A name to remember

Beau Kelley spent the first week of the Junior National Finals Rodeo on the roughstock end of the Wrangler Rodeo Arena. Kelley, a 13-year-old bull rider from Coolidge, Arizona, finished third in the average in the 12-13 division on Monday. A different Beau Kelley, a bareback bronc rider, placed second in the senior division. Tuesday, […]

“Primetime” at the Junior NFR

The act has become an integral part of the Junior National Finals Rodeo. During a break in the mini saddle bronc and mini bareback bronc events at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena, Casen Gines walks out on the arena floor wearing a gray jumpsuit and begins “cleaning” the dirt. He then finds a lone glove and […]

No stranger to the Junior NFR

Jadon Hayes is no stranger to the Junior National Finals Rodeo. Hayes is competing in the Junior NFR in Las Vegas for the fourth consecutive year, but the 14-year-old freshman from Cisco, Texas, added to his workload this year. In addition to competing in senior saddle bronc riding and senior bareback bronc riding, Hayes will […]

A trip to The American

The 15 & Under Junior Team Roping came to a close for most of the competitors Thursday at the Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI. Arizona’s Brandon Ben and Texas’s Cowboy Porras won the average with a time of 36.23 seconds on five runs. Arizona’s Clay Cherry and Ketch Kelton were the reserve champions […]

Target, hands and score

Jessi Everett saved the best for last Wednesday at the Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI. Competing in the 14 & Under Breakaway Roping at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena, Everett entered the third and final go-round as one of 10 cowgirls with two timed runs. The 12-year-old from Tarzan, Texas, placed second in the […]

Blessed to be here

Blake Henry wasn’t supposed to be competing in the Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI in Las Vegas this week. Two years ago, the Rushville, Nebraska, cowboy severely injured his shoulder while competing in three sports. Doctors figured his days of competing in sports were over. But Tuesday, Henry was one of 52 steer […]

Word of mouth gets around

Ote Berry didn’t know what to expect Tuesday. Turns out the former world champion steer wrestler didn’t need to worry. The inaugural Ote Berry’s Junior Steer Wrestling World Championship went off basically without a hitch at the Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI. “It’s built up to this all year and to get this […]

An early Christmas

The roughstock portion of the 2017 Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI came to an exciting close Monday at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena. Avery Mullins from Phoenix got things started by winning the Maverick Division (ages 10-11) of the bull riding and Hadley Miller from Boyd, Texas, finished the day off with an 86-point […]

Girly girl tendencies but tough as nails

Jayna Hale is not a typical bronc rider. The shy 12-year-old from Alberta, Canada, didn’t get on her first bareback bronc until June. “My brothers were doing it and I got bored of watching them,” Hale said. “So I decided to try it.” Hale proved to be a natural. She won four of the first […]

Filling the chutes of the future

The future of rodeo is on display at this week’s Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI. The event brings together almost 600 cowboys and cowgirls from 34 states, as well as from Canada, Mexico and Australia. And while rodeo’s present is currently on display at the Thomas & Mack Center, it’s also noticeable at […]