admin

During his first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, steer wrestler Cody Devers was just trying to hold everything together.

He’d suffered a partially torn pectoral ligament in his right shoulder a month before the finale in Las Vegas. He was excited to finally play on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, and he wasn’t going to let a little pain derail him. As he lowered himself onto his first-round steer, that all changed.

He toughed it out for four more nights, throwing down each steer until the fifth round. He was unable to finish that run, which took him out of a chance to earn an average payout and ultimately ended his first NFR and the remainder of the 2021 season

“I’m looking forward to going back to the NFR again and proving the first time wasn’t a fluke,” said Devers, 28, of Perryton in the northeastern Texas Panhandle. “I’m really looking forward to winning my first go-round buckle the most. I just want to prove that I belong.”

He’s done that over the last five years, even after missing most of the 2022 campaign while on injured reserve. He didn’t start competing until July, wrestling steers for just the final three months of the regular season, and still finished 33rd in the final world standings. All that did was help build confidence, which he capitalized on this year.

“I won quite a few rodeos last year,” he said. “There were seven or eight that I’d never won before. It was a tough situation. If I would have capitalized on a few different rodeos, I might have still made the finals, but it’s not an easy thing to do.”

No it is not. He concluded this year’s regular season with $104,132 and will head to Sin City ninth on the money list. How did he collect so much cash this year? He placed a lot. He is credited with three key victories: Sundre, Alberta; Omaha, Nebraska; and Stephenville, Texas.

Rodeo offers no guaranteed salaries. In order to get paid, cowboys must beat most of the contestants in their field. Only the top few at each rodeo earn money, and the competitors must pay a fee in order to make a run. It takes something special to earn six figures in rodeo.

“The little mare I bulldogged on and the hazing horse made it a lot easier,” he said.

Sassy is a 15-year-old sorrel that Devers and his traveling partners rode when they were competing. Cinch is a 16-year-old palomino gelding haze horse. Having the bulldogging and hazing horses teamed helps them work better together.

“Sassy was a barrel horse the first few years of her life, but she proved to be a little to strong and wanted to run more than turn, so I gave her an opportunity to try steer wrestling,” he said. “She has loved racing the steers ever since. She can still get a little anxious in the (timed-event) box, but she still fits me really well; when I nod my head, she knows exactly what to do to give me the perfect go on every steer.”

That’s an important trait to have in a mount.

“Horsepower is everything in our event,” said Devers, who was the runner-up to the college champion in 2018 while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University; he also attended Garden City (Kansas) Community College on a rodeo scholarship prior to finishing in Alva, Oklahoma. “In other events, you don’t have to pass the steer. There is no ability to throw a rope 30 feet to catch something. You and your horse have to physically outrun the steer. If you’re not mounted well, you’re going to run the steers too far and not win near as much as you should.”

He’s hoping his tandem will be a guiding force to success in Las Vegas. He will have one of his traveling partners, Marc Joiner, be his hazer at the Thomas & Mack Center, the NFR’s home since 1985. The two have been a strong team all season, so there’s no reason to break up that partnership. He also had Travis Munro in the rig with him through the campaign, and Joe Nelson was part of the squad early in 2023.

“They were crucial to me making the NFR,” said Devers, who is sponsored by Cinch, Usher Brand Custom Saddlery, Old 32 Ranch, Devers Performance Horses, Protech Technologies, 100x Equine, Best Ever Pads, Revita CBD, Koolspeed Feed, Vetline Equine and Hyer Boots. “They are a great group of guys, and we had a bunch of comradery in our rig.

“We all had different goals in mind for the season. Marc hauled a young horse all year and focused on getting him ready for the years to come while getting his qualifications up for next year. Joe’s horse got sick, so he had to go home and heal him. Travis did a great job of learning and winning at a bunch of new rodeos and almost made his first NFR. We were all good at pushing each other to do better all the time and never dwell on a bad run.”

Devers comes from a rodeo family. His father, Marty, was a standout steer wrestler. He won national titles in high school and college and just missed the NFR twice. Sabrina Devers is a barrel racer, and the family has a multi-million dollar horse-selling business that specializes in rodeo and barrel horses.

Cody Devers, though, is expanding on that family side of things. He and Brecklyn Stump became engaged this fall while on the East Coast at a rodeo.

