WELCOME RODEO NEWS FANS

Rodeo: Cowboys eye road to Vegas

The National Finals Rodeo runs every December and most of its qualifiers jump through a lot of hoops to get there.
The Las Vegas championships features the top 15 in each event in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association standings based on earnings, and the majority of those who qualified in the last slots in 2007 entered about 70 regular-season rodeos.

That means traveling a lot of miles and spending numerous nights away from home to compete in rodeos ranging from the San Angelo Stock Show in February to the Cheyenne Frontier Days in July to the Texas Stampede in Dallas in November.

It takes about $50,000 to $60,000 to qualify for most events and the majority of qualifiers make the cut after winning a lot of $1,000 and $2,000 checks, several $5,000 checks and maybe two or three checks worth $10,000 and $15,000.

But there are rare exceptions, and competitors who get hot at major shows can catapult into the NFR, especially during the winter when higher-paying stock show rodeos are in session.

There are two shortcuts that a lucky competitor can take to get to the NFR: The first is to win the Houston stock show rodeo. For the second consecutive year, RodeoHouston will pay the winner in most events a $50,000 bonus when the $1.3 million show concludes March 22.

All of the $50,000 counts toward a world title race, plus earnings from preliminary rounds. That's important to point out because the Calgary Stampede has paid that kind of money for years to winners, but the PRCA has not allowed it to count toward an NFR berth.

But Houston officials did some shrewd negotiating and the PRCA officials opted to allow their $50,000 bonuses to the winner of the final round to count in the world standings. So, after a competitor wins the Houston rodeo they either have enough earnings to advance to the NFR or they all but have earned a coveted back number.

For example, North Carolina barrel racer Codi Baucom earned $60,000 after winning the title at the 2007 Houston rodeo. When the season ended in November, it took $51,276 in regular-season earnings for 15th-ranked Tana Poppino to earn the last slot.

Kansas steer wrestler Jule Hazen earned $52,500 in Houston. And it took $55,265 to make the cut for the 2007 NFR in bulldogging.

The second-quickest way to the NFR would be to string together several top finishes at major rodeos.

For the rest of the PRCA's gifted competitors who fall short of winning the Houston rodeo, this has to be the next-fastest track.

The most vivid example this season is bull rider Chance Smart who earned $67,807 last month at the San Antonio Stock Show. Smart's earnings were inflated after strong finishes at two Xtreme Bulls tour stops in San Antonio and after winning the title at the Alamo City's annual PRCA show.

Last year, it took $70,074 to qualify for the NFR in bull riding. So, Smart all but earned an NFR berth on what he earned in San Antonio over a 21/2-week span.

In the PRCA standings released March 3, Smart had earnings of $81,661. So at this point, he probably would not have to ride another bull before arriving in Las Vegas.

Smart's type of success is rare, but it illustrates the point that a competitor can advance to the NFR by winning big at a handful of rodeos.

And that's what makes the winter portion of the PRCA's regular season exciting. After a competitor wins rodeos such as Denver, Fort Worth, San Antonio or San Angelo, it could be worth more than $10,000 and that's a big bump in an attempt to make the NFR.

Stran Smith of Childress earned $11,068 after winning the tie-down roping title March 1 at the San Angelo rodeo. He's a nine-time NFR qualifier and he's on his way to No. 10.

In the standings released March 3, Smith was sixth in the world title race with $20,877. Last year, it took $58,754 to qualify for the NFR in tie-down roping.

All Smith needs to do is string together several more wins in the $10,000 range. The odds of that happening are slim because there are many talented ropers gunning for an NFR berth, but Smith is a big-time competitor, and he's capable of making the National Finals Rodeo by winning big at less than 10 rodeos.

And in a sport that requires even top competitors to pay soaring road casts, the short way to the NFR is always welcomed.

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