NFR

Anyone coming to NFR? :slight_smile:

Who y’all rooting for this year?

Love this time of year!!!

I went last year and had a blast. This year, will watch on tv. I’ll be rooting for Utah peeps and Texas peeps!

A friend qualified in barrel racing, so will root for her.

Several locals have been World Ch in bronc and calf roping, so everyone here will be watching, some go there for a few days.

They have at the same time the World Team Roping Championship.
Two ropers from our little town and our vet have qualified for that.

Our vet’s steer wrestling horse was the horse of the year last year at the NFR.

All that is the big time around here.

Starts tomorrow on Dish TV 158, they just told me.

Oooh! Who’s your friend? We have a couple of barrel racers staying at our place :slight_smile:

The Team Roping Champs are really fun too! Love watching them!

And the trade shows… SO much FUN! Beverly, you are RIGHT!

[QUOTE=propspony;7890241]
Oooh! Who’s your friend? We have a couple of barrel racers staying at our place :slight_smile:

The Team Roping Champs are really fun too! Love watching them!

And the trade shows… SO much FUN! Beverly, you are RIGHT![/QUOTE]

I am not saying who, but I bet you will have fun with them, they are all very nice ladies.

They will be a bit stressed, that is a very important event for them, the olympic games of rodeo.

Does anyone know if it is going to be live streamed anywhere? I don’t have tv.

There’s a radio stream on http://www.prorodeolive.com/ and Sirius XM 80.

And there’s a live stream on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Finals-Rodeo-Live-Stream-2014/279743555536309

Myself, I am rooting for the North Dakota cowgirl Britany Diaz and her awesome horse Rootie in the barrel racing. They are sitting 5th.

She just recently took home 2nd at the Canadian National Finals Rodeo. So it would be pretty awesome if she had a good finals and came home with the NFR title. With almost $20,000 available for a first place finish in each round, it is anybody’s game.

I have to say, I watch as much to admire the horses as to cheer on the humans. There are great ones in every event including the rough stock.

Some of the most amazing horses are the ones that don’t qualify for prizes - the pick-up horses! I love to watch them work.
As for riders I can’t get over how the steer wrestlers just step back up onto their horses like they’re just walking onto a porch. I wish I could do that.

I wonder if this is legit, can’t seem to find info either way. I REALLY want to be able to stream and watch, even if it isn’t live… Unfortunately, I don’t have cable or satellite at the moment…

Agreed, the pick up horses are terrific.

And one good story is the Utah barrel racer, sitting 4th going in, who is a NFR ‘rookie’ at age 57. She’s been competing for 40 years but never enough to seriously contend for the finals, but this year she went to Houston and won that big purse.

I like watching but DirecTV has it live and its on so darn late, I’m not much of a night owl but I did make it thru the barrel racing. The girl that won last nights round certainly had a colorful outfit!

I’m going for the first time! Any advice?

A new friend of mine who barrel races told me I had to see it, at least once. But we are both horse poor so we won’t see it live, in the stands. As I understand it, bad seats cost $350 and good ones get to $900 or so?

This being the case, how best can we enjoy the whole shebang?

Best way to enjoy is on a big screen TV, you’ll get the best view of the action without the hassle of crowds and long lines. I would like to go to the trade shows and venues but I’d rather sit at home to watch the rodeo itself, cheaper and far more comfortable and really the best viewing of the events. I had no idea the seats were that much!

MVP, they might have gone up in the last year, I suppose, but for the first Saturday night last year I think we paid around $135 per seat and they weren’t the nose-bleed-iest in the arena. But big screens around town do abound, and the Cowboy Xmas is fun to browse, and they do have a little arena there that puts on some exhibitions. They also last year had pens where they would park some of the bucking horses on a rotating basis so you could see them up close and personal. I also recommend going to the South Point Casino, we went there to see the lovely art show last year, and they also had some (free) steer roping going on- it’s a huge equestrian facility.

[QUOTE=GotMyPony;7891968]
As for riders I can’t get over how the steer wrestlers just step back up onto their horses like they’re just walking onto a porch. I wish I could do that.[/QUOTE]

Have you seen those long-legged boys (with a nice double handful of bootie at the top) and their shortie horses? Getting on one is about the same task as stepping onto a porch.

[QUOTE=Bluey;7890163]

Our vet’s steer wrestling horse was the horse of the year last year at the NFR.[/QUOTE]

Two Guns?
He is such a special horse. :wink:

I’m rooting for Cort Scheer. He is a great guy and HELL of a hand.
I’m also rooting for Seth Brockman. Wade didn’t make it, so Two Gun’s is running with Seth and Wade is hazing. Love those awesome cowboys.

Of course, I’m rooting for the stock and pick-up men. I do work with Flying U/Rosser Rodeo, Flying C, and Quarter Circle S… AKA Flying U Rodeo & Cindy and their wonderful pickup man Jeff Shearer (along with their other ones). I get to take care of those awesome horses, and I can tell you so much care and support goes into those animals. They are athletes and some of the hardest working athletes in the world. They also just don’t give up and TRY SO HARD. They go into the arena and work their hearts out, and then they get to haul around the kids and stand like perfect gentlemen for all the people to pet and take pictures with.

These pick up men don’t work for a lot… Really, the paychecks are minimal and they get a whole $50 for wearing Dodge Chaps… They take care of all their own expenses, vet bills, and more. They do it because they love it.

If you like the pick-up men, you will enjoy this video. This is a video my friends dad shot for Jeff last Reno Rodeo. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03iwoS2ggrM

Though I am a show jumper at heart, I love my rodeo family. :love-struck:

For those that follow the barrel racers, here is a link to their stories:

http://www.barrelracingreport.com/issues/11_25_14_BarrelRacingReport_LowRes.pdf

While barrel racing “is not my thing”, as they say around here, I have to admire the intensity and passion those that love it have for it.

You can’t believe how hard they truly work at it, the excellent care they take of their horses, that they put first, even before they themselves, as anyone that really cares for their animals do.
Someone opened an underwater threadmill service for horses and the first ones to line up and keep them busy were the barrel racers.
They knew what each horse needed and exactly why, depending on the horse and the fitness level it was in and their whole management system to keep it in perfect health and soundness.

That is what it takes to get to the top.

Do notice the ads for stallions in that link, very good looking, correct stallions any one would like to bred to for most any all around performance and soundness.

I watched last night, and wow, the footing so far is hard on the barrel racers. On-air speculation was maybe too much sand in the mix, but I wish they’d fix it. I didn’t see those problems last year, every single horse struggled with it last night.

Tickets are available on Stub Hub in all seat locations and price ranges.