23-year-old Tegan Smith qualified for his first career NFR in the 2021 season, but he needed a big finish to the season to be safely in.
Smith’s season got off to a strong start, placing second in his first performance of the year and following that up with a win at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals. In total, Smith won more than $4,500 in the first two weeks of the season.
After his strong start, things slowed down a bit for Tegan. He would go from October 10 to May 29 without a check over $1,500. Tegan had a strong showing at the Casey Tibbs Match of Champions XTreme Broncs where he placed second in the finals thanks to an 89 point ride on Suga Boom Boom. The finish earned him his biggest check since October, at $1,875.
Smith followed his showing at the XTreme Broncs with a strong showing at the Reno Rodeo where he went 84.5 points in round one, 84 points in round 2, and 83 points in the finals. In total, Smith won over $10,000 during the rodeo.
TEGAN SMITH, 84.5 POINTS, RENO RODEO
Smith’s performance in Reno kickstarted his season as he would win the Jordan XTreme Bronc Ride the following week with a 92.5 point ride. Smith won just over $5,000 at the rodeo.
A week later, Smith posted another big ride, going 85.5 points at the Greeley Stampede and taking second place. The second-place finish earned Smith $4,562.
Smith stayed consistent throughout the rest of his season and broke out for another big payday at the Pendleton Round-Up.
Smith was living life on the bubble, but thanks to an 89 point ride in round one and an 88 point ride in the finals Tegan took home more than $9,000 at the Round-Up and secured his first career NFR qualification.
TEGAN SMITH, 89 POINTS, PENDLETON ROUND-UP
Smith followed up the Pendleton Round-Up with a third-place finish at the Bucking Battle in Bismark and a second-place finish at the Amarillo Tri-State Fair and Rodeo.
Smith enters the 2021 NFR in the No. 10 position with $82,717.59 in season earnings.
