BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Since 2014, 26-year-old Marty Yates has made the Wrangler NFR every year.
Not only has he competed at the Thomas and Mack Center the last six years, he also has finished in the Top 6 every year except 2018.
Yates, who enters this year’s Wrangler NFR at Globe Life Field in seventh place in the world standings, is looking for his first Gold Buckle. His best career finish is third, which came in 2017.
In 2020 Yates won rodeos all over the country. He finished in first place in Mandan, North Dakota, Yuma, Colorado, Douglas, Wyoming and Lawton, Oklahoma.
His two most lucrative wins were Mandan and Lawton which won him $3,822 and $4,666 respectively.
MARTY YATES - 8.6 SECONDS TO WIN IN LAWTON
Although it did not come from a rodeo win, Yates’ biggest check this year was $4,865, which he earned from a second place finish and time of 7.8 seconds in Baker, Montana.
The second-place finish in Baker came as part of a stretch from Aug. 13-23 in which he won $12,887. During that timeframe, Yates cashed checks of more than $1,000 at five of the seven rodeos he competed. Overall, he was first twice, second twice and fourth once in those 11 days.
Yates also performed well at some of the winter rodeos. He won $3,935 at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo in early January and also won $2,361 in January’s National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. In San Angelo, Yates won $6,260, including a third-place finish at the Cinch Chute Out.
In 2019, Yates placed in six rounds at the Wrangler NFR and won two.
RELATED:
Meet the 2020 NFR Athletes - Ty Harris
Meet the 2020 NFR Athletes - Tyler Milligan
Meet the 2020 NFR Athletes - Westyn Hughes
