At the 2012 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas…Dean Gorsuch of Gering…has been pushed out of 1st in steer wrestling by defending world champion Luke Branquinho of California.
Each of the 10 NFR rounds pays the winner $18,257…which goes toward the World Championship standings. The average scores or times from the 10 rounds determine the WNFR winner, who earns another $46,820. World Champions are determined by adding together a contestant’s WNFR and regular season earning
Only the top 6 finishers in each round win any money and Branquino was 2nd in last night’s 5th round, while Gorsuch finished out of the money for the third straight round. The 2-time world champion is $12,000 behind Branquino at $116,000
Another steer wrestler from the region, Todd Suhn of Hermosa, SD, also finished out of the money last night and is 12th at $72,319…just over $600 out of 11th
Bareback rider Steven Dent of Mullen saw his Las Vegas nightmare continue last night as he was bucked off, keeping him without any earnings at the halfway point. Dent started the WNFR 2nd bareback riding…just $900 out of 1st…but now finds himself 4th…$51,000 out of 1st and about $7,100 behind 3rd place J.R. Vezain of Cowley, Wy.
Three Nebraska and South Dakota cowboys whose first names all start with the letter “C” sit 7-10-11 in saddle broncs. Cole Elsher of Faith, SD, has nearly $95,000 after winning last night’s 5th round while Cort Scheer of Elsmere, NE, and 2006 world champ Chad Ferley of Oelrichs were among the 12 riders bucked off. Scheer has $82,000 and Ferley $74,000.
In barrel racing, Lisa Lockhart of Oelrich placed for the 3rd straight round…finishing 6th…while Trula Churchill of Valentine made money for the first time, finishing 2nd and missing 1st by 1-100th of a second. Churchill jumped to $75,000 while Lockhart has $91,000.
Perennial champion Trevor Brazile set three more records last with a 3rd-place finish in Team Roping as he clinched the All-Around World Championship.
It’s Brazile’s 10th All-Around buckle and 7th straight, both records, and gives him 17 buckles overall…including 3 in Steer Roping, 3 in Tie-Down Roping, and 1 in Team Roping.
That’s a record for a multi-event cowboy and 1 behind the overall record 18 by legendary Steer Roping specialist Guy Allen for the most championship buckles overall with 18. If Brazile and his roping partner can claim that title, he’ll be the first cowboy with multiple world championships in 4 different categories.