighth in the world standings since arriving in Las Vegas. He’s accomplished things in his first week of the NFR that many cowboys dream about, even those that have played for the highest stakes in the game for years.

“It’s awesome to get it once, but at my first NFR to win it twice, it’s awesome,” said Wells, who was part of men’s national championship teams at both Clarendon (Texas) College and Tarleton State University. “I’m super excited and grateful to be here.”

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – Before he even arrived in town to compete at his first National Finals Rodeo, Weston Timberman had already proven himself to the folks who know rodeo well.

He’s won two straight intercollegiate national championships in bareback riding while competing at Clarendon College, and at just 20 years of age, he’s excelled at ProRodeo. He entered the 10-round title bout at the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus with more than $150,000 in earnings and a love affair with the sport.

Since hitting this metro of nearly 3 million people, Timberman is just adding to his pile. He won Thursday night, then returned to the pay window after making an 85.5-point ride to finish fifth in Sunday’s fourth round, worth $8,693. Combined with the $10,000 qualification bonus, he has collected $52,381 at this year’s NFR and has moved to sixth on the bareback riding money list with $206,480.

Timberman matched moves with Macza Pro Rodeo’s Slide Show in the most recent round, which featured the “eliminator pen,” the hardest-to-ride broncs in ProRodeo. The big, athletic brown horse from Canada threw all the power it could, and the Wyoming-born cowboy now living in Columbus, Montana, kept scratching through the eight-second ride.

Though he failed to place in Rounds 2 and 3, he has continued to put on the kind of show that propelled him to the 2024 Bareback Riding Rookie of the Year title. The third generation of his family to compete in this rugged event, he is carrying on a tradition that was first highlighted by his grandfather, Lonnie, who passed it down to his son.

Timberman’s father, Chris, was the 2006 PRCA national circuit champion bareback rider. Uncle Kelly Timberman won rodeo’s gold in 2004; that same year, he earned the average title, then backed it up by winning the aggregate again in 2005.

Weston Timberman is well within position to claim all the NFR has to offer. He’s just six points behind average leader Cole Franks, another intercollegiate champ at Clarendon.

Timberman has six nights remaining on his season, but that offers a boatload of chances to cash in before the curtain closes Saturday night. He will be matched in Monday’s fifth go-round with Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Night Flight, one of the most electric horse in ProRodeo.

There is nearly $1 million still on the table for bareback riders to win over the next few days in Las Vegas, so the opportunities are endless.

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – The “eliminator pen” of broncs at the National Finals Rodeo are the most miserable, hardest-to-ride horses in ProRodeo.

Most of the cowboys who get on their backs in a regular season hit the dirt, but those that ride them well are rewarded with high scores. Of the 15 horses in the mix during Sunday’s fourth round, there were a couple that may have been more rider-friendly.

Brody Wells had one of those in Calgary Stampede’s Yesterday’s Delivery, which he rode for 86 points to finish fourth in the go-round. That was worth $14,127.

“I was pretty excited,” said Wells of Powell, Wyoming. “That’s a really good horse to have in the ‘E pen,’ and I’ve been thinking about that horse a lot this fall. It’s just been weird thoughts. It’s come to me and when I was riding my spur board before I came here, that’s the horse I thought about having.

“I thought I rode him pretty good. I made a mistake about the third or fourth jump, but a lot of stuff was happening.”

Yes, it was. The athletic bay provided a great deal of action, but Wells matched it move for move. With his ride, the Wyoming cowboy increased his NFR earnings to $57,814. He’s 10^th in the world standings with $193,617.

“It’s touch and go on a horse like that,” he said. “You just keep your chin down and keep firing. I had one little bobble, but I just kept gassing it and kept going.”

It was a nice recovery. After winning Friday’s second round, Wells was bucked off by Corey & Lange Rodeo’s Diamond Fever on Saturday. He just kept the situation in perspective.

“I don’t care about that,” Wells said. “I like going for wins. I want to ride every horse I get on and ride it good, but if I go down trying to win, there’s no sense in being 82 points out here. You’re not going to get paid, so it doesn’t bother me at all.”

Besides, he has six more nights to showcase his talents and try to grasp the opportunities to earn more Las Vegas cash. The first step is Monday’s “TV pen,” the grouping of horses he bronc riders have selected to be the most electric. The name of the set dates back to the days when only the 10^th round was televised. Those horses perform on the fifth and 10^th rounds.

“Having an 86.5 in the ‘eliminator pen’ helps a lot, because tomorrow is going to be big,” he said. “Those horses still buck, and they can still stand you on your head, but they’re going to be really showy, good timing and feel bucky but good.”

From one rank beast to another, Wells is doing what he loves on the sport’s biggest stage.

By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – The National Finals Rodeo can be a bit of a blur.

Saddle bronc rider Brody Wells – competing at the championship for the first time – found that out early. There’s mystique surrounding this 10-day affair, a celebration of the year’s greatness in rodeo. Most in the field have spent a lifetime just trying to make it inside the yellow chutes. This is Wells’ moment, and he’s adjusting to all the pomp and circumstance that comes with competing in the sport’s biggest event.

“I can’t even remember getting on that horse (Thursday) night,” said Wells, 23, of Powell, Wyoming. “It felt like my first horse really.”

He scored 80 points, but that wasn’t even close to placing on opening night. He more than made up for it during Friday’s second round, riding Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Pretty Woman for 90 points to win the night and collect $33,687. He’s moved up one spot to 11^th in the world standings with $179,490.

Of course, it helped to have a horse like Pretty Woman, which is bucking at the finale for the eighth time and has guided cowboys to round victories before.

“That horse is electric,” he said. “He’s built and has got good shoulders, something you can get a hold of (with spurs). You get a good spur out, and you can feel him. I felt him back up underneath my feet and come back underneath me.

“We got in time with each other and a guy could show off, feel him kicking over, cracking hard, kicking behind my head, so it felt great.”

With that, he not only collected a bucketload of cash but also made a trip to the South Point Hotel and Casino for the nightly go-round buckle presentation.

“I’ve got all my family here,” said Wells, who was part of men’s national championship teams at Clarendon (Texas) College in 2021 and Tarleton State University in 2022. “My grandpa is actually here for a few days, so it’s pretty special to do that. He’s pumped the whole time he’s been here.”

It’s another aspect of competing on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, which not only features the top 15 contestants in each event from the regular season but also hosts tens of thousands of fans during a week and a half in the Nevada desert. Cowboys and cowgirls are treated like rock stars, and they’ve earned the right to compete for the most prize money throughout the year.

In the City of Entertainment, it takes talent and a little bit of luck to shine, which is exactly what Wells did Friday.