ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 20, 2024

Never Out Of It

BY ALEX DODD D ean Thompson needed everything to go his way in Round 10 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge. It did. The two-time NFR qualifier entered the final day of competition fourth in PRCA | RAM World Standings. And recorded an 88.5-point ride on J Bar J’s Straight Stick to finish second in the final go. When the dust settled, the ride proved enough to propel him to the top, earning Thompson his first PRCA World Championship and NFR Average Championship. “Like I said all week, people say you’re in the hunt for the world title right now, and it kind of shocks me that they didn’t know I was already in the hunt from Round 1,” Thompson said. “But it’s a different thing when it all works out. You almost can’t even imagine it.” Thompson put himself in contention for a gold buckle with an impressive regular season. He reached the NFR for the second time thanks to several big wins including at Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days, the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede and the Sisters (Ore.) Rodeo. At the end of the regular season, he landed in Las Vegas fourth in the standings with $172,197, trailing the world leader Rocker Steiner by $61,122. But with round wins paying nearly $34,000 at the NFR, the race for a championship was wide open. After placing in each of the first five rounds – and sharing the Round 5 win with Bradlee Miller – Thompson’s hopes of winning the world became more concrete. In the final five rounds, he placed three times and won Round 9 – finishing atop the average with 854.5 points on 10 head to best Cole Franks (853.5 on 10). Thompson finished the season with $412,121, besting Steiner by $17,934 to earn his first world championship. “People used to smile at me when I said I wanted to be a world champion bareback rider with that knowing look in their eye that it would never happen,” Thompson said. “I’ve just got to say, ‘Hey, I made it.’ And a lot of people I know are just as proud as I am right now.” Thompson competed in 14 go-rounds at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge without winning a round buckle. Six days later, Thompson added the ultimate prize to his trophy case, a PRCA World Championship and the NFR Average Championship. “I waited 14 rounds to win my first go-round win,” Thompson said. “To come back here for a completely different buckle is so much better. It’s 10 years worth of work. 10 years worth of dreaming.” Thompson wins first world title in second NFR appearance

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

ProRodeo Sports News 12/20/2024

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