Steer wrestler Jason Miller went to elementary school – K through 8 – in a class of six in Lance Creek, Wyoming. He later played high school sports in the nearby town of Lusk. Now, at age 33, Miller is making a name
for himself amongst the elite in professional rodeo and on the world’s brightest stage for the sport at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. There are ten rounds of competition and last night’s first outing saw Miller attain the second fastest time – 3.6 seconds. He made nearly $13,000 for that effort climbing from 13th to 9th in the world standings. “That’s a big thing here. If a guy gets started off right, you can go on a roll. I’ve seen it happen before. You go right on through the week and win a lot of money,” Miller said. Most times in this little arena if a bulldogger can drop his prey in the three-second category there is going to be a big payoff. “I didn’t think I was that fast but knew I got a good start. You almost feel like you broke the barrier you just cover them up so quickly,” Miller remarked.
Pride of Wyoming
Pretty tough sledding for the Wyoming men riding bulls at the national finals last night. No scores for Kanin Asay and Bobby Welsh. They were not alone. It is a fact that a lot of nights see fewer than half the field stay on for the full eight seconds. One of the better animals out spinning in round one is called Ambush. He’s a product of the Burns Rodeo Company in Laramie. In the rough stock category of rodeo each ride is scored half for the animal and half for the rider. There are two judges and the best possible score is 100. A critter that is consistent, like Ambush, is going to be scored 22 or 23 points by each judge, nearly every time out. “He’s just a really good bull to draw.
When they ride him the cowboys win a lot of money,” said Hal Burns. “He’s the cowboy’s pick. You ask them what they want in a herd, Ambush is right at the top,” Burns continued. Last night, Ambush lived up to his name and forced rider Clint Craig to touch with his free hand to end the night with no score. Burns and his brother, Pete, have been at it for more than twenty years. They raised the bull “Mr. T” who will long remain a rodeo legend for consistently tossing riders before the eight-second whistle for many years. Hal is just as excited this year about the human element competing at the national finals because of the number from Wyoming. “Not to downplay the Texans - there’s 33 of them - out of how many millions of people? What are we 450,000 in Wyoming now? And we’ve got seven kids in. Per capita, we blow away everybody in the rodeo business,” Burns beamed. Photo: Clint Craig tries to hold on to Ambush before touching the bull with his free hand. Credit: Rick Carpenter
Friday Night Flights
Gillette, Wyoming saddle bronc rider Chet Johnson went to bed early to sleep off a cold and be in the best possible shape to face “Eliminator” night tonight in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo arena. The rough stock animals that are chosen to buck out tonight, and next Friday night, all have a trick to them. Johnson says he and his fellow riders are a bit more nervous when they are matched with eliminators. “You’ll usually get a bunch of ducks and dives. They are really strong,” he said. Chet feels fortunate in that his horse is one he’s ridden before. In fact, Johnson won the first round at Pendleton this year on the Ike Sankey Rodeo Co. steed, scoring an 86. That’s the thing about “Eliminator” night – staying on. It’s never easy but tonight fans are sure going to enjoy the wild rides even though the riders would probably just as soon be in the stands.
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