ProRodeo Sports News - November 17, 2023

TEAM ROPING HEELER New Position After eight trips, Thorp enters atop Wrangler NFR for first time

BY TANNER BARTH W esley Thorp has National Finals Rodeo, he’ll be making his eighth trip to Las Vegas in 2023. The one thing he hasn’t experienced at the Thomas & Mack Center is going in as the No. 1 ranked team roping heeler in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. After a strong regular season, he’ll do just that this December. Thorp began his 2023 season roping with longtime heeler Cody Snow before each cowboy found a new partner in mid-April. That’s when Thorp teamed up with friend and fellow NFR qualifier Tyler Wade. The duo hit their stride at just the right time. “Cody and I had a decent winter. We didn’t do anything crazy, but we won some pretty nice checks at the bigger rodeos,” said Thorp, the 2019 PRCA World Champion Heeler. “I didn’t rodeo a ton this spring. plenty of experience at the Wrangler

2023 TEAM ROPING HEELER STANDINGS

1. Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas......... $172,153 2. Junior Nogueira, Pres. Prudente, Brazil ...... 160,145 3. Colter Todd, Willcox, Ariz............................. 153,283 4. Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D................................. 138,348 5. Logan Medlin, Tatum, N.M.......................... 133,487 6. Jeremy Buhler, Arrowwood, Alberta............ 123,484 7. Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo............................. 120,005 8. Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas.......................... 118,706 9. Buddy Hawkins II, Stephenville, Texas........ 114,765 10. Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan......................... 114,024 11. Paden Bray, Stephenville, Texas.................... 98,556 12. Hunter Koch, Vernon, Texas......................... 97,752 13. Cole Curry, Liberty, Miss............................... 94,987 14. Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla........................... 94,909 15. Tyler Worley, Berryville, Ark.......................... 93,983

FROM THE CHAMP

“All the years that I’ve been out there I’ve roped pretty good,” said Nogueira, a three-time PRCA World Champion. “We had such a big lead coming into the Finals in 2022 that we were just trying to stay hooked and stay alive in the average.

For the first time in his career, team roping heeler Wesley Thorp will enter the Wrangler NFR No. 1 in the world with $172,153. His lone gold buckle came back in 2019. Jake Link photo photo

gold buckle.

best I can. Then we can see where we end up.” The 2023 NFR field is loaded with world champions, five to be exact. It’ll come down to who performs the best for those 10 nights under the lights. It is a really tight race and there’s a lot of people that are pretty close together,” Thorp said. “With what the Finals pay it doesn’t really take much to catch up either. It’s anybody’s ball game really. You just have to kind of hope it goes your way and do the best you can on the opportunities you get.”

“I have never gone into the NFR No. 1 before, but I’ve rodeoed just long enough to realize how it can go the other way just as easily in Las Vegas,” he said. “I would say there was probably a time where it might’ve changed the perception for me. “But now, it doesn’t really have an impact on me. You have to do your job one way or another. You can end up on the bottom just as easily as you can make it to the top. I just need to focus, taking things one steer at a time the

QUOTABLE “About mid-July or the week of Spanish Fork (Utah) is when it really turned on for us. From there on it kind of seemed like the momentum kept going our way and the horses were working well. We were able to draw good and have things fall our way at the right spots at the end of the year.” – Wesley Thorp

Nogueira

It came down to that last steer, where we had to catch to win a world championship and we were able to do it. It’s something you dream of from a young age.” – Junior Nogueira

“Then about mid-July or the week of Spanish Fork (Utah) is when it really turned on for us. From there on it kind of seemed like the momentum kept going our way and the horses were working well. We were able to draw good and have things fall our way at the right spots at the end of the year.” Thorp wrapped up the 2023 season with $172,153, the most of any team roper. He believes going into Vegas No. 1 doesn’t change a thing. It will still have to be business as usual if he wants to come home with his second

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

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