Short Pay

Friday’s trips to the pay window for Wyoming contestants in this 50th national finals were few and of the four-figure variety. Kelly Timberman split fifth & sixth in bareback riding to take $3,500 back to his hotel room. Lance Creek’s Jason Miller remained solid in the average with a run of 4.1 seconds winning $2,700. Miller is second in his aggregate total and a good finish tonight assures the family will be able to buy a lot of hay for the winter. Barring bad luck for Luke Branquinho, it is another gold buckle year for Jason’s traveling partner and closest friend.

Bobby Can Win

Gillette, Wyoming bull rider Bobby Welsh stayed on for a low score last night but as we’ve said a few times now, any score is a good one in the current state of national finals bull riding competition. Bulls throw the men off short of eight seconds more times than not. Welsh once again chose not to take a re-ride option and heads into tonight poised for a legitimate shot at a world championship. Chance Smart is up by less than $30K and is well behind Welsh in the average. J.W. Harris also has a chance to beat Chance. Therefore as exhibited in the best, and most exciting, finals it will come down to the last three rides.

Ty Stops By

Twenty years ago I stood on the old, rickety press deck at Cheyenne Frontier Days with a 19-year-old from Stephenville, Texas who had rodeo in his blood and dreamed of one day wearing a world champion’s gold buckle. Ten years later he’d won nine buckles; two in bull riding and a lucky seven All-Around titles. He is justly referred to today as “The King of the Cowboys.” I saw Ty Murray again last night as the Thomas & Mack Center crowd greeted several past All-Around Champions. There stood Dean Oliver, Larry Mahan, Joe Beaver and so many more of the biggest names in rodeo history. And when Ty came out from behind the smoke, the fans erupted. Ty was gracious enough to share some time with us afterward and said he still gauges the sport he loves by how it is perceived by the rest of us. “Rodeo’s making some good strides. I always look at this sport from a fans’ standpoint. We’re still seeing the great cowboys. We’re still seeing the tough competitors. Getting to watch a guy like Trevor Brazile; that’s inspiring. To see a guy that’s not only good but is that dedicated and works that hard at it,” Murray told us. My good friend, camera guru Mike, put together more of our interview with Ty and you can click below to both hear and see it. I have to admit my comfort level with Ty remains fine but his wife, Jewel, standing there next to us did give my normally calm nature some jitters. She is, I think, one of the most gifted singer/songwriters and poets of her – or any – era.

A Salute to LeDoux

The dedications have been many at the 50th annual national finals rodeo. Last night’s big-screen acknowledgment of Chris LeDoux would certainly rank up there for Wyoming folks and really everyone who loves rodeo and how Chris represented the sport and the American West to the world. You can click on the video clip below to absorb some of that special moment.