Wrangler NFR 2011 Round 3

ANOTHER tough night in the team roping! There were 4 cowboys that were able to ditch the bad luck, swing and stretch for 4.1 seconds. The Hesston victory lap looked like the grand entry as Turtle Powell, Jhett Johnson, Kaleb Driggers, and Brad Culpepper paraded around to celebrate their Round 3 win.
Red chaps and fringe flying as Utah’s Jesse Wright covers Frontier Rodeo Company’s Tip Off for 88.5 points. The cowboy was sitting 1^st by only half a point, but after tonight he can secure his number two spot in the average by 9 points.
The 21 year old tie down roper from Prairie View, TX received his very first NFR check. Cory Solomon started roping at age 4, and 17 years of practice led him to a 7.6 second Round 3 victory. The Cooper family had a reason to cheer in the stands! Both Tuf and Clif roped a 7.8 to split second and third place.
After awarding Garth Lamb as the Purina Vet of the Year for 2011, the ladies barrel racing had an exciting win for the first time WNFR qualifier Jane Melby. After running a 13.83, which is the fastest time of not only the round, but the entire WNFR thus far, Melby collected her first go round check and Montana Silversmith buckle. Congrats Jane!
In the bull doggin Shawn Greenfield and Mister had a smoking run of 3.5 seconds. Mister may be 17 years old, but he’s got a lot of fire left in him! This win not only pushed Greenfield from number 5 in the average to number 3, but also bumped him to the number 5 spot in the world standings. There’s still enough rodeo left to catch up to Luke Branquinho if this team keeps up the hard work.
Fans were graced by the presence of two of the legendary Bareback Bucking Horses of the Year followed by a three-peat of Kaycee Field who spurred Mosbrucker Rodeo’s Magic Wars for the 1^st 90 point ride of the 2011 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The score of 90.5 proceeded by an 87.5 and 89 has made this cowboy $53,654 in the last 3 rounds: not too bad for only working 24 seconds.
Dusty does it again! Tuckness took a massive blow to the knee during the 3^rd round of the bull riding. The bull fighters are doing all they can to protect the cowboys, and these bulls are having no pity. As the youngest competitor, Jacob O’Mara has got to be thrilled with his 88.5 point ride to move him into 1^st place in the average.
Round 4 kicks off at the Thomas and Mack at 1pm [Vegas time]. Make sure to watch it live on GAC- the exclusive TV broadcaster of the WNFR.