ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 21, 2018

WRANGLER NFR TOP STOCK

Northcott Macza’s Get Smart, bucks off eventual saddle bronc riding champion Wade Sundell. Get Smart was named Top Stock at the Wrangler NFR for saddle bronc riding.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by James Phifer

Best of the Best

Top Stock of the Wrangler NFR are aged veterans

BY SCOTT KANIEWSKI T hey aren’t exactly late bloomers, but they sure aren’t young bucks either. This year’s Top Stock of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo turned out to be a salute to the older stock that made the trek to the omas &Mack Center in Las Vegas, Dec. 6-15. Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Killer Bee, 13 years old, was tabbed Top Bareback Horse of the Wrangler NFR; Northcutt Macza’s 16-year-old Get Smart was the Top Saddle Bronc of the Wrangler NFR; and 10-year-old Spotted Demon, of Big Stone Rodeo, Inc., was the Top Bull of the Wrangler NFR. “He (Get Smart) is 16 years old, he’s still got some life in him,” saidWard Macza, of Northcutt Macza. “So, there’s still hope for old guys like me.” In Round 4, Get Smart bucked offWade Sundell, who went on to win the world championship. In Round 9, he bucked off Sterling Crawley. “He (Get Smart) has had a really good year all year,” said Macza, who also had Spilled Perfume tabbed second in the bareback riding topWrangler NFR stock. “I’m very surprised he threw offWade Sundell. I’m really good friends withWade. When he (Get Smart) threw him off I was pretty impressed. He

looked like he was a lot younger than he actually is.” It wasn’t the first honor for Spotted Demon and likely won’t be the last. The 1,800-pound bull also won the 2018 PendletonWhisky “Let ’er Buck” Stock of the Year Award. No PRCA bull rider managed a qualified ride on Spotted Demon during the 2018 regular season, and that trend continued into the Finals, as the bull bucked off Garrett Tribble in Round 2 and took care of Boudreaux Campbell in Round 9. “The bull is 10 years old,” said Bruce Sunstrum, of Big Stone Rodeo, Inc. “It’s taken him a while. He’s always been good, but the older he gets the better he’s gotten. It’s quite an accomplishment for that bull. Bucking against the best in the world, it’s pretty darn good.” Sunstrum can’t wait for the day a bull rider covers the whistle on Spotted Demon. “We really, really want the big score,” Sunstrum said. “Bucking people off is fine, but the big scores are the best. You know how the crowd reacts if you’re a 92 or 93 score, you get a lot more publicity when they ride than when they buck off.” Killer Bee has been honored before, too. The mare that was hand-fed as a filly, was the 2013 and 2014 Top Saddle Bronc of the Wrangler NFR. This year, Beutler and Son Rodeo moved her back to buck in bareback

ProRodeo Sports News 12/21/2018

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