By Patrick Everson It’s been said that 1 is the loneliest number. Team roper Coleman Proctor might like to have a word with 1, about being replaced by 5. The team roping header has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo six times. So halfway through the 2021 Wrangler NFR, that means he’s thrown his […]
Read more "No. 5"By Patrick Everson Shane Hanchey is a timed-event guy. And a damn good one, at that, winning the PRCA tie-down roping world title in 2013, claiming the Wrangler NFR average crown in 2020, and qualifying for 12 straight NFRs – every one since 2010. “I’m partial to Dustin Bouquet, because he’s a Louisiana guy like […]
Read more "Spot On"By Patrick Everson No matter how low your seed, if you just make the playoffs, you never know what could happen. Or more succinctly: You can’t win it if you’re not in it. At this week’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, perhaps nobody knows that better at than Tristan Martin. The steer wrestler barely got into […]
Read more "You can’t win it if you’re not in it"By Patrick Everson There’s no question that the atmosphere at the Thomas & Mack Center is through the roof during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The energy is pretty hard to top. But don’t sleep on the more than 20 viewing parties that take place at hotel-casinos all around Las Vegas. Honestly, you couldn’t sleep […]
Read more "“It’s Just Not December without Vegas and the NFR”"By Patrick Everson The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo isn’t an altogether new experience for Jess Pope. In fact, the bareback bronc rider made a huge impression in his first Wrangler NFR last year. Pope cashed in six go-rounds, including a win in Round 8, to win the average, pocketing more than $170,000 over the course […]
Read more "“The windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror”"By Patrick Everson Just look at the photo above this blog entry. Seriously. Just soak it in for a moment. As I walked out of the Golden Nugget and onto the Fremont Street Experience on Wednesday night, that’s what I was met with – a jam-packed, extremely enthused Wrangler National Finals Rodeo crowd, taking in […]
Read more "Downtown Hoedown"By Patrick Everson Ever since I rode into Las Vegas in 1994, I’ve been involved in covering the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in some form or fashion. I can promise you, I’ve never been more eager for its return than I am this year. And not just for the rodeo, but all the ancillary events […]
Read more "A New Tradition"All you rodeo fans flooding Las Vegas this week have an awful lot to keep track of each day. Whether it’s at the Thomas & Mack Center for the nightly Wrangler National Finals Rodeo go-rounds, or all over town for the massive number of ancillary events all day long and from dusk ‘til nearly dawn, […]
Read more "NFR App"On a Night 10 when every PRCA world championship was still up for grabs, perhaps nothing better exemplified the excitement of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo than the race for the steer wrestling gold buckle. A full year of chasing steers came down to the final head in the final round of the final rodeo […]
Read more "That’s a wrap"With the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo all wrapped up, it’s time to get in a couple still-fresh leftovers from the rodeo refrigerator. So here we go. * I’ve met country music legend Charlie Daniels face-to-face twice in my life, both times at the Thomas & Mack Center during the Wrangler NFR, in 2015 and then […]
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NFR Experience 