ProRodeo Sports News - July 22, 2022

NFR OPEN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

BY TRACY RENCK & TANNER BARTH

Team ropers Blake Hirdes/Dalton Pearce weren’t the fastest competitors in the first and second round or the semifinals. However, they were when it mattered most. Hirdes/Pearce clocked a 5.3-second time to win the four team sudden-death finals and take-home top honors at the NFR Open. The partners left town after earning $11,430 each. “This is awesome, and it counts toward the (PRCA | RAM World Standings) so it is a pretty good boost to a guy’s year, especially at this time of the year,” Pearce said. “Winning this kind of money gives us a reason to keep going. There was just so much money available here. It is just awesome. I would say I was less nervous here than other rodeos just because there was so much money and it seemed easier to win if you drew good.” Hirdes wasn’t overthinking his team’s plan in the final four. “We knew we had a good steer and we just wanted to get a really good start,” Hirdes said. “We made a good run and it all worked out. I had never been a national champion before. I have come close before, so it was great to win.” Hirdes/Pearce were sixth in the second round and fourth in the two-head average at 14.8 seconds. In the eight-team semis, they took the fourth and final slot with a 6.6-second run. Team ropers Hirdes/Pearce take the title

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson Braidy Randolph secured the biggest win of his PRCA career with an 86-point ride on Brookman Rodeo’s Grand Slam in the NFR Open finals. Braidy Randolph has career-best performance Second-year PRCA bull rider Braidy Randolph arrived at the inaugural NFR Open powered by RAMwith $9,000 in season earnings. That total took a jolt at the Norris Penrose Event Center, thanks to Randolph’s career-best performance in Colorado Springs, Colo. Randolph won the four-man sudden-death round with an 86-point ride on Brookman Rodeo’s Grand Slam. He was the only cowboy to make the whistle in the finals. Randolph left Colorado Springs after earning $19,155. “This is nuts,” said Randolph, 21. “This is the second biggest finals you can go to and even win. To be first one to win it is pretty special because that will go down in history. To win the very first one, everyone will remember it and that’s pretty cool.” Randolph said there was no secret to his outstanding effort in the Olympic City. “I just stayed calm and relaxed, and I believed in myself that I could get it done,” Randolph said. “It worked out and I’m tickled to death. A win like this can definitely help me get to the (NFR) and give me money to go because it is not cheap trying to ProRodeo.” In the eight-man semifinals for the bull riders, no one made the whistle. That resulted in the top four bull riders in the two-head average – Jeff Askey, Randolph, StetsonWright, and AaronWilliams moving on to the final four final round. Randolph kicked the rodeo off right by winning the first round with an 87-point ride on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Night Show to earn $5,688.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

Dalton Pearce and Blake Hirdes won their first national championship at the NFR Open, July 16. They left Colorado Springs with $11,430 each.

Kyle Irwin knows what it takes to win a national championship, he captured the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo title in 2014 but hadn’t return to the prestigious winner’s circle since. That all changed during his most recent trip to Colorado Springs, Colo. for the inaugural NFR Open powered by RAM. Sparked by a strong performance in the semifinals, Irwin captured the NFR Open title in the four-man finals with a 3.8-second run. His time was a full second faster than second place finisher Cade Staton. He said circuit rodeoing has always held a special place in his heart. “I believe in the circuit system,” said Irwin, 32. “I like these finals a lot and I’ve always tried to qualify for it. Colorado Springs went above and beyond this year. This is a lot of momentum that we need going into the end of July and the first of August. So, I couldn’t be happier with how it all played out.” He admits headed into the finals the nerves were still there, but once he backed into the box it was all about trusting his preparation. “You know I’ve made the four-man round two other times in my career at the circuit finals and I always came back first, so I had to put the pressure on,” he said. “This is the first time to ever get to go last.” Irwin earned $15,354 in Colorado Springs, bumping him up to 10th in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. He said the win not only gives him so much needed momentum headed into a crucial stretch of the season, but it helps outside the arena as well. Irwin adds another title in steer wresting

A 3.8-second run in the finals clinched Kyle Irwin’s second national championship at the NFR Open in

Colorado Springs,

Colo., July 16. Brian Gauck photo

ProRodeo Sports News 7/22/2022

ProRodeo Sports News 7/22/2022

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