ProRodeo Sports News 2022 Wrangler NFR Preview Issue

SADDLE BRONC RIDING

New Era

Kade Bruno will be making his Wrangler NFR debut in 2022 after finishing the regular season ninth in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

Youth movement takes over saddle bronc riding battle BY TANNER BARTH H istory will be made in the saddle bronc riding at the 2022Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge as a youth movement takes over the Thomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas. There will not be a single contestant in the field of saddle bronc riders that is over the age of 28. It will mark the first time in the 63-year history of the NFR that no cowboy 30 years or older has qualified for the Finals in the event. Billy Etbauer, a five-time PRCAWorld Champion Saddle Bronc Rider and ProRodeo Hall of Famer, said the youth movement isn’t a surprise with the direction the sport has been headed in the last decade. “I think as time goes along guys are beginning to take it a little more serious and put everything they have into it,” said Etbauer, a 21-time NFR qualifier. “You can actually do this and make a living now. I’m just glad that there’s enough cowboys out there that are wanting to actually do that, and they can fill it up with a bunch of young kids that are hungry to have success.” A perfect example of that is 22-year-old Kade Bruno, who will be making his NFR debut in 2022. He finished the ProRodeo regular season ninth in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings after earning $137,726. He believes the willingness of young cowboys to rodeo from coast-to-coast year-round has something to do with it. “There’s a bunch of good young guys going down the road right now and it’s getting extremely competitive,” Bruno said. “There’s a bunch of kids coming straight out of college and even straight out of high school in some cases that are extremely talented. They are willing to go to the 100 rodeos a year or whatever it takes to make an NFR. “90 percent of us don’t have families at this young age. So, we aren’t worried about having to run home. We can just stay on the road and go to even more than most guys. I think that’s also a reason why you’re seeing younger people at this year’s Finals.” Sage Newman, the No. 1 ranked saddle bronc rider in the world headed into the NFR, is just 24 years old. Newman said in today’s rodeo world there are countless opportunities

Spurred by his $57,750 win at RodeoHouston, Sage Newman heads into the NFR as the top-ranked saddle bronc rider in the world. Alaina Stangle photo

for young cowboys to get their foot in the door and they are taking advantage. “I help put on a Broncs, Bulls, and Bible School in November,” said Newman, a two-time Wrangler NFR qualifier. “We get 20 kids that show up to that school and it’s amazing to see young kids wanting to learn, I think that goes a long way toward what we are seeing today. “There’s a lot of opportunities in rodeo itself. There’s a lot of money up for grabs. So, I think everybody is taking it a little more serious and it’s a great time to be in it right now.” Etbauer believes the exposure the sport receives now has only expedited the growth and popularity amongst the younger generation.

“I think the exposure has definitely helped grow the sport a lot,” he said. “If you sit there and watch it every day you can start to think, you know I can do that. When I was growing up, we had five channels on the TV, you never saw anything about rodeo. “You just went up to your local rodeo once a year and that was it. You didn’t see everything that they were doing and everything that was going on in the world of rodeo onThe Cowboy Channel. "I’m just glad that it’s the way it is right now, with everybody knowing more about the cowboys and what they’re doing and what they do to get to where they are at.” It’s a movement the cowboys don’t see slowing down anytime soon with

more young talent on the way into the ProRodeo ranks. The average age of the saddle bronc riders at the Finals in 2022 is 25, setting the stage for the trend to continue. “I truly don’t see it slowing anytime soon,” Bruno said. “I think this is the beginning of an era that maybe will be considered the best ever with the number of young guys we have going. I think it’s going to be something really special to watch through the next five to 10 years.” And the young guns are ready to put on a show, Dec. 1-10 at theThomas &Mack Center in Las Vegas. “I’m healthy and in my prime,” Newman said. “I can’t wait to see what all these young guys do at the NFR. It should be a lot of fun.”

ProRodeo Sports News 11/18/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 11/18/2022

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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