Round Seven
Bradlee Miller took first in the bareback riding with a big 88.5 point ride on Frontier Rodeo Coffee Full Baggage from Frontier Rodeo. There was a tie for first in the steer wrestling between Dakota Eldridge and Jesse Brown who both had fast 3.5 second runs. Brown has finally found his rhythm after a rocky start to the finals after switching horses. Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin took first in the team roping with a quick 3.5 second run. Brody Cress beat out Statler Wright by1 point for first in the saddle bronc riding with an 88.0 point ride on Wall Street of Four Star Rodeo Company. Dylan Hancock took first in the tie-down roping with a 6.7 second run. Kassie Mowry was white hot and continued her winning streak with a fast 13.19 second run in the barrel racing. Cooper James took first in the bull riding with an 88.0 point ride on Midnight Rider of Rafter H Rodeo Livestock.
Round Eight
Things began to get a bit spicy in the rough stock events in Round 8 with some of the broncs who are dubbed eliminators for a good reason. Dean Thompson had a phenomenal 88.0 point ride on Priefert's Dusty Roads of Pete Carr Pro Rodeo. Ty Erickson took first in the bulldogging with a strong 3.6 second run. Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it 3.4 second run to take first in the team roping. Ryder Wright got it done the Wright way with an 88.0 point ride for first in the saddle bronc riding on Kadoka Coolaid from Korkow Rodeos. Marty Yates finally got his name on the leaderboard after a bit of a rough first few rounds with a 7.3 second run for first in the tie-down roping. Kassie Mowry is still going hot and took first with a 13.45 second run for first in the barrel racing. After being shutout in the first 7 rounds, Hayes Weight found a strong seat and held it for 8 for an 88.0 point ride for first on Two Step from Sutton Rodeos.
There was a scary moment in the barrel racing when Dona Kay Rule wrecked coming out of the alley. Although able to walk assisted out of the arena, she would be unable to compete any further in the finals two rounds due to a cut on her head, sprained ankle, and bruised tailbone. Her horse Valor who appeared to run into a post and wall is ok. Keyboard warriors were quick to assign unmerited fault at her daughter for the cause of the wreck saying she wasn't standing in the right place when Dona Kay tried to leave the alley. It should be pointed out that KK stood in harm's way way shielding her mother who lay on the ground stunned as Valor ran back into the alleyway- an act of true love and selflessness. The alley coming out of Thomas and Mack is one known to be especially perilous for barrel racers and it has seen its fair share of nasty wrecks over the years. It's a difficult alley to navigate under the best of circumstances and as Fallon Taylor notes in one of her social media videos, horses are strong and unpredictable. Our hearts go out to Dona Kay Rule, her daughter, and Valor and we wish her a speedy recovery.
Round Nine
Jess Pope started the rodeo action off with a bang and brought the fans to their feet in the Thomas and Mack with a breathtaking 89.5 point ride for first in the bareback riding on Resistol's Secrets Out of Pete Carr Pro Rodeo. Tyler Waguespack took first in the bulldogging with a strong 3.5 second run for first. Dalton Massey is still continuing to have a bit of an uncharacteristic tough go at the finals. Coleman Proctor and Logan Medlin took first in the team roping with a 3.8 second run. California kid Lefty Holman had a gorgeous 88.0 point ride for first in the saddle bronc riding on Tickled Pink of Championship Pro Rodeo. Joel Harris took first in the tie-down roping with a speedy 7.2 second run. Hailey Kinsel and Sister took first with a smooth 13.48 second run in the barrel racing. The bulls were not playing nice and there were only four qualified rides. Tyler Bingham took first with an 88.5 point ride on Hell Yeah Roscoe from Corey & Lange Rodeo.
Round Ten
In the final round of The 2024 Wrangler's National Finals Rodeo, Leighton Berry took first in the bareback riding with stunning, near perfect 91.0 point ride on Boot Barn's Night Crawler from Pickett Pro Rodeo Co. Dean Thompson was awarded world champion. Jesse Brown had another solid run for a first with his 3.4 second run in the bulldogging. J.D. Struxness was awarded world champion. Andrew Ward and Kollin Vonahn took first in the team roping with a fast 3.5 second run. Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp were awarded world champion. There was a tie for first in the saddle bronc riding between Ryder Wright on All or Nothin from Andrews Rodeo and Left Holman on THE Black Tie from Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics who both had incredible 89.5 point rides. Ryder Wright was awarded world champion. Dylan Hancock took first in the tie-down roping with a quick 7.0 second ride. Riley Webb was awarded world champion again for back to back world titles. Emily Beisel beat out Kassie Mowry in the barrel racing with a quick 13.51 to Mowry's 13.59 second run. Kassie Mowry was awarded world champion. And in the bull riding Hayes Weight had some redemption for being shutout in the first 7 rounds being the only rider to make the 8 second mark with his 87.5 point ride on Misunderstood from Frontier Rodeo. Josh Frost was awarded World Champion.
There was some heated controversy in the saddle bronc riding with Logan Hay getting disqualified for holding onto the saddle too long leaving the chute. It seems like the judge ruled that Hays had both hands on the saddle when the horse left the chute; however, many rodeo fans were quick to take to to social media with screenshots showing a clean ride. Other fans expressed anger at one particular judge that made the call, blaming him for several bad calls both at The NFR and previous rodeos he had judged at. Others were confused why the call was not better explained with a replay of Hay's ride showing the issue but instead quickly dismissed as a DQ and the action resumed. Needless to say Hays was salty about the call and posted the ride on his social media with the caption "Thanks Terry now my daughter gets nothing for Christmas".
In an act of true horsemanship, Hailey Kinsel rode J Lo for the tenth round, stating Sister was had not been well enough that morning to compete on. Kinsel put her horse's welfare above a gold buckle saying Sister's wellbeing and health came before any championship. J Lo ran her heart out for Kinsel and Sister but unfortunately it was not enough to make the leaderboard.
Rodeo fans everywhere were a bit emotional the night of the finals watching Kassie Mowry awarded world champion on her late fiance's horse, Jarvis. Mowry's fiance, Michael James Boone passed away unexpectedly in June. He was Mowry's biggest supporters and his goals was to get her and Jarvis to The NFR this year. After a loss that great, no one would have blamed Mowry for ducking out for the remainder of the season to heal, but she cowgirled up and kept on competing. Although he wasn't by her side as they had planned, Mowry made his final wish come true by not only qualified for The NFR, but going on to win several rounds and take home the much earned title of world champion title with Boone cheering her and his horse on from Heaven.
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