“I was really nervous, and I had it all planned out,” he said. “We went to North Carolina for a rodeo, and I was going to propose the day before I actually did. We got busy with the rodeo, so it didn’t happen. We were at a lake house, and that’s when I actually asked her. It worked out good, because we didn’t have a competition that day, so we had the day to ourselves.”

It was a special time. They’ve made some preliminary wedding plans, but most of the big stuff will wait until the NFR comes to a close. There’s no rush; a good marriage will last a lifetime. Until then, though, Devers has a chance to run at big money in Las Vegas.

“I think it’s going to be like a little bit of a seasoned vet going in there, but I’m going to get the first-time celebrations and the firsts of winning something,” Devers said. “I already know what I need to do, so that’s nice, but I’m just excited to give myself a chance at winning.”

Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com

When the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) bucks back into Nampa, Idaho, for the PBR Unleash The Beast Nampa, presented by Cooper Tires, March 28-30, fans will see the ultimate level of competition unfold at the Ford Idaho Center with an added third day of competition for the first time since 2010 at a crucial juncture of the 2024 season.

Marking the premier tour’s return to Nampa for the 13th consecutive season and 26th year overall, the typical two days of action-packed excitement will transition into a three-day weekend in 2024, giving Idaho fans the opportunity to watch as 35 of the top bull riders in the world go head-to-head in David vs. Goliath matchups with the toughest animal athletes in the sport.

The expanded premier series stop in Nampa – the 18th event of the 23-event Unleash The Beast regular season – promises to be crucial in the chase for the 2024 PBR World Championship culminating at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in mid-May.

In 2023 when the UTB tour visited Nampa, lively Gem State fans were at full volume as Brazil’s Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil) claimed the second premier series event win of his career, highlighted by being the only man to go a perfect 3-for-3 on the weekend. In the Championship round, Lima was matched with Fastfire (Glover Cattle/ D&H Cattle Co.). He was successful in the 8-second matchup for the third time over the weekend, ultimately clinching his win.

Bull riders like Lima from around the world will take to the dirt in Nampa at 7:45 p.m. MST on both Thursday, March 28 and Friday, March 29, with action beginning at 6:45 p.m. MST on Saturday, March 30 for Round 3 and the Championship Round.

Tickets range in price from $15 to $110 and can be purchased at the Ford Idaho Center Box Office, PBR.com, ICTickets.com, or by phone at (800)745-3000.

PBR Elite Seats are available for avid fans who want an exclusive VIP experience while enjoying the world’s top bull riding circuit. These tickets, available in three tiers, offer premium seats, personal on-site concierge at the PBR fan loyalty booth and more. For more on elite seats, visit https://pbr.com/elite-seats-unleash-the-beast, or call (800) 732-1727.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

2023 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

Following the Canadian Finals Rodeo, Jake Gardner needed to reset.

The bull rider from Fort St. John, British Columbia had run into some bad luck at the CFR in early November, getting bucked off during four of his six rides at the season-culminating event.

He came into the RAM Maple Leaf Circuit Finals in Regina, Saskatchewan hoping for an opportunity to regroup mentally and get back on track.

Consider that mission accomplished.

Gardner was the only cowboy to ride all four bulls he faced at the event, resulting in an aggregate score of 336.5 points and a payout of $9,886.

“I just came here and kind of relaxed a bit. I just wanted to have fun, ride my bulls and kind of finish the year off good and get a head start on the 2024 season, so it was good all around,” Gardner said. “I had a very fun week. I drew really good, and I capitalized on my draws, so it worked out.”

After placing third in the opening round with a ride of 83 points, Gardner took control over the final three rounds, scoring an 83.5 in the second go and 82.5 in the third. The exclamation point came in the finals as his effort of 87.5 points was the highest scored ride of the entire rodeo. No other cowboy was able to cover more than two bulls at the event, allowing Gardner to easily claim the aggregate and overall circuit titles.

The Maple Leaf victory was the perfect parlay for Gardner as he transitions from one season to the next. For the 2023 campaign, the up-and-coming bull rider finished 44th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings, with a little over $47,000 in earnings for the season. His earnings were a career best as he finished inside the top 50 for the first time since 2021.

“I felt like this is probably one of the best seasons I’ve had in my career thus far. I learned a lot and I’m progressively getting better at things I need to get better at,” Gardner said. “Bull riding is a tough sport – you’re diamonds one day and dust the next, but the main thing is to keep a positive mental attitude and I feel like I did good on that this year and things worked out.”

