BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Canadian bareback rider Orin Larsen has qualified for seven consecutive NFRs and finished Top 10 in the PRCA Bareback Riding World Standings each of the last five years, including No. 3 in 2016 and No. 2 in 2019.
Larsen closed the season as hot as any bareback rider in the PRCA and enters the Wrangler NFR No. 9 in the World Standings with $97,844.
Since Aug. 17, he has won about $45,000, nearly half of his season earnings in less than 45 days. In that stretch, Larsen had 11 rides of 85 points or more and won six Go-Rounds. The lights out stretch moved him from No. 12 up to No. 9.
During that run, Larsen won the Moses Lake Round-Up (Washington), Magic Valley Stampede (Idaho), Walla Walla Frontier Days, Tri-State Rodeo (Iowa), Bucking Battle in Bismarck and the Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo (California) which made up six of his eight rodeo wins in 2021.
LARSEN RIDES MAYHEM FOR 91 POINTS IN WALLA WALLA
LARSEN RIDES AIN’T NO ANGEL FOR 89 POINTS AT TRI-STATE RODEO
Larsen also thrived in his home country at The Calgary Stampede, where he $15,000 and had all six of his rides marked between 86.5 and 90.5 points.
LARSEN RIDES FIRED UP FOR 89.5 POINTS IN CALGARY
Larsen needed to close the year strong after not competing much early in the 2021 calendar.
He only went to nine rodeos from January to April, but then placed in the Top 5 in the Guymon Pioneer Days, Daily Record Xtreme Bares and Broncs (Montana), Elizabeth Stampede Rodeo (Colorado), Newtown Rodeo Days (North Dakota) and West of The Pecos Rodeo (Texas) in May and June.
For the entire season, Larsen recorded 35 rides of 85 points or more and 14 Go-Round wins. Both of those marks are just one off the career-highs he set in 2020.
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