ProRodeo Sports News - November 19, 2021

Making Debuts 21 newcomers will be competing at the 2021 Wrangler NFR

BY JOLEE JORDAN, Special to ProRodeo Sports News T here is nothing quite like walking out onto the dirt of theThomas &Mack Center, taking in the view of the yellow chutes and looking up into the seats that will soon be filled to the rafters at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and knowing you will soon be competing for a share of more than $10 million on that very dirt. Nineteen cowboys and two cowgirls will experience that feeling for the first time when they arrive in Las Vegas in late November in preparation for the 2021Wrangler NFR, Dec. 2-11. The headliner of the field is bull rider J.B. Mauney, who waited longer than most for this moment. He is the oldest of the NFR rookies at 34 years old. “This has been a goal of mine since I was a kid,” Mauney said, “I just never had the opportunity and this year I decided to try it. It was fun. That was the main thing I went back to having fun. As long as I’m having fun, I ride pretty good, and the rest takes care of itself.” Mauney grew up in North Carolina so watching the NFR as a kid was a challenge with the rodeo happening three hours earlier, but he always saw himself eventually climbing down into those yellow chutes. “I’m pumped,” Mauney said. “When I watched the NFR I used to have my alarm clock set when I was in school when I was little because the bull riding came on late. I knew exactly what time the bull riding came on and I had my alarm set for it. I would get up watch the bull riding and go back to bed and go back to sleep and get up and get ready to go school.” Though a NFR rookie, Mauney is one of Western sports’ most recognizable stars, drawing big crowds at every rodeo in which he competed this season. He never lost sight of his childhood goal of making the NFR and got there in 2021 on the strength of big wins like Reno (Nev.) Rodeo and Pikes Peak or Bust in Colorado Springs, Colo. The only question for Mauney will be his health. Following a 90-point round winning ride in Fort Madison, Iowa, back in early September, Mauney was stepped on during the dismount, lacerating his kidney and ending his season. But Mauney is known almost as much for his grit and toughness through injuries as for his ability to conquer the rankest bulls in the business and says he’s ready to go ten rounds in Vegas. “I got on some practice bulls (the week of Nov. 14-21) and I’m getting ramped up to go,” Mauney said. He comes to Vegas ranked sixth in the PRCA

Powered by three wins in the state of Utah during the 2021 ProRodeo season, Dirk Tavenner has his sights on Vegas in December. Hailey Rae photo

said of his chances at a PRCA gold buckle. “I still have a job to do and my job is to ride all 10 of them. I’m healed up and feel good.” On the opposite end of the career spectrum are rookies Cole Franks and Creek Young. The pair of 20-year-olds will head to Vegas in just their first years on the ProRodeo circuit and both have already secured the Resistol Rookie of the Year awards in bareback riding and bull riding, respectively. Young is the highest ranked NFR rookie coming into the Finals; he sits fourth in the bull riding standings. Several first-time qualifiers are breathing the giant sigh of “at last!” in 2021. Steer wrestler Dirk Tavenner has finished inside the top 30 of the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings seven times including hitting the crying hole of 16th a year ago before moving into the NFR qualifier ranks this year. Likewise, bull rider Ruger Piva and tie down roper Justin Smith have been oh so close in the past before finally punching their tickets this year. Piva finished 17th in each of the last two seasons while Smith was 18th and 17th in the same time frame. Of the 21 NFR rookies, 11 compete in the three roughstock events. There are four in both the saddle bronc (Kolby Wanchuk, Tegan Smith, Sage Newman, Ben Anderson) and bull riding (Young, Mauney, Braden Richardson, Piva), the most in any single event.

VEGAS DEBUTS

| RAMWorld Standings after earning $112,300 during the 2021 season but with ground money counting towards standings in the bull riding, a contestant who makes the whistle on a night when everyone else bucks off stands to earn more than $80,000, rendering all leads coming into the Finals at risk. “A lot of things will have to go my way and I don’t wish any bad luck on anybody else,” Mauney

List of first-time qualifiers for 2021 Wrangler NFR: Bareback riding: Garrett Shadbolt, Cole Franks, Zach Hibler Saddle bronc riding: Ben Andersen, Kolby Wanchuck, Tegan Smith, Sage Newman Bull riding: Creek Young, J.B. Mauney, Braden Richardson, Ruger Piva

Steer wrestling: Dirk Tavenner, Cody Devers, Tristan Martin Team ropers: Coy Rahlman, Ross Ashford, Douglas Rich

Tie-down ropers: Justin Smith, John Douch Barrel racing: Amanda Welsh, Molly Otto

DEC. 2-11, 2021

ProRodeo Sports News 11/19/2021

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