BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Chase Brooks finished eighth in the saddle bronc world standings and qualified for his third straight NFR in 2020.
The Montana cowboy impressed this year by winning eight rodeos, starting in Florida in February.
After winning just $114 total at Fort Worth and San Antonio combined, Brooks went on to win the Silver Spurs Rodeo in Kissimmee with an 86.5-point ride on Freaking Fabulous to earn close to $5,000.
Brooks then finished third at another Florida rodeo, but from there, he didn’t win a dime until July 2 in Mandan, when he won the rodeo to collect $3,201.
Brooks admitted there were points this season when he thought he would miss the NFR, but starting to enjoy riding broncs again helped him turn the season around.
The week after Mandan, Brooks had a stretch where he won money on 8 of 9 rides.
“I just finally got out of my head, I quit thinking about, quit stressing” Brooks said. “Once I got back to just having fun, it felt easy.”
Brooks would go on to have another big stretch from Aug. 10-23 when he had three rides of 86 points or better to win two rodeos and finish fourth at another.
That run began with an 88.5-point ride to win in Jerome (Idaho) and concluded with an 89.5-point ride on Delta Force to take first place in Guymon (Oklahoma).
CHASE BROOKS - 89.5 IN GUYMON
Brooks stayed hot in September, winning more than $10,000 total at 10 different rodeos. The highlight was his 90.5-point ride on Womanizer to win the Inaugural Gold Buckle Knockout.
CHASE BROOKS RIDES WOMANIZER FOR 90 POINTS
He said that was the most memorable ride of his season and he would love a rematch at Globe Life Field.
Brooks placed in five rounds at the 2019 NFR.
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2020 NFR Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings
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