BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Stetson Wright was the star of the show on Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. After riding Calgary Stampede’s Wild Cherry for 90.5 points, he followed it up with a whopping 94.5 in the bull riding on Bull of the Year Chiseled.
“Everything, leaping and kicking and rearing, it felt outstanding,” he said afterward.
In saddle bronc riding, Stetson did not win the Go-Round, rather it was his brother Ryder who took the victory lap with 91 points aboard Feather Fluffer.
Not to be outdone, in the bareback riding, Kaycee Feild set the sport’s all-time NFR Go-Round win record with 26 on Monday night.
In the timed events, Emily Miller-Beisel posted the fastest time of the rodeo in barrel racing, Tyler Pearson took the steer wrestling, Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin had the fastest team roping run of the 2021 NFR and Marty Yates won the tie-down roping.
BAREBACK RIDING
Kaycee Feild not only broke Bobby Mote’s Go-Round record, he also overtook the lead in the PRCA World Standings, projected final standings and NFR Average. He was 91 points on Brookman’s Famous Dex, which was his second 90-point ride at the Thomas & Mack Center this year.
“I’m just coming here and doing my job each night, these guys I’m competing against are the very best I’ve ever competed against,” Feild said.
Rookie Cole Franks was second in the round on Monday by going 90 on the Bareback Horse of the Year, Calgary’s Xplosive Skies.
1. Kaycee Feild, 91, $26,997
2. Cole Franks, 90, $21,336
3. Tilden Hooper, 89, $16,111
4. Cole Reiner, 88.5, $11,321
5. Tim O’Connell, 87.5, $6,967
T6. Clayton Biglow, 86.5, $1,451
T6. Jess Pope, 86.5, $1,451
T6. R.C. Landingham, 86.5, $1,451
FEILD’S RIDE
STEER WRESTLING
Tyler Pearson, the 2017 World Champion, won the steer wrestling Monday with a 3.6-second run.
“Drew a good chance and made a good run,” Pearson said. “I feel great, body feels healthy, horses feel good.”
Will Lummus, who split Round 4, split second in Round 5 to move to second in the Average behind Tristan Martin. Martin is the current projected final standings leader and Lummus is right behind him.
1. Tyler Pearson, 3.6, $26,997
T2. Will Lummus, 3.7, $18,724
T2. Jacob Talley, 3.7, $18,724
4. Stockton Graves, 3.8, $11,321
5. Tyler Waguespack, 3.9, $6,967
6. Dakota Eldridge, 4.0, $4,354
PEARSON’S RUN
TEAM ROPING
Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin made the fastest run of the rodeo in the team roping Monday when they turned in a run of 3.8 seconds.
“Logan makes my job really easy, he allows us to be really fast,” Proctor said. “So, he keeps me comfortable as a header.”
The Go-Round win moved Proctor to No. 9 in the projected final standings and Medlin No. 7.
The projected World Champions are still Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, who won Round 4 and are third in the Average behind Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins and Clay Smith/Jade Corkill. Driggers/Nogueira had their streak of placing in four straight rounds snapped on Monday night.
1. Coleman Proctor / Logan Medlin, 3.8, $26,997
2. Rhen Richard / Jeremy Buhler, 4.0, $21,336
3. Clay Tryan / Jake Long, 4.1, $16,111
4. Cody Snow / Wesley Thorp, 4.3, $11,321
5. Erich Rogers / Paden Bray, 9.2, $6,967
6. Quinn Kesler / Joseph Harrison, 9.3, $4,354
PROCTOR/MEDLIN’S RUN
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
Ryder Wright had placed fourth in two rounds of the 2021 NFR and broke through for his first Go-Round win of the year on Monday night.
Wright rode Feather Fluffer for 91 points, the best saddle bronc ride of the NFR so far, to edge brother Stetson by a half-point.
Monday night’s bronc riding round featured all six cowboys who got paid riding for at least 88.5 points.
Ryder Wright is now second in the projected final standings and Stetson Wright is third. Brody Cress, the Average leader, remains in position to win his first World Title.
1. Ryder Wright, 91, $26,997
2. Stetson Wright, 90.5, $18,724
2. Zeke Thurston, 90.5, $18,724
4. Brody Cress, 89.5, $9,144
4. Kolby Wanchuk, 89.5, $9,144
6. Wyatt Casper, 88.5, $4,354
RYDER WRIGHT’S RIDE
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Marty Yates got his first Go-Round win of 2021 after winning two in 2020. Yates stopped the clock at 7.3 seconds.
“I think momentum just builds off when you do good,” said Yates, who did not place in the first rounds. “I finally got my horse dialed in, I haven’t gotten to ride for him a long time, he’s my good one.”
In the World Title race, Caleb Smidt stayed steady by finishing second in Round 5. He has placed in the Top 2 in the last three nights and leads the Average and projected final standings.
Shane Hanchey, who is currently No. 1 in the world, is second in the Average and projected to finish right behind Smidt.
1. Marty Yates, 7.3, $26,997
2. Caleb Smidt, 7.9, $18,724
2. John Douch, 7.9, $18,724
4. Westyn Hughes, 8.1, $11,321
5. Tuf Cooper, 8.2, $5,661
5. Cory Solomon, 8.2, $5,661
YATES’ RUN
BARREL RACING
Emily Miller-Beisel, who placed fourth in two of the first four rounds, had the fastest time of the rodeo and a Round 5 record with a run of 13.43 seconds, besting the mark Wenda Johnson set the night before.
“Man that was fun,” she said. “I knew he (her horse Chongo) was back and he was in the game.”
Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi overtook Stevi Hillman by two one-hundreds of a second on Monday night, which puts her as the projected World Champion through five rounds.
1. Emily Beisel, 13.43, $26,997
2. Hailey Kinsel, 13.53, $21,336
3. Jordon Briggs, 13.54, $16,111
4. Dona Kay Rule, 13.57, $11,321
5. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 13.66, $6,967
6. Wenda Johnson, 13.68, $4,354
MILLER-BEISEL’S RUN
BULL RIDING
Last, but certainly not least, was the bull riding and the matchup between the Bull of the Year and the reigning World Champion did not disappoint.
Stetson Wright electrified the crowd with 94.5 points aboard Chiseled to set a new Round 5 record.
“When I saw my name next to him, I’m not going to lie, I was screaming pretty loud in the parking lot,” he said. “There’s a lot of people there that probably thought I was crazy.”
Sage Kimzey, who has bucked off his last three bulls, remains the man to beat as he has a lead of about $85,000 with five rounds to go.
1. Stetson Wright, 94.5
2. Josh Frost, 86.5
3. Trey Benton, 86
4. Boudreaux Campbell, 85.5
5. Clayton Sellars, 77.5
WRIGHT’S RIDE
