World Champions Are Crowned At The 2016 WNFR Comes To A Close

On a night that has history-making moments that could happen on a multitude of different levels the tenth round of the 2016 Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was full of hype and anticipation.  Every year as the tenth round comes we honor the last night of the 2016 season with our “Gold Night” tribute which is also our Wrangler National Patriot Night here at the Thomas & Mack.  The sold-out crowd of an amazing 17,153 fans filled the Thomas & Mack Arena to capacity in the chance that they might just witness history as the 2016 PRCA and WPRA seasons come to a close following tonight’s round.

There is a huge chance in six of the seven events that history could be made here on a cool Saturday night in Las Vegas.  Along with those chances in every event other than cowgirl’s barrel racing is the race of the All-Around title that is still very much up for grabs on many levels.  Only $2,500 separates the number one man, team roping header Dustin Bird, and the number two man steer wrestler Clayton Haas.  Along with those two, there are still another three contestants that have a viable shot at winning that title as well.  That being said, tonight should be a round for the record books!  All things were about to begin once the talented Andy Griggs lead us in our nation’s National Anthem

R.C. Landingham Takes Home The Last Go Round Win At The 2016 WNFR

PRCA Photo By Greg Westfall

Throughout nine nights of bareback riding action the fifteen top cowboys in the world have competed and been bruised and battered on their quest to the tenth round of the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.  The chase for the event average title as well as the World Championship title has been set in their sites for the last nine nights of competition but that would all come to an end tonight as the tenth and final round began here inside of the Thomas & Mack Arena.

Even though the main focus of the tenth and final round is that of the event average title and the world championship race, we can not forget about the actual go-round win and almost $24,000 that goes along with it.  Tonight, once the final buck out of the 2016 season was over there would be a total of 14 of the top fifteen that would manage to earn a score but only one man would come out on top in round ten.  Tonight that would be a California cowboy R.C. Landingham after earning an 88.50 point ride aboard Picket Rodeo’s Top Flight.

Cody Wright Brings Home The Last Round Win At The 2016 WNFR

PRCA Photo By Greg Westfall

In the classic cowboy event of saddle bronc riding a young rookie phenom has taken the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by storm with his success here this year.  Young 18-year-old Ryder Wright made history just 24-hours ago after becoming the first WNFR rookie in the history of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association to ever win five rounds at the WNFR.  Tonight he was on a quest to make in number six and soar to the top of the Top Gun standings and make a run at the world championship title.

Tonight all would come down to one last eight second ride to see how things would play out in the end.  Keeping that in mind, there was still one more go-round to win which could have huge implications on the average title and the world championship race.  Tonight the man that would stand taller than all others on go-round number ten would be a fan favorite cowboy by the name of Cody Wright who did what had to be done to earn an 90.50 point ride aboard Beutler & Son’s Wound Up for the tenth round win!

wnfr-round-recap

Complete Recap Including Round Winner, Current Average Leader and Current World Leader Below

Bareback

Round Winner – R.C. Landingham (88.50 Points)

Average Winner – Tim O’Connell (842.00 Points)

 World Champion – Tim O’Connell

Steer Wrestling

Round Winner – J.D. Struxness (3.9 Seconds)

Average Winner – Tyler Waguespack (41.9 Seconds)

 World Champion – Tyler Waguespack

Team Roping

Round Winners – Simpson/Buhler & Small/Thorp (4.3 Seconds)

Average Winners – Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler (54.20 Seconds)

 World Champions – Levi Simpson and Jeremy Buhler

Saddle Bronc

Round Winner – Cody Wright (90.50 Points)

Average Winner – Zeke Thurston (747.5 Points)

 World Champion – Zeke Thurston

Tie-Down Roping

Round Winner – Caleb Smidt (6.6 Seconds)

Average Winner – Riley Pruitt (85.90 Seconds)

 World Champion – Tyson Durfey

Barrel Racing

Round Winner – Sheri Cervi & Jana Bean (13.59 Seconds)

Average Winner – Lisa Lockhart (137.98 Seconds)

 World Champion – Mary Burger

Bull Riding

Round Winner – Garrett Smith (84.00 Points)

Average Winner – Shane Proctor (590.00 Points)

 World Champion – Sage Kimzey

keep in touch

As many of you may have noticed we have not included any interviews in this story as the round winners from round ten were not brought to the media room.  That being said, you may have noticed throughout the night that each World Champion from 2016 has been interviewed and have been released as separate stories throughout the night.  We chose to do it this way so we could get you the interviews in almost real time and have a steady flow throughout the tenth round.  If you have not watched them you can go to any of our social media sites or even find each story right here on the Rodeo Round Up by going back to our main page.  We hope that you have enjoyed our coverage and will continue to look for more interviews in the weeks ahead!

Now that the 2016 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo has come to a conclusion it is time for my team and I to spend the holiday season with our families and enjoy some time together.  That being said we will be getting caught up from all of the action happening here in Las Vegas.  Our next big project, other than getting you caught up on the interviews from the WNFR, will be when we head south to Arlington, Texas to bring you coverage from the RFD-TV’s The American and the PBR’s Iron Cowboy!

It is quite easy to follow all the breaking news and excitement with the Rodeo Round Up simply by copying this website into your favorites in your web browser for easy one-click access to event statistics. You can also like and follow us on Facebook here, or by liking and following us on Instagram at @rodeoroundup and on Twitter at @therodeoroundup. Jason has also made it easy for you to be a part of his interviews by opening up a listener comment line. If you have a question for a certain rodeo star simply call in and leave your name, where you are from, who the question is for and what your question is and he will do his best to get it answered for you during his interviews!

call-jason


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *