ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 21, 2018

SADDLE BRONC

AVERAGE WINNER

Winning Round 10 with a 92-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman put CoBurn Bradshaw at the top of the average with 848.5 points on 10 head. Bradshaw was the only saddle bronc rider to cover all 10 of his rides at his fourth consecutive Wrangler NFR.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Phil Doyle

Feel the Burn: CoBurn Bradshaw goes 10-for-10

BY MATT NABER C oBurn Bradshaw was the only saddle bronc rider to cover all 10 of his broncs at the 2018Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. “Shoot, I’ve tried for it every year, but I stayed calmer and I’ve been here before, so I didn’t get worked up and overthink things,” Bradshaw said. “It’s a dream come true, and I hope to do it multiple times. This is the next best thing you can do aside from winning the world title.” Bradshaw, who ranked between third and sixth place for every round except the second, tied the Wrangler NFR average record with 848.5 points on 10 head. Jesse Wright set the record in 2011. “I was really happy with how I felt,” Bradshaw said of his mind-set before each round. “I wasn’t overthinking anything and wasn’t nervous before any of the rounds. It’s always in the back of your head and you can feel it in your gut, but I hope I mastered it. I made it up in my mind that I wouldn’t let it bother me.”​ The Utah cowboy ended the Wrangler NFR with a bang, winning the final round with a 92-point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman, the Saddle Bronc of the Year in 2011, 2014-16. “I just drew my dream horse, Medicine Woman, and I rode her as good as I wanted to, well, as good as I planned anyway,” Bradshaw said. “I knew she would perform and hoped I would perform as good as I knew she would.” Just like the cowboy riding her, Medicine Woman has a reputation for success at theThomas &Mack Center, winning top saddle bronc of the

Wrangler NFR honors in 2010 and 2015. Sterling Crawley won Round 5 on her in 2017 with an 89-point ride. Bradshaw entered the 2018Wrangler NFR ranked 11th with $89,325. The $167,385 he earned on 10 rides brought him up to fourth in the 2018 PRCA | RAMWorld Standings with $256,710. “The money, the environment, the horses, the caliber of guys you are with – it all just comes together and makes for the greatest rodeo around,” Bradshaw said. “Good or bad, it’s always good to be here because you could be home watching it on the couch.” Bradshaw’s brother-in-law, Jake Wright, and nephews Rusty and Ryder Wright also had their share of success at the Wrangler NFR. All three earned at least $64,000 during the Finals, with Rusty making more than $130,000. Collectively, the four cowboys won $908,817 in 2018 – $448,904 of which came from the Wrangler NFR. “It went well for everyone,” Bradshaw said. “There was some rough luck, but you really can’t have a bad week here, and they rode awesome. A lot of strange things happened at the NFR. We have to have a record for how many 90s we had at the NFR. It’s been an awesome rodeo to watch and the best NFR I have ever seen as far as horses and scores.” Bradshaw isn’t taking much time off after the 60th annual Wrangler NFR, as he’s set to compete at Denver in January. “It’s freaking awesome, you can’t even explain how it feels,” Bradshaw said. “It’s awesome to be here, let alone win here and get the average. Now that’s one off the checklist. I guess next is to win a world title.”

ProRodeo Sports News 12/21/2018

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