ProRodeo Sports News | 2020 Year-End Edition | Dec.18, 2020

SADDLE BRONC AVERAGE WINNER

Ryder Wright was the only saddle bronc rider to cover all 10 horses at this year’s Wrangler NFR. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Clay Guardipee

More Than Average

Ryder Wright covers 10 to win average

BY SCOTT KANIEWSKI R yder Wright’s plan wasn’t to capture the saddle bronc riding average. He wasn’t even worried about the average. For Wright, the better strategy was to go after go- round wins. And when you can win half the 10 rounds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, it’s a good strategy to have. Wright won four rounds outright and split the win in Round 10 to lead to winning the average with 876.5 points on 10 head. He was the only saddle bronc rider this year to cover all 10 horses. That average earned him a $67,269 boost in the world standings to help him lock up his second world title and first since 2017. He finished the season atop the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $358,471, a record in saddle bronc riding for most money won in a year including the NFR.

“Wyatt came in with a huge lead,” Wright said. “So I’m not going to say I was riding for the average, because I wasn’t. I was riding for go-rounds. Go-rounds pay a lot more (cumulatively) than the average does, but that was a huge part of tonight. It was super close. I drew super good, and I was lucky enough to ride as well as I did.” Wright won Rounds 2, 4, 6 and 8 outright, then

put away all doubt of who would be the world champion when he posted a 91-point ride aboard Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Big Tex to split Round 10 with his brother Stetson. His outright wins were rides of 90 (Round 2), 89.5 (Round 4), 90.5 (Round 6) and 88 (Round 8). Winning five rounds tied him with Billy Etbauer (1992, 1999, 2005), Dan Mortensen (1998) and himself (2016) for most go-round wins at a single NFR. Etbauer and Mortensen are in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. “If you win 10 go-rounds, nobody’s going to beat you in the average,” Wright said. “So that’s what (his brothers) Rusty, Stetson and I were all shooting for – go-round wins.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/18/2020

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