National Finals Rodeo to get underway in Las Vegas

More money, more prestige and a Montana champion will be again on display this year in the team roping at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

But a famous figure won’t be there because of injury.

Jake Barnes, a seven-time world champion who has combined with several heelers to win a record 31 go-rounds at the NFR, suffered severe injuries when his horse fell while practicing Nov. 27 and will not be able to compete at this year’s rich rodeo.

Barnes, a 56-year-old header, qualified for what would have been his 27th NFR as he and partner Junior Nogueira finished 11th in the 2015 world standings. According to a press release distributed by the PRCA, Barnes suffered a head injury and broken ankle and is hospitalized in Arizona.

Barnes and former partner Clay O’Brien Cooper won seven world championships from 1985-94.

While Barnes is a rodeo Hall-of-Famer, Montana roper Clay Tryan seems on a similar path.

Tryan, a Shepherd High graduate, is a three-time world champion from Billings whose father, Dennis, is considered the patriarch of the Montana team roping family. Clay’s brother Travis is also a multiple-time qualifier for the NFR in the team roping.

Clay Tryan, a header, and team roping partner Jade Corkill have won the last two world titles and are in first place entering Thursday’s first performance of the 10-round NFR. The action gets underway at the sold-out Thomas and Mack Center on the campus of UNLV in Las Vegas.

Tryan won his first world championship in 2005, while Corkill won his first in 2012.

With a record $8.8 million in prize money, the NFR will provide more cash than ever before to the cowboys and barrel racers. Thanks to a new contract the PRCA and Las Vegas officials agreed to last year, each NFR qualifier receives $10,000 in addition to possible go-round and average payouts.

First place in each of the 10 go-rounds is now worth $26,230, while first place in the average, or aggregate standings per event, is worth $67,269.

All ten rounds of the NFR will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network. Each performance Dec. 3-12 begins at 8 p.m., Mountain Time. More information is available at prorodeo.com.

Choteau native Will Rasmussen, a professional rodeo announcer, will be providing daily updates on the NFR each day, beginning Wednesday at 7:25 a.m. and 3:55 p.m. on ESPN Montana (FM-99.9).

Tryan enters his 14th NFR with $130,497 in 2015 earnings. A year ago, Tryan won the gold buckle with a record $220,057. He’s won more than $2 million is his fantastic pro rodeo career.

Among the cowboys and barrel racers with Treasure State ties who have qualified for the NFR this year are steer wrestler Ty Erickson of Helena, bull riders Parker Breding of Edgar and Kody DeShon of Helena, and barrel racer Lisa Lockhart, who grew up in Circle and lives now in South Dakota. DeShon is an Idaho native who lives now in Montana’s Capital City.

In addition, Canadian bronc rider Zeke Thurston has qualified for his first NFR. Thurston, whose father, Skeeter, made six trips to the NFR in saddle bronc, is a member of the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit. Thurston and CoBurn Bradshaw, also a bronc rider, are the only two rookies in the NFR field this year.

The Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals is each January at Pacific Steel and Recycling Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.