John Crimber and Clay Guiton

LAS VEGAS – Bull riders John Crimber and Clay Guiton keep pushing each other to new heights. At the Junior World Finals on Saturday, Crimber set the pace with an 89.5-point ride – the highest-marked roughstock ride of the week – to seize the lead in the 16-18 division. “First round I didn’t draw very […]

The First Friday

Brody Dent came to this year’s Junior National Finals Rodeo in search of confidence. The Bend, Oregon, cowboy found some Friday after his 80.5-point ride inside the Wrangler Rodeo Arena to win the first round of the senior bareback bronc riding competition. “To be honest, coming in here I didn’t have a lot of confidence,” […]

Behind the Scenes

Once again, Las Vegas is the place to be for fans of the Western lifestyle in early December. Not only is the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in town at the Thomas & Mack Center, but the YETI Junior World Finals returns to the Wrangler Rodeo Arena inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Las Vegas […]

Setting the pace

Dally Sears made the most of his second chance Thursday. Competing on the first day of the Yeti Junior World Finals rodeo in Las Vegas, the Malta, Idaho, cowboy scored 79.5 points on his re-ride to finish the day in second place in the Leal Junior Bull Riding 14-15 division. When the chute opened on […]

Voices of JWF

After a one-year absence, Andy Seiler will be back announcing the Junior World Finals alongside Steve Goedert next month. Seiler worked the JWF from 2017-19 before announcing the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with Bob Tallman last year. As someone who grew up competing in rodeo – Seiler and Corey Robinson won the team roping title […]

KK Run for Vegas

Last year’s Junior World Finals was still up in the air amid the coronavirus pandemic when Kelly Kaminski made a declaration to her family. “I had all of my stuff in place and I told my family we were going to have a finals somewhere, even if it was in my backyard,” recalled Kaminski, who […]

It’s the Cowboy Way

Now in her sixth year as the producer of the bareback and saddle bronc competition at the Junior World Finals, Lacie DeMers has had to deal with a lot of changes. Last year’s event was even moved from Las Vegas to Arlington, Texas, because of the coronavirus pandemic. Even with this year’s JWF returning in […]

The Elite Event for Youth Rodeo

After the pandemic forced the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and the Junior World Finals to relocate to Arlington, Texas, last year, both season-ending events are returning to Las Vegas in December. The Junior World Finals is once again scheduled for Dec. 2-11 at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena in the South Halls of the Las Vegas […]

‘It’s a beautiful sport’

Saige Smith knows what it takes to win in the Wrangler Rodeo Arena. The high school sophomore from Touchet, Washington, won the short go-round of senior barrel racing at last year’s Junior World Finals in Las Vegas. But Smith surprised even herself Tuesday. Competing in the inaugural Kelly Kaminski Run for Vegas pole bending event, […]

Leal’s Junior Bull Riding

Leal’s Junior Bull Riding has made a habit of spending one week every December in Las Vegas. And that isn’t expected to change anytime in the near future. Beginning in 2013, Leal’s Junior Bull Riding has teamed with Las Vegas Events to have some of the nation’s top young bull riders compete at the Las […]