Brett Hoffman
Trevor Brazile has moved into elite company.
The roping superstar clinched a record-tying seventh world all-around title last weekend as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Brazile, who lives in Decatur, tied bucking stock legend Ty Murray who won his seventh title in 1998.
Brazile also clinched the tie-down roping title and finished the year with $194,465. That pushed Brazile’s count of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association gold buckles to 11. Brazile also has won two steer roping titles and two tie-down roping championships.
Two Texans claimed gold buckles. J.W. Harris of May won his second consecutive PRCA bull riding title after earning $219,274. Brittany Pozzi of Victoria won a second Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel racing crown after garnering $279,435.
Other world champions were Bobby Mote, Culver, Ore., bareback riding, $310,219; Nick Sartain, Yukon, Okla. team roping heading, $186,688; Kollin VonAhn, Durant, Okla., team roping heeling, $185,522; Lee Graves, Calgary, Alberta, steer wrestling, $251,031; and Jesse Kruse, Great Falls, Mont., saddle bronc riding, $194,465.
Five Lubbock-area residents competed at the NFR and finished the year in the elite top 15. Lindsay Sears, who has homes in Nanton, Alberta, and Ropesville, finished runner up for the barrel racing title with $272,344 and Cassie Moseley of Farwell came in ninth in the same event after finishing the year with $109,110. In bareback riding, Ryan Gray, who has a home in Cheney, Wash., and Petersburg finished sixth with $159,692 and Wes Stevenson of Lubbock came in 10th with $116,217. 5 JoJo LeMond of Andrews finished fifth in team roping heading with $143,668.
One popular cowboy who competed was 2009 world champion Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M., who finished seventh in the world saddle bronc riding race with $140,745. In bull riding, Tate Stratton of Stanley, N.M., finished ninth in bull riding with $108,802.
Cutting horse update — Tony Piggott and a stallion named Rockin W won the Borden Milk National Cutting Horse Association Futurity open division with a stunning score of 229 on Dec. 13 in Fort Worth.
The victory earned the horse’s owner, Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, the coveted $250,000 prize.
The Futurity is the sport’s most prestigious show and the first jewel of the NCHA’s Triple Crown Series.
The other buckle — Every competitor enters the National Finals Rodeo hoping to clinch a world title, which means winning the most money during the regular season and the NFR in a single event or in the all-around standings.
But there’s another prestigious award handed out — first place in the average, meaning a competitor finishes with the best aggregate score or time after 10 rides.
When the 2009 NFR concluded on Saturday night, Tuf Cooper of Decatur won the tie-down roping average with a 10-run time of 84.5 seconds. The strong finish helped Cooper finish second in the world title race.
But in bareback riding, the average victory helped Bobby Mote win the world title. It was Mote’s first time to turn in the highest aggregate bareback score (847 points on 10-head) and his third time to clinch the world title.
In steer wrestling, Lee Graves won both the average (45.10) and the world title. Team ropers Nick Sartain and Kollin VonAhn also won both the NFR average (59.2) and the world buckles.
Other average winners were Shaun Stroh, saddle bronc riding (732.5 on 9 rides); Sherry Cervi, barrel racing (139.01 on 10 runs) and Kanin Asay, bull riding (434 on five rides).
