BIG WYO NIGHT

We are going to have some fun tonight. Three Wyoming bull riders have proven their toughness and skill at the same time being watched over and helped to walk away from every ride by Meeteetse, WY bullfighter Dusty Tuckness. His fearlessness is certainly evident to all who’ve been watching the 51st NFR.

Last night two of the bull riding trio made successful trips. Clayton Savage of Casper was 86.5 on Foolish Pride and Savage would really like to start all over again here at the finals in Vegas:



Clayton’s Friday night paycheck was $10,000 for third place. Gillette’s Bobby Welsh topped the bull Crazy Train for an 83 and fifth place on the night:



Watch with Cowboy Pride tonight as Welsh battles Siverado’s Silent Assassin, Kanin Asay from Powell takes on the bull known as Big Iron and Savage is aboard Silent Image. All three of Wyoming’s riders have managed to remain in the top ten of the world standings through all the ups and downs of the NFR. Asay is third, Welsh fourth and Savage in the eighth position. Average wise Welsh leads everyone and Asay is second. Clayton Savage, who is celebrating his 23rd birthday today, is sixth in the average.

Burns Rodeo Company from Laramie will present two bulls for the final round tonight. Kid Twist and Conspiracy are going to be hard to handle for Colin McTaggart and Howdy Cloud respectively.

Kelly Timberman, the 2004 world champion bareback rider, is smiling at his draw for the final round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tonight. The Mills, WY rodeo superstar will pack his punch on top of Wise Guy – a horse Timberman spurred to a huge score on the finals night at the regular season playoffs in Omaha. Last night in Las Vegas, Kelly matched kicks with the bareback horse Peaches and Cream to score 84.5 and take away third-place cash of $10,000:



The queen of Powder River Rodeo Company from Riverton, WY gets another chance tonight in the NFR final round. Wyoming’s Miss Congeniality had trouble in the chute box her first time out earlier this week. Odds are she’ll redeem herself and present a daunting challenge for bronc rider Bradley Harter. Miss C has a first jump that is a marvel to watch especially for a horse of her size. (We are not insulting her weight. She is just a big girl.) Owner Hank Franzen has a custom-made halter he’ll present to Harter and it will surely bring an anxious smile to the Texas man who’ll be first out in the bronc riding tonight.

Tonight’s finals will air at 9 Mountain Time on ESPN2.