RodeoHouston provides scholarships to Houston-area students
Yes, we get it. Not everyone who attends RodeoHouston is going to be there strictly for the rodeo action. There are the concerts. And the food. And showing off your blinged-out boots. We get it. But don’t forget who the real stars are: the athletes. Still, we understand that some of you might not be up on the rodeo news. Here’s a cheat sheet, of sorts: a list of the major athletes to watch in each event. Watch closely, and you’ll probably become a new fan.
BAREBACK
We like to celebrate champions in this society, and Clayton Biglow is the reigning world champ in bareback riding, earning the title this past December at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.The California cowboy is young and on fire, an aggressive rider with quick feet who chases perfection.
The other reigning champ in this field is Kaycee Feild, who won RodeoHouston a year ago.
Tim O’Connell could be the mild surprise in this event. He completed a world champ three-peat earlier this decade and then got injured. If he’s healthy, he’s always a threat to make it eight.
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Tuf Cooper is a fan favorite. He’s a rodeo legacy (father Roy is one of the sport’s icons) who’s built his own star résumé (four world championships). The kid can rope and run with a pigging string in his mouth. With his talent, you can’t ever count him out.
Haven Meged is the kind of cowboy who rarely makes a mistake, and he’s riding a helluva horse. That combination usually works well in the rodeo arena. It did in Vegas last year, Meged is wearing that world champ buckle.
Riley Pruitt tends to have some good days in NRG. Like Cooper, he also gets the talent honestly, with a dad who was a world champion calf roper. It just feels like Pruitt’s day is going to come, too.
SADDLE BRONC
Here’s a pro tip: If you’re gambling on saddle bronc and you can take the Wrights or the field to win, you might want to take the Wrights. This family of bronc riders from Utah has become one of the stories of this century for rodeo, raising quality riders as if its a rite of passage. Last year, four of them finished in the top 15 of the world in this event.
But they’re not the only people who know how to ride. The Crawley brothers (Jacobs and Sterling) always represent Texas well when they ride. Zeke Thurston is a reminder that there’s a batch of Canadians giving that nation its own cluster of bronc stars.
BARREL RACING
Nellie Miller loves RodeoHouston. She’s left town as its winner the past two years. She knows how to ride fast. But, of course, some of that credit has to go to her horse, Sister.
If you’ve been following barrel racing at all for the past few years, you know there’s another Sister worth watching. That’s the horse carrying Hailey Kinsel, a two-time and reigning world champ in this event. This Sister is the most explosive, most dangerous horse in the world.
Speaking of names, we can’t leave out JLo. That’s the palomino carrying Ivy Conrado-Saebens around the arena. They finished second in the world last year, to Kinsel and Sister.
TEAM ROPING
Whether it’s a sign of these times or just the draw of Texas’ marquee rodeo, there are so many good teams roping in RodeoHouston this year. Junior Nogueira is a fan favorite for the way this Texan, by way of Brazil, can swing a heel loop. With Kaleb Driggers heading, this team is the very definition of talent overload. They can beat anyone, anywhere, at any time. Texan Clay Smith is a back-to-back world champ. Jade Corkill’s a former RodeoHouston champ who has his own world championship trophies. Then there’s Cody Snow and Paul Eaves. Eaves is a former world champ. Snow, a former reserve world champ. Together they’re just dangerous.
STEER WRESTLING
The Montana cowboy stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall, he’s a monster athlete and he’s a low-talking guy with a heart of gold. He’s also really good at wrestling steers.
Then there’s Tyler Waguespack. The Louisiana cowboy is as cool as the other side of the pillow, especially when he’s on a horse racing with a steer.
Matt Reeves represents the Lone Star State with the grace of an experienced cowhand. But the thing is, this Pampa cowboy is like wine, he gets better with age. He could still win Houston.
BULL RIDING
There are a few names in bull riding that carry a reverence heavier than the meanest beasts of this event. One of them is Don Gay, who holds the record for most world championships with eight. Well, Sage Kimzey’s name is approaching that level of reverence. He’s everyone’s favorite every time he sits on top of a bull. And with six world championships, he’s looking to break Gay’s record.
Stephen Wright is part of the Wright clan from Utah, who seem born ready to make eight seconds. But he’s the only one of them that rides bulls, as well as saddle bronc. He’s also the reigning world all-around champ, which is interesting in that rough stock guys don’t often take that buckle. That says a lot.
Sometimes, you gotta go with the hot hand. That feels like Boudreaux Campbell. The Woodlands native is riding well, finishing second in the world last year. Sometimes a hot hand and a home crowd is the perfect formula for an upset.