Round One of The Wrangler NFR

Welcome back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Stetson Wright! Stetson absolutely dominated in Round One, winning both the saddle bronc riding with his 90 point ride on 403 Renegade and in the bull riding with his 89.75 point ride on Big Shasta (Powder River Rodeo).

Round One started off with a bang with an absolutely incredible 88.5 point ride by Cooper Cooke on Far Harbor (Hampton Pro Rodeo). This horse threw everything from drops to direction changes at Cooke who perfectly matched his horse the full 8 seconds. Waylon Bourgeois and Bradlee Miller also had great rides, with Bourgeouis finishing 2nd with an 86.75 and Miller taking 5th place with an 86. It was a close night of scores in the bareback.

Veteran bulldoggers Ty Erikson, Kyle Irwin, Scott Guenthner, and JD Stuxness all had a strong first round along with fellow veteran Tyler Waguepack who took first with his 4.0 second run. Despite a foot injury that has Dakota Eldridge in a boot when he's not competing, this veteran steer wrestler tied for 6th with Jesse Brown for their 5.0 second runs. It was also an equally tight night in times for the steer wrestling, with only one second separating 1st place from 6th.

Lightning Aguilera & Kaden Profili took first in the team roping with their 4.0, beating out Andrew Ward and Jake Long by only .2 seconds. Tyler Wade & Wesley Thorp, Jonathan Torres & Kolton Schmidt, Luke Brown & Trey Yates, Dawson Graham & Dillon Graham, and Clay Smith & Coleby Payne drew snake eyes tonight in Vegas and we can expect these teams to all come back hungry for a qualified run in the next round.

Although it was Stetson's night in the saddle bronc riding, don't count out Weston Patterson and Kade Bruno. Patterson had a solid 88.5 point ride on 2K (New Frontier Rodeo) and Bruno had an fantastic 88 on Screaming Neon (New Frontier Rodeo).

Shad Mayfield lived up to his Money nickname with a commanding 6.8 second run for first in the tie-down roping. NFR rookie Tom Crouse had a visible smile of relief and confidence boost taking third tonight with his 7.9 second run. California cowboy Brushton Minton also looked good on his run tonight, taking 5th place with an 8 second run.

It looks to be another tight NFR between Kassie Mowry and Hailey Kinsel. This year Mowry is riding Will instead of Jarvis but that doesn't appear to be slowing her down at all as she beat out Hailey's 13.70 second run by .04 seconds to take first. Julie Plourde, who replaced Anita Ellis at last minute due to an injury, took 8th place tonight.

Stetson may have come out on top tonight, but Wacey Schalla, TJ Gray, Ky Hamilton, and Hudson Bolton all had strong rides and it should be a tight battle over the next few rounds. Jesse Petri was given a re-ride option but declined it to keep his original 75.5 point ride for 8th. Bryce Jensen was helicoptered off his bull but did not appear to be favoring his arm at all walking out of the area.

This year's Wrangler National Final's Rodeo looked a bit different than years past. First there were no horses for the grand entry do to the EHV-1 virus. Instead competitors entered the arena on foot. This year also featured a new quarter point system and AI tracking for better analysis of rides and runs.