ProRodeo Sports News - April 28, 2023

RED BLUFF, CALIF.

RED BLUFF ROUND-UP

Gaining Traction

Rusty Wright overcomes injury-plagued 2022 season to take win in Red Bluff BY BRADY RENCK, Special to ProRodeo Sports News

I t is a sobering wrinkle of sports at the highest level. An athlete rings every calorie out in workouts, commits to the process, receives the awards, then in a blink, excellence becomes compromised by injuries. Saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright has reluctantly lived this scenario. A five-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, his world turned upside down when he struggled to stand up a year ago. Last April, he jumped off a horse, landed firm, but his ankle and fibula broke. Ten months later, Wright returned at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver in January. “It wasn’t until December I could even get on a horse. I had some previous knee problems when I broke my leg. They put a rod in there and had to go through my knee. I developed some knee problems and had surgery in November,” Wright explained. “It was a long road back.” Wright, 27, blended resilience and excellence at the recent Red Bluff (Calif.) Round-Up. He won the competition, delivering an 87-point ride on Rosser Rodeo’s Yeti Rambler. For a rider with his resume, this might have barely registered in years past. Not now. Not with everything Wright has endured, his days measured in aches and grimaces. “This means the world after what happened last year. I came back, but it was rough going, nothing like I wanted or expected,” Wright admitted. “That horse, I knew he was going to buck. But when you don’t do well for so long, you start to doubt yourself. This ride put the kibosh on that. This is a huge confidence booster. I am not doubting myself anymore I can tell you that.” Wright qualified for the NFR in 2015 and 2016 and three straight years starting in 2018. But missing out in 2021 stung – he finished 25th in the world standings – a miss amplified by last April’s season-ending injury. One win does not define a season, but the traction puts Wright back on the road to Las Vegas. However, he refuses to take anything for granted in his pursuit of the sport’s biggest stage. “It’s about getting on practice horses in between events. Consistency is the key in this game. Big long breaks, as I have experienced, don’t treat you very good. It’s about moving forward and keeping a positive mindset,” Wright said. “The mental game is huge in this sport, staying in the right head space. I know I have it in me. It would really mean a lot to get back to the NFR after not going the past couple of years. I feel like I deserve to be there where I ride well. I know I have the ability to be in the Top 15, and I feel like I can win it when I get there. But I have to keep working.” Rolling up sleeves is part of the Wright family’s DNA. They are as synonymous with rodeo as the Mannings are with football. Having that infrastructure is powerful. “That’s a huge part of all our successes, mine, my brothers, and uncles. When I am not doing good you know somebody in the family is doing well, and you feed off their mentality,” Wright said. “You might be down, but you won’t be for long when you are around winners and hanging around winners.” Listening to Wright’s voice, it is impossible not to notice his belief. His season is turning, and after all the months of pain, his smile has returned. “Honestly, I love the winning, obviously. My favorite thing is being out there with my brothers, with my family,” Wright said. “It is taxing mentally and physically. You must picture that pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow. With all my setbacks the last few years, it makes winning Red Bluff that much sweeter.”

TOP MONEY EARNER Blane Cox TOP SCORES

($8,989, tie down roper) BAREBACK RIDING

Cox

1. Danny Proffit.......................... 90 pts. 2. Kaycee Feild................................... 87 3. Two tied at ................................. 86.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Bridger Anderson........ 18.6 sec. on 4 2. Justin Shaffer............................. 19.9 3. Jesse Brown............................... 20.3 TEAM ROPING 1. A. Ward/B. Hawkins II...27.0 sec. on 4 2. J. Dees/R. Ashford.......................28.6 3. B. Pirrung/L. Siggins...................32.1 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Rusty Wright.......................... 87 pts. 2. Allen Boore.................................... 86 (Tie) Zeke Thurston........................86 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Blane Cox.................... 39.9 sec. on 4 2. Tom Crouse................................ 42.0 3. Reese Riemer............................. 42.6 BARREL RACING 1. Payton Schoeppach....34.54 sec. on 2 2. Loni Kay Yates.......................... 34.64 3. Sissy Winn................................34.80 BULL RIDING 1. Tristen Hutchings.................... 90 pts. 2. JC Mortensen................................ 87 3. Ky Hamilton................................ 86.5

Complete results/Page 51

Fernando Sam-Sin photo

Rusty Wright had an 87-point ride on Rosser Rodeo’s Yeti Rambler to win the Red Bluff Round-Up. Wright is trying to get back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time since 2020.

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 4/28/2023

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