ProRodeo Sports News - Sept. 7, 2018

Wilderness Circuit is perfect fit for bareback rider BY TRACY RENCK F amily first – that’s howMorganWilde lives his life. He devotes it to his wife, Amber, and three children – sons, Shade, 8, and Rekker, 5, and daughter Quincee, 2. His primary job is being an electrician. In his spare time, Wilde, 30, is a PRCA bareback rider and a darn good one. He competes in the Wilderness Circuit, where he was sitting third with $18,059 as of Sept. 4. He’s behind Caleb Bennett ($56,070), a six-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier, and four-time world champion Kaycee Feild ($37,164). “This season has been pretty good,” Wilde said. “I can’t complain at all.” Wilde won the Lehi (Utah) Roundup with an 83.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Sweet Child to take the title and earn $1,501. He collected his best payday when he finished second at the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo in Vernal, Utah, earning $2,138. The biggest highlight of Wilde’s career came in 2014 when he qualified for the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Okla. He had a solid performance, placing third in Round 1 with an 81-point ride and winning $2,468. “That was a great time,”Wilde said. “I know I would love to go back to the RAMNational Circuit Finals in Kissimmee (Fla.). Getting to Kissimmee would be a great accomplishment. I’m on a different playing field with these guys. I just try to rodeo as much as I can while being a family guy. So, the Circuit Finals is a big deal for me. It’s like going to a mini NFR.” To get to the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, April 4-7, 2019, Wilde must either win the Wilderness Circuit year-end title or capture the average crown at the RAMWilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo, in Heber City, Utah, Nov. 1-3. “Morgan rides outstandingly, and he’s one of the toughest guys I know,” said Ethan McNeill, Wilde’s longtime friend and traveling partner. “He’s always been someone who I looked up to. He’s one of those Family Man

Bareback rider Morgan Wilde had an 83.5-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Sweet Child to capture the title at the Lehi (Utah) Roundup, June 30. James Fain photo

ProRodeo Sports News 9/7/2018

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