As we looked forward to Friday night live inside of the Thomas & Mack Arena, many of the top professional rodeo athletes in the world were just counting down the rounds until the grueling 10-day event would be over. After eight rounds of action the folks inside of the Justin Sports Medicine room have been staying busy as each and every night more and more injuries continue to pile up. Tonight would not be any easier on the rough stock athletes as their bodies are going through aches and pains with each and every jerk that their horses or bulls put on their bodies.
That being said, we can not forget about the timed event rodeo athletes here as well that are making frequent trips to see the medical staff. Even though they may not be rough stock athletes, shoulders, knees, ankles, hands, fingers and just about everything else takes a beating as the 10-day run nears its completion tomorrow night. Each and every athlete knows what is at stake as we crown our 2017 PRCA and WPRA World Champions tomorrow night inside the Thomas & Mack immediately following the tenth round performance!
PRCA World Champions Visit The Gold Buckle Party At MGM
Tonight, we are getting away from bringing you to many of the viewing parties that are available to you at no charge throughout Las Vegas if you can not get a ticket to the show. With two nights to go, we wanted to take you into the nightlife that is happening inside of our own host hotel following each and every performance at the MGM Grand. This party brings you the best in rodeo taking the stage along with special prizes and outstanding mix of music from a very popular band!
PRCA rodeo clown JJ Harrison plays the part of being the host and gets everyone in the party atmosphere as they pour out of the David Copperfield Auditorium following the free WNFR viewing party. It is always a great time with many PRCA world champions hanging out amongst the packed house enjoying a drink or two. Since the MGM Grand is the “Home of Champions” you never know who you will run into throughout the night. I was able to catch up and sit down with JJ Harrison himself to get his thoughts on the party so far here in 2017 and see what he expects as we have two nights remaining! See what he has to say in our interview below.
In a few of the rounds here so far this week, we have seen some very unfortunate instances where calves or steers that the timed event cowboys drew stop or not come out of the gate cleanly. This brings up a huge issue that has not been addressed to my knowledge as the top fifteen cowboys in the world compete for a chance at a world title. In the rough stock events, if the animal does not give the cowboy the same opportunity as his competitors to earn a good score they are rewarded a re-ride.
That being said, the question remains as to why that rule is not in effect for those competing in the timed events. I was able to sit down with 2x world champion steer wrestler Hunter Cure prior to the start of tonight’s ninth round to get his thoughts on this situation and his predictions on how things will play out tomorrow night. We have a chance to see what he is up to and what his plans are to make it back to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2018. See what he has to say about all of this in our sit down interview below!
Even though we focus on what might just make or break a world title shot in the timed events here at the 2017 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo we know that there is still a round nine that we need to cover. Tonight, we will keep it short and sweet by giving you the round winner, the aggregate leader and the current world title race leader after nine rounds of action. All of this can change so we will have an extended story tomorow night after the tenth and final go-round of the 2017 WNFR where world champions will be crowned. Until then, here is the breakdown from tonight’s round nine performance!
Round Nine:
Bareback: Round: Jake Brown (87.50 Points)
Aggregate: Tim O’Connell (768.00 Points)
World Leader: Tim O’Connell
Steer Wrestling: Round: Scott Guenthner (3.3 Seconds)
Aggregate: Dakota Eldridge (40.20 Seconds)
World Leader: Ty Erickson
Team Roping: Round: Kaleb Driggers & Junior Nogueira (3.3 Seconds) ** Ties Arena Record **
Aggregate: Chad Masters & Travis Graves (55.80 Seconds)
World Leader: Kaleb Driggers & Junior Nogueira
Saddle Bronc: Round: Ryder Wright (87.00 Points)
Aggregate: Brody Cress (755.50 Points)
World Leader: Ryder Wright
Tie-Down Roping: Round: Shane Hanchey (6.8 Seconds)
Aggregate: Marcos Costa (73.50 Seconds)
World Leader: Tuf Cooper
Barrel Racing: Round: Hailey Kinsel (13.43 Seconds)
Aggregate: Nellie Miller (123.47 Seconds)
World Leader: Tiany Schuster
Bull Riding: Round: Boudreaux Campbell & Trey Benton III (88.00 Points)
Aggregate: Trey Benton III (530.50 Points)
World Leader: Sage Kimzey
** See Complete Round Results By Clicking HERE **
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