With some early earnings already on his ledger for the 2024 campaign, Gardner has one more event scheduled to close out the 2023 calendar before taking a holiday break and restarting in January.

More importantly, he’s got some much-needed confidence, which he hopes will lead to even greater heights.

“Getting this money is pretty important. I really want to win a Canadian title, so it’s good to get a jump on that. And I really want to make the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, so it’s good to get some money in those standings as well,” Gardner said. “I just need to keep picking away and hopefully it works out.”

Other winners at the RAM Maple Leaf Circuit Finals Rodeo were bareback rider Ty Taypotat (333 points on four head); steer wrestler Stephen Culling (17.5 seconds on four head); team ropers Kavis Drake/Denim Ross (13.4 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Sawyer Eirikson (326 points on four head); tie-down roper Stran Dunham (36 seconds on four head); breakaway roper Lawrie Saunders (11.2 seconds on four head); and barrel racer Taylor Manning (54.8 seconds on four runs).

Courtesy of PRCA.

It’s crazy how things work out.

Take Bridger Anderson as an example. He had competed all year and was inching closer to a second Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification.

In order to secure that bid, he had hoped to compete at the Cinch Playoff Series Championship, which featured the top 12 contestants from the tour standings. By the time he realized he wouldn’t be able to compete in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he had one option left: Edmonton, Alberta.

In order to wrestle steers there, though, he needed to have a Canadian Professional Rodeo Association membership. Fortunately, he had one, albeit in a strange quirk of circumstances.

“I actually bought my Canadian card to go to Ponoka (Alberta) but didn’t end up getting into Ponoka because I bought my card too late,” said Anderson, 25, originally from Carrington but now living near Hico, Texas. “Thankfully I had my Canadian card and entered Edmonton and got my head off the chopping block on the last day of the season.”

The chopping block is also known as the NFR bubble, a place where those close to the 15th spot in the world standings resided as the regular season came to a close Sept. 30. He needed to win to be in, and he did just that, placing high enough to secure $1,100 and secure his spot among the top 15 and return to the grand championship for the first time since 2020.

“It took me a couple of years to get back, but I’m excited to go to Vegas and get to compete in the Thomas & Mack,” he said.

The Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas has been the home of the NFR since 1985, except for that one year. When COVID created a worldwide pandemic, the finale was moved to its one-year home in Arlington, Texas. Now that it’s back in its rightful place, Anderson will have a chance to see what it’s like to battle for rodeo’s gold in the Nevada desert.

While this will be his inaugural trip to Las Vegas for the NFR, he has competed in Sin City during December. The last time he did, he came away the champion.

“We’ve got a good streak in Vegas,” said Anderson, the 2019 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association steer wrestling champion while competing at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. “The only time I ever competed there, it went well for me at the Ote Berry Junior World Championships, so hopefully we can go back and continue to have success.”

The circumstances have definitely changed. Since six years ago, Anderson has proven to be an elite bulldogger. Three seasons ago, he finished his first NFR ninth in the world standings. He was 32nd the next year and 21st last year, so he’s continued to build his skills in one of the most competitive events in ProRodeo.

Anderson finished the 2023 campaign with $85,511, good enough for 14th in the world standings. He trails the top bulldogger, Oregonian Dalton Massey, by $108,000, but that ground can quickly be made up once the cowboys arrive in the City of Lights, where go-round winners will collect $30,706 each day for 10 nights.

“We just won a little more, had a few better licks, and we capitalized on a few more steers to end up with enough to be in the top 15,” said Anderson, the son of Glenn and Robin Anderson and brother to Cedar and Dawsyn. “This year, we got my horse, Whiskers, back, and we got to use him all year, which helped us be consistent. We were consistently getting good goes. Justin Shaffer did most of the hazing on my horse, Slim. We had a good crew, and I think that helped a lot.”

In addition to Shaffer, Anderson spent the year traveling with Canadian Riley Westhaver and Californian Tucker Allen. Their kindship on the road was beneficial to Anderson’s season.

“It was awesome to have that group of guys with everybody wanting to win and keeping a positive mindset to keep everything in check,” he said. “Tucker came real close to making the finals and was in the top 15 for most of the year. Justin had a pretty decent year, and Riley had some trouble, but we just kept pushing each other and trying to win something. It ended up working out for me.”

The others all took pride in his accomplishment. Once they arrive in Las Vegas, Shaffer will continue to haze; in steer wrestling, a hazer rides on the right side of the steer to keep that animal in line to help the bulldogger get the best shot at making a good run. As a key member of the team, the hazer can also offer advice on the best ways to win.

“We’ve been focusing on the mindset that winning is expected and that losing is a fluke, so that when it goes good, you don’t get too high on it because that’s what we expected to do,” said Anderson, who credits his success to his partners, Cinch, Korral Supply, Signature Quarters, Taylor Bang Cattle Sales, Legendary Steaks ND, AH Inc., DEFY, Hepper Ranch and Performing Horses, Diamond S Performance Horses, New Dawn Crop Performance and Smiles for Jake.

“I read a statistic that guys that are most consistent win 42 percent of the time. To make the finals, you’ve got to win 42 percent of the time, which means you’re losing 58 percent of the time. That’s the majority of the time you nod your head. You just realize you’re not going to do good sometimes, and you just have to deal with that. When you do better, it’s what you expected to do.”

The mental approach might be the most important aspect for professional rodeo cowboys. They travel North America chasing their dreams, and time on the road can be cumbersome. When slumps come, combatants must continue to face the challenges with a good attitude; getting down won’t help them win.

Each day offers a new beginning. For Anderson, he has faith in his ability and the talents of the men who surround him. He’s been to ProRodeo’s championship event before, though that one took place on the same diamond on which the Texas Rangers just won the World Series. He’s in for a brand new experience inside the 18,000-seat Thomas & Mack Center.

“Back in 2020, we were just excited to have an NFR, which was in a totally different stadium than normal,” he said, pointing out that he was one of just 119 people to have competed at a national finals in a baseball stadium. “But this is the Thomas & Mack, the building that we’ve always dreamed of competing in since we were little kids.

“Now, it’s becoming a reality, so I’m looking forward to finally figuring out what it’s like to run a steer in that building.”

He will be one of four Northwestern steer wrestlers in the field of 15 men when the action takes place Dec. 7-16; he will be joined by Stephen Culling, 2016 national champion J.D. Struxness and Cody Devers, who was the reserve college champion in 2018.

“We’re real proud of that program and what’s been done there,” Anderson said. “Devers and J.D. were actually there when I decided to go to school there, and one of the reasons I wanted to go there was some of those guys that were doing so good. I wanted to get my butt kicked when I got down there and practice with them.

“I know there’s a lot to be learned at Northwestern and learned from (coach) Stockton Graves. I think having four of us bulldoggers at the finals says a lot about that program.”

Over the course of his young career, Anderson has proven he has the championship mettle. Now, he gets to showcase it on the game’s biggest stage in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com

Growing up in northern British Columbia, Stephen Culling didn’t have the typical childhood of a rodeo cowboy.

“My parents are both wildlife biologists,” said Culling, 29, a professional steer wrestler for Fort St. John who has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time. “We had some pretty interesting adventures. When I was really young, I never went to daycare much. I usually jumped in the helicopter with them; that was a pretty cool thing I got to do.

“The things that most people wouldn’t even think about is the way I was growing up. I got to see a lot of cool country from the helicopter and do a lot of things that most people don’t get a chance to do.”

Brad and Diane Culling raised Stephen and his older brother, Mac, around the understanding that nothing would be given to them. That foundation is what built the character the youngest still practices today. He relies on that work ethic to make his living in rodeo, a trade he’s plied since 2016.

“My parents made me work for everything,” said Culling, who attended both Western Oklahoma State University and Northwestern Oklahoma State University on rodeo scholarships. “If I wanted to buy a snowmobile, I had to go bust my butt. You realize there is value there, that right from a young age that if there’s something you want in life, you aren’t going to be afraid to put your nose to the grindstone to get it.”

Culling finished the 2023 regular season with $104,026, good enough for 10th in the world standings. That money is vital; not only does it help cover business expenses and take care of bills back home, it’s also how titles are won. In rodeo, dollars equal championship points, and the contestants with the most money earned at the conclusion of the NFR will be crowned world champions.

That’s right; Stephen Culling is in the middle of a world-championship race in his first adventure to the grand finale, set for Dec. 7-16 in Las Vegas.

