ProRodeo Sports News - May 4, 2018

Event winner Will McBride (second from left) poses with his championship buckle while being joined by (from left) NCFSR committee co- chairman Larry Schaneman, PRCA CEO George Taylor, committee co-chairman Blair Newman and committee member Mac McKiney.

PRCA ProRodeo Photo by Fred McClanahan Jr.

to choose family over rodeo. I’m tickled for him, but I’m not surprised at all, Will is always competitive and always ready to win. If you open the door, he’ll be there.” McBride’s no stranger to success. In 2005, he claimed the average title at the Mountain States Circuit Finals Steer Roping. Two years later, in 2007, he won the year-end steer roping title for the Mountain States and finished 29th in the world standings with $11,291. The Nebraska cowboy has held on strong and stayed consistent since, finishing 26th in the world standings in 2015. McBride would have qualified for the NCFSR several times, but he didn’t meet the requirements due to the difficulties that come with living in western Nebraska while competing in the Mountain States Circuit, which is in Colorado andWyoming. “I had to go to all the rodeos and couldn’t miss any rodeos in the Mountain Circuit,” McBride said. “I live 12 miles from the Colorado line, but the way they are set up it’s easier for me to go there.” BATTLING ELEMENTS FORTHEWIN Winter was longer and harsher than usual for McBride, so he didn’t get to practice on horseback until the Wednesday before the NCFSR. “There was too much snow and too much rain, so I’d been roping a dummy on the ground,” McBride said. “I wasn’t feeling rusty coming into here, but I knew if I tied some steers down I would get back in the groove.” McBride placed fourth in the first round with

“I’m not surprised, I’ll tell you that,” Tillard said of McBride winning the NCFSR. “Will’s a winner and he works hard, and he just ties steers down when he needs to. As good as Tuf Cooper roped all week, he (McBride) went at it as good as he could in the finals.” McBride was competing on his 18-year-old, American Quarter Horse named 8 Bills – a fitting name considering he was bought at a horse sale for $800 about 13 years ago. His investment came back more than eight-fold at the NCFSR, as 8 Bills and McBride netted $8,807. McBride almost didn’t come across 8 Bills. He didn’t know there was a horse sale that day until he found out from his neighbor, Troy Pruitt – the 1990 tie-down roping world champion and eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. McBride wasn’t planning to attend the sale, but he stopped by when he ran out of oxygen for his cutting torch. Fate was on his side, as 8 Bills carried him to winning the RAM Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo in 2016 and then leading the circuit in 2017 to qualify for the NCFSR. “He’s highly intelligent and extremely athletic, and he’s real honest,” McBride said. “He’s just a freakish athlete, as far as a horse goes.” As for how this win impacts his approach to the rest of the 2018 season, McBride wasn’t sure. He is focused on taking his nephew, Tate, to a youth rodeo this weekend. “That put the pressure off, so I could relax and rope,” McBride said.

a 12.9-second run, and although he didn’t place high in the following five rounds, he remained within the Top 8 in the average and qualified for the semifinals. Unlike many ProRodeo events, the slate is wiped clean for the semifinals and the finals at the NCFSR. “I knew I needed to get the first six tied down before you get anything else, and then it’s anyone’s game,” McBride said. McBride tied with Tuf Cooper for first place in the semifinals at 10.2 seconds to advance to the finals. With three other cowboys in the finals, tension was high. McBride was the only roper to make a qualified run at 11.2 seconds.

RECORD SETTER Tuf Cooper set two records at his first NCFSR. Cooper set the NCFSR record for fastest average on six head (70.2 seconds) and fastest average on seven head (80.4 seconds). NCFSR RESULTS Complete results on Page 52

SEMIFINAL ROUND 1. (tie) Tuf Cooper 10.2 sec. Will McBride 10.2

FINAL ROUND 1. Will McBride 11.2

3. Chris Glover 11.2 4. Vin Fisher Jr. 11.9

No other qualified runs

ProRodeo Sports News 5/4/18

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