BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN
Stetson Wright’s magical NFR continued on Friday night. With a 92-point ride on Record Rack’s Smoke Stack, one of the most memorable of his career, he locked up his second all-around Gold Buckle and put himself squarely in the mix to add one in the bull riding as well.
STETSON’S RIDE
Smoke Stack went away from his hand, something he says he’s struggled with over the years. Thanks to some help from his dad (Cody Wright), Cody Lambert and Ky Hamilton, he’s been able to improve that aspect of his riding.
It showed in Round Nine.
“It felt awesome, it felt like he (Smoke Stack) was jumping 10 feet in the air,” Wright said. “It felt really good and he made me work for it the whole eight seconds.”
Wright said he wasn’t riding like he was trying to win the World Championship, he was riding like he was out of it. He was just having fun.
“I stayed loose and cool, didn’t think nothing about it and then it was ride after ride after ride, good rides from all the bull riders and it just fired me up,” he said. “The only thing I have control is doing my thing.”
The bull riding Gold Buckle may very well come down to whomever makes the best ride on Saturday night. Ty Wallace is still clinging to the No. 1 spot in the world, leading Wright by less than $100. Ky Hamilton and Colten Fritzlan are both about $30,000 behind them.
In the average, Fritzlan leads with 517.5 on 6. Wright has 450 points on 5, Wallace has 444.5 points on 5 and Hamilton has 430.5 on 5.
NFR BULL RIDING RESULTS
First Round: 1. Stetson Dell Wright, 90.5 points on Stockyards ProRodeo’s Silver Lining, $26,231; 2. Ky Hamilton, 90, $20,731; 3. Trevor Kastner, 87, $15,654; 4. Colten Fritzlan, 86.5, $11,000; 5. Clayton Sellars, 86, $6,769; 6. Sage Kimzey, 80.5, $4,231.
Second Round: 1. Stetson Dell Wright, 88.5 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Axel, $27,077; 2. Roscoe Jarboe, 84, $21,577; 3. Tyler Bingham, 82, $16,500; 4. Ky Hamilton, 81.5, $11,846; 5. Parker McCown, 73.5, $7,615.
Third Round: 1. Colten Fritzlan, 89 points on Bar T Rodeo’s Angel’s Landing, $45,058; 2. Ty Wallace, 88.5, $39,558.
Fourth Round: 1. Ty Wallace, 89.5 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Lipps, $26,231; 2. Parker McCown, 88.5, $20,731; 3. Ky Hamilton, 87.5, $15,654; 4. Colten Fritzlan, 85.5, $11,000; 5. Jeff Askey, 84, $6,769; 6. Sage Kimzey, 81.5, $4,231.
Fifth Round: 1. Ty Wallace, 91.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Freddy Fender, $26,231; 2. Stetson Dell Wright, 90, $20,731; 3. Ky Hamilton, 88, $15,654; 4. Boudreaux Campbell, 87.5, $11,000; 5. Clayton Sellars, 87, $6,769; 6. Parker McCown, 84, $4,231.
Sixth Round: 1. Dustin Boquet, 89.5 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo Co’s Lonesome You, $28,981; 2. Roscoe Jarboe, 88, $23,481; 3. (tie) Colten Fritzlan and Ty Wallace, 85.5, $16,077 each.
Seventh Round: 1. Stetson Dell Wright, 89 points on Universal Pro Rodeos’ Slinger, $40,897; 2. Jeff Askey, 87, $35,397; 3. Sage Kimzey, 82, $30,321; no other qualified rides.
Eighth Round: 1. (tie) Roscoe Jarboe, on Frontier Rodeo’s Magic Poison, and Ty Wallace, on Stockyards ProRodeo’s Soy El Fuego, 89.5 points, $26,231 each; 3. Colten Fritzlan, 89, $18,404; 4. Jeff Askey, 87.5, $13,750.
Ninth Round: 1. Stetson Dell Wright, 92 points on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Record Rack’s Smoke Stack, $26,231; 2. Jeff Askey, 89.5, $20,731; 3. Brady Portenier, 87.5, $15,654; 4. Sage Kimzey, 87, $11,000; 5. Ky Hamilton, 83.5, $6,769; 6. Dustin Boquet, 80, $4,231.
