BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
Cole Reiner is already battle tested heading into his third straight NFR appearance.
All summer long, the No. 1 spot went back and forth between Reiner and two-time NFR Average Champion Jess Pope, with Reiner eventually securing the top spot. His $160,971 bested Pope’s $159,259.
There are two caveats to Reiner’s No. 1 ranking, though. The first is that although they were tied for virtually all of August and September, the reason they were tied was because Jess Pope missed the last three weeks of July with a foot injury.
The second is more obvious, it doesn’t matter what you do all year if you don’t perform in December. Gold Buckles have always been won and lost inside the Thomas & Mack Center.
BIGGEST PAYDAYS
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, $9,250
Reiner placed in all three rounds in Bracket 1 and won two of them with rides of 87 and 88 points in Rounds 1 and 3. In the Finals, Reiner rode for 88.5 points and collected $3,000 for a fourth place finish.
HIGHEST MARKED RIDES
San Angelo Cinch Chute Out, 90.5 Points
Against one of the most loaded fields of the season, Reiner came rode for 86.5 points in the Long Round before covering Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Top Flight for 90.5 in the Short Round. He won $7,500 by beating out Tim O’Connell and Cole Franks.
Horse Heaven Round-Up, 90.5 Points
For the second straight year, Reiner was the champion of the Horse Heaven Round-Up in Kennewick, Washington. And for the second straight year, he did it by riding Agent Lynx in the Finals.
Reiner won the 2022 edition in dominant fashion with 86.5 points in the Long Round and 90.5 in the Short Round to give him an Average win by 9.5 points over Jess Pope and R.C. Landingham. Kaycee Feild and Tilden Hooper rounded out the Top 5. All five of those cowboys finished the regular season in the Top 12.
NOTABLE WINS
Chase Hawks Roughstock Rodeo, 88 Points
Reiner was the champion of some of the highest paying one-headers of the season and that got started at the Chase Hawks Roughstock Rodeo on Dec. 18. In his first rodeo following the 2021 NFR, Reiner was 88 points on Prairie Rose to win the $8,535 first place check. Following the win at the Chase Hawks, Reiner pulled a check of at least $1,000 on his next six rides. That included round wins at the Texas Circuit Finals and Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
Clovis Rodeo, 88 Points
Reiner used 88 as the magic number once again to win the Clovis Rodeo on April 24. Not only was the score the exact same as the Chase Hawks, but the payday was very similar as well. Reiner left California with a check worth $8,657.
Cody Stampede, 88.5 Points
Over the Fourth of July, Reiner made more than $20,000 by finishing in the Top 5 at five rodeos. His lone win during that stretch was at the Cody Stampede where he rode Frontier’s Southern Star for 88.5 points.
Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, 174 Points on Two
Just like he did in Kennewick, Reiner controlled the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo from the beginning. He swept both rounds and won the Average by 6.5 points.
MEET THE NFR ATHLETES IS PRESENTED BY MONTANA SILVERSMITHS #everybucklehasastory #goldbucklebound