BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Colten Fritzlan probably would’ve won the Rookie of the Year in most years, but in 2020, that award went to his traveling partner Ky Hamilton. Still, the 20-year-old bull rider is going to his first NFR.
He begins his run at Globe Life Field No. 10 in the standings.
The rookie didn’t look like one for long.
In November of 2019 he took third at Xtreme Bulls event in Nacogdoches, Texas with an 86.5-point ride to win $2,411. In January of 2020, he won the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo courtesy of an 88-point ride on Hard and Fast. He netted close to $5,000 for his win and by the time, he arrived at the National Western in mid-January, he had already had about $8,000 to his name.
Fritzlan didn’t have any huge scores at the big winter rodeos, but he didn’t come away empty handed. He won almost $4,000 by placing on two bulls in San Antonio after going 0-for-4 in Denver and Fort Worth combined.
Fritzlan would go on to place at three more rodeos before COVID-19 shut things down. After the break, he was second in his return to rodeo by riding Wicked Sensation for 87.5 points in Cave Creek.
The Colorado cowboy would also go on to win Killdeer (North Dakota) thanks to an 87.5-point ride on Punch during Cowboy Christmas. Three days later, he matched that score by riding Butter Bean for 87.5 points to finish second in Parker County (Texas). Both rides earned him more than $2,000.
FRITZLAN RIDES BUTTER BEAN
Fritzlan’s biggest check of the year came the next month when he was 88.5 points on Smoke Stack in Elk City (Oklahoma), which earned him $3,553.
For the season, Fritzlan rode an impressive 52 percent of his bulls and was marked 85 or better 15 times.
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