Round 8 of the WNFR celebrated not only the American tradition of rodeo and its heritage, but also our neighboring country of Canada! The Maple Leaf alongside Old Glory kicked off our night with Wayne Vold and Tanya Tucker to sing the national anthems.
Utah, Texas, and Oregon split the victorious 83.5 point win in the bareback riding. Kaycee Feild is still at the top, Clint Cannon was bumped one spot to number 6 in the average, and Bobby Mote’s win led him to hold the number two spot; he was previously splitting second and third with Steven Dent. Mote’s split-win on Flying U Rodeo Company’s Comanchero was an exciting moment for the Oregonian: he is now a $2 million cowboy!
Jason Miller and Jesse took their 3rd gold buckle in the 8th round. With a score of 3.9 it raised him from number 3 in the average to number 1 with 32.4 seconds on eight head. He is only leading by .2 seconds- so a place in tomorrow’s round 9 is crucial.
Since the 5th go Brady Tryan and Jake Long have been creeping up the leader board. Round 8 marks the boys’ first championship round with a 3.7 second run. The team has won nearly $41k this rodeo and is sitting 8th in the average.
First time WNFR qualifier Jacobs Crawley had a Texas sized dream come true as he heard the 8 second whistle in round 8. Flying Five Rodeo Company’s Sundance had a huge jump out of the chute and after Crawley’s 83.5 point ride he jumped just as high off to land on his feet. A first time go round gold buckle from Montana Silversmith is an eight seconds that this Texas cowboy will never forget.
Scott Kormos has only won one three way split check for sixth place, until tonight! Scott flanked one in the tie down roping for 7.2 seconds in round 8 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo- a much needed title for the 7 time qualifier.
When Jane Melby is on, she is on. As the first WPRA competitor from Minnesota to ever make it to the WNFR she and Beauty have come out of the Thomas and Mack arena with two gold buckles. After tonight’s win with a 13.78 she has won nearly $42k total this week.
The fans that attended tonight were lucky to see the 7 time WNFR bucking bull White Magic of Diamond “G” Rodeos. White Magic has a 93% buck off rate this year and LJ Jenkins is only the 16th cowboy to ever cover the bull. He covered for a 2nd place win of 86 points. J.W. Harris leaped to the number one spot in both the average and the NFR earnings chart with his 87.5 point ride. Korkow Rodeo’s Black Velvet had some crazy turn backs and jumps. Day two of potential disaster in the bull riding was avoided by our bull fighters. The Justin victory lap was taken by J.W. for the third time, despite his broken ankle.
Round 9 kicks off at the Thomas and Mack at 7pm [Vegas time]. Make sure to watch it live on GAC- the exclusive TV broadcaster of the WNFR.
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