National Finals Rodeo 2017 NFR Ticket Exchange

The 2017 PRCA standings are dotted with big NFR Rodeo  individual improvements: cowboys returning from injury, rookies continuing their upward trajectories, and stars soaring higher than ever imagined. The National Finals Rodeo is less than two months away, held December 7-16 in the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.Check out our list of the four most improved cowboys from the rodeo regular season:

Montana bulldogger Ty Erickson’s owns the top spot in the steer wrestling standings like he did a year ago, but the 27-year-old has been even better in 2017. That fact is reflected in his earnings total entering NFR, which sits at $163,152 — a whopping $70,210 more than he brought to Vegas in 2016. Erickson ended up tumbling to seventh last December, but this time he’ll arrive with a solid $52,000 lead that makes him the gold buckle favorite in his fourth career NFR appearance. He’s in search of his first world title.

2. Ryder Wright | Saddle Bronc Riding Teenager Ryder Wright became a rodeo star last season in Las Vegas when he won four straight rounds to kick off NFR, matching the world record. He ultimately set a rookie record with five round wins at Vegas, catapulting him to a fourth-place finish on the season and some family bragging rights, as Wright bested his world champion father Cody (sixth), older brother Rusty (ninth), and uncle Jesse Wright (10th). The 19-year-old may be hard-pressed to repeat his stunning NFR debut, but he’ll arrive in Vegas six spots higher in the standings and $29,000 richer than he was at this point last year.For the first time in his career, three-time world champion Tuf Cooper of Weatherford will wear the No. 1 back number at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Cooper will enter the Dec. 7-16 National Finals in Las Vegas ranked No. 1 in both the world all-around and tie-down roping title races. He also will enter the Nov. 10-11 National Finals Steer Roping in Mulvane, Kan., ranked 13th in the steer roping world standings.

Cooper is ranked No. NFR Rodeo Live Stream 1 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s 2017 world all-around title race with $214,131.Copper has qualified for the Las Vegas-based National Finals in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. When Cooper competed at the NFR in 2008-2015, Trevor Brazile wore the No. 1 back number.

When Cooper earned his first eight NFR berths, he was a world title contender only in tie-down roping. He earned PRCA tie-down roping world titles in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

But this year, Cooper has become a world class steer roper in addition to being a world class tie-down roper, which in turn has made him a world all-around title contender.

Tim O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa, will wear the No. 2 back number at the Las Vegas-based NFR. He’s ranked No. 1 in the 2017 bareback riding world title race with $201,916 in regular season earnings. Brazile, a 23-time PRCA world champion from Decatur, will wear the No. 3 back number at the 2017 NFR. He’s ranked second in the world all-around title race with $180,487.

A roster of 2017 NFR competitors and their NFR back numbers has been posted on the PRCA’s website. According to prorodeo.com, no competitor at the 2017 WNFR will wear the number 58. Instead, the number will remain absent as a tribute to the 58 people killed in the Oct. 1 shooting at a Las Vegas concert.

“In coordination with Las Vegas Events, we have decided not to issue the number 58 as a way to pay our respects to the victims of this tragedy,” PRCA chief operating officer Aaron Enget said.

WPRA update On the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association circuit, Kelly Bruner of Millsap is ranked No. 1 in the WPRA’s 2018 pro rodeo world barrel racing title race.

At the WPRA World Finals last weekend in Waco, Bruner won the second round ($2,794 in prize money) and finished second in the short-go final round ($1,552) on her way to clinching the barrel racing average title ($4,191) in the Card Holder Race.

After winning the title at the Oct. 19-22 finale, Bruner is ranked No. 1 in the 2018 WPRA pro rodeo world barrel racing standings with $14,959 in 2018 regular season earnings.The WPRA’s 2018 regular season began Oct. 1. Prize money earned at WPRA approved barrel races between Oct.1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018, count toward qualifying for the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which will be conducted in December 2018 in Las Vegas.

Cutting horse update On the National Cutting Horse Association circuit, April Widman of Weatherford is ranked No. 1 in the non-pro world title race with $98,253 in regular season earnings. Kylie Knight Rice of Weatherford is ranked No. 2 with $82,502.

In the open division standings, Eazee E, NFR Rodeo Live which is owned by Kevin and Sydney Knight of Scottsdale, Az., is ranked No. 2 in the world race with $96,929. Deluxe Checks, which is owned by Louisiana residents Amanda and Rhein Standish, is No. 1 with $110,704. Austin Shepard is among three riders who have competed on Deluxe Checks this season.