ProRodeo Sports News - Jan. 7, 2022

EDITOR’S LETTER TRACY RENCK Looking back at 2021 NFR, moving forward to 2022

T he 2021Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge is in the rear-view mirror. The 10 days of competition were action-packed before a full house each night at theThomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was a triumphant return to Vegas after the 2020 Wrangler NFR took place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The NFR had been staged at theThomas &. Mack Center at UNLV since 1985, but the venue was not available in 2020 for live entertainment with fans due to the coronavirus restrictions in Nevada. The 2021 NFR smashed numerous records and left many lasting memories. One thing is for sure – StetsonWright is the current King of Cowboys. Wright, 22, won his third consecutive all- around world title and added his inaugural saddle bronc world crown in 2021. The Milford, Utah, cowboy has five career world titles – he was the bull riding champ in 2020 – and shows no signs of slowing down. Hopefully cowboys and ProRodeo fans were able to recharge during the holiday season and recover from injuries as best they could because the 2022 PRCA season is well underway. It began on Oct. 1. Know this about the PRCA season – it is not a sprint, but a marathon. It’s all about getting one of the coveted Top 15 spots in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. World titles are won in at the NFR because of the money

in a row. To reach the PRCA summit like Feild, contestants must be part of the journey. The chase for 2022 gold buckles has resumed as the winter rodeos are heating up the schedule. The Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, began Jan. 6 and concludes Jan. 15. The Odessa rodeo sets the stage for the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo in Denver. The Mile High City has played host to the storied rodeo since 1946 and it returns in 2022 after the rodeo was canceled in 2021 because of COVID-19. Contestants will be competing for their share of the strong purse as they try and give their 2022 seasons a jolt. Sandwiched during the National Western Stock Show & Rodeo is the first Division 1 Xtreme Bulls event of the season in Fort Worth, Texas, at Dickies Arena, Jan. 18-19, with a $45,000 added purse. The event was canceled a year ago because of COVID-19. Reigning and seven-time world champion bull rider Sage Kimzey is the defending Xtreme Bulls Tour champ and is aiming to win his sixth Xtreme Bulls Tour crown in eight years. The Division 1 Xtreme Bulls event leads into the return of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, Jan. 21 through Feb. 5. It was canceled in 2021 – yes because of COVID-19. The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is coming back in a big way as it will pay out more than $1 million to contestants.

Tracy Renck is the editor of the ProRodeo

Sports News . He previously served more than seven years as a media coordinator at the PRCA. He has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last several consumed by ProRodeo.

up for grabs. Last month in Vegas – not counting ground money – reigning bareback riding world champ Kaycee Feild earned a rodeo-best $231,564. Feild has won a PRCA record six bareback riding world titles and two

Fans, like cowboys, need to sit back and enjoy the ride that will culminate at the 2022Wrangler NFR presented by Teton Ridge at the Thomas &Mack Center in Vegas, Dec. 1-10.

ProRodeo Sports News 1/7/2022

ProRodeo.com

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