“Making the NFR is a dream come true, something I’ve been working on since I first started bulldogging in high school,” he said. “I feel like in the early days, I was almost just doing it for fun. As the years went by, I just kept working at it.

“This is a huge accomplishment for me. That was one of the things I set out to do, and I’m really excited to show up in Vegas.”

Culling is involved in one of the most competitive events in the sport. Any steer wrestler in the top 50 has a chance to win on any given weekend, and there are always a few different names that qualify for the NFR each December. He is one of three first-time bulldoggers, joining the No. 15 man, Texan Don Payne, and the world standings leader, Oregonian Dalton Massey, the latter of whom is part of Culling’s traveling posse.

Massey and Culling will be riding the same horse, Eddie, which is owned by Canadian Tanner Milan; he will also serve as their hazer, helping keep the steers lined out during each run they make. Eddie, a 10-year-old bay gelding, was named the 2023 Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year.

“I’d say 100 guys can go make good enough runs to win some rodeos, but the one thing that separates the guys and puts them in the winner’s circle all the time is horsepower,” said Culling, who credits a good portion of his success with his sponsors, Resistol, CVS Controls, Cinch, Zesterra, VDM Trucking, Tracker Contracting, Trek Air and 8 Seconds Western Wear & Feed. “I’ve always been fortunate to be able to get on good horses.

“A few years ago I traveled with Curtis Cassidy and rode Tyson, and now I’ve been on Eddie. I’m pretty blessed that the guys who have horses of the year let me ride them. It’s pretty cool to have the best two horses in the world, and I’ve been able to ride both.”

He rode Eddie at the Canadian Finals Rodeo the first weekend of November and found some success. He placed in three of the final four go-rounds in Red Deer, Alberta, winning the fifth performance.

“It wasn’t the finals I’d wanted, because I took myself out of contention to win the Canadian title the first two nights,” he said, reflecting on two broken barriers that added a combined 20 seconds to his runs. “Once you do that, it changes your attitude, and you realize you still have a chance to catch some money in the final few rounds, so that’s what I went for.”

Culling started his rodeo life with a rope in his hand. He was a tie-down and team roper. While at some high school rodeos, he realized he spent most of his time waiting to make a run instead of competing, so he opted to add steer wrestling to his portfolio. He also received some tutelage from fellow British Columbia cowboy Clayton Moore, who helped Culling hone in on his skills.

“My parents would drop me off at Clayton’s house on Friday afternoon and come pick me up Sunday night,” he said. “We’d bulldog, rope, ride colts and do just about everything. It was pretty instrumental in my career to spend that much time with someone I looked up to and spend that much time with.

“He knew I was focused and had goals, and he more so treated me like an equal than a kid from just down the road that he was just helping out. He put me through the ringer pretty early on because he knew I’d survive it. We worked pretty hard at it, that was the main reason that I went from jumping my first steers in January to moving along pretty fast.”

It paid off. In 2010, he won the bulldogging titles at both the Canadian High School Finals Rodeo and the National High School Finals Rodeo, and a star was born. He carried that prestige with him to Oklahoma for his education.

“Guy Smith was the coach at Western Oklahoma, and he’s from Canada, so that made it convenient to go to school there because I was going to be around quite a few Canadians,” said Culling, a six-time CFR qualifier. “Guy knew what it was like to be a Canadian down there. That made it pretty easy to make the transition from British Columbia to Oklahoma, having someone who knew the ropes.

“When I got done with my first semester in Altus, that’s when Stockton (Graves) started coaching at Northwestern. When I finished my second year in Altus, I had my mind made up to where I wanted to go, because Stockton had been to the finals and there were some really good guys going to school there. You could just feed off it.”

He’s still feeding off those relationships. Each has helped build Culling to the man he is today and the steer wrestler battling for rodeo’s gold. Once he arrives in Las Vegas, he’ll make the runs of a lifetime, fighting for his share of the $1.3 million purse available in each event. Go-round winners will pocket almost $31,000 per day for 10 December nights.

He will have a chance to make some major cash in a week and a half in the City of Lights, home of the world’s richest rodeo. Most importantly, he has a chance to realize those gold buckle dreams he’s had since he was a young boy in northern British Columbia.

“This is what I’ve been working toward since high school,” Culling said. “The main goal is to make the NFR and win a gold buckle.”

Courtesy of twisTEDRodeo.com.