Tyler Wade said Friday night’s ninth go-round of the National Finals Rodeo was “the toughest round of team roping.”
As he and team roping partner Wesley Thorp prepared for their run, teams were posting times under the four-second barrier to claim earnings for the overall standings. They knew they needed to post a fast time to stay in a tight title fight.
“We knew we had to place in the rounds, one of the last two, to give ourselves a chance (for the overall title),” Wade said. “(Friday) was the toughest round of team roping literally ever. I told Wesley, ‘It’s now or (Saturday) night, whenever we need to do it, we better get the ball rolling, and we did it tonight.’”
A night after tying the PRCA team roping time record, Wade and Thorp won their go-round with a time of 3.5 seconds and each claimed $30,706 in earnings at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“It was tough to watch when they go that fast. … But we said, ‘Let’s just make our run and see what happens,’” Thorp, a Throckmorton, Texas, native, said. “We weren’t going to take a Hail Mary or anything. (Wade) was aggressive and he set (the steer) up good, and I heeled him in a good spot to give us a good chance.”
Entering Saturday’s 10th and final round, the battle for the team roping title is the closest title fight of the seven events. Wade leads the header standings by more than $22,000 over Clint Summers. Thorp has a $26,000 advantage over Jake Long in the heeler standings.
In other title battles, Zeke Thurston won his go-round Friday with a score of 88.5 and earned $30,706 to hold a $31,000 advantage in the saddle bronc riding standings over Sage Newman.
Thorp and Wade have racked up $102,614 in earnings through nine rounds at NFR, the most of any team ropers.
“We came out here with a run,” Wade, a Terrell, Texas, native, said. “If it went bad, we stuck with the run. When it went good, we should probably stick with the run. I don’t care if you have to be 10th (Saturday), we’re just going to rope the steer like we have all year.”
They didn’t claim any earnings in the first two rounds, but finished fourth Sunday and third Friday. They didn’t place and claim any earnings in the next three rounds before their win in the eighth go-round Thursday.
Thorp said with some of the teams out of contention in the average standings, many are focused on just posting a fast time and not necessarily on catching the steer. With the title race so close, Thorp, the 2019 world champion, said he and Wade have “stayed in their lane” to be in a spot to win the world title.
“It’s just an exciting feeling,” Thorp said of leading the standings entering the final night. ‘It’s what you work for all year. It’s fun and an accomplishment to even be in this spot.”
While Wade said there is “a little bit” of a different feeling going into the final night with the lead, he agreed with his partner that they have to worry about themselves first.
“If you watch somebody else, you’re not going to focus on what you need to do,” Wade said. Even though it got fast, I didn’t care who went fast, what they did or how much money they had. Smooth is fast here. You can’t do anything out of the ordinary, like skip a step, and be fast.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Thurston extends lead in saddle bronc riding
Zeke Thurston has been in this position before — entering the final night of the National Finals Rodeo with a shot at the saddle bronc riding world title.
The three-time world champion had a slim $327 lead over Sage Newman in the standings after the two were part of a three-way tie for the go-round win Thursday.
On Friday, Thurston extended his lead with a winning score of 88.5 and claimed $30,706 in earnings in the ninth go-round at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Thurston will head into Saturday's final round with a lead of more than $31,000 in the standings over Newman for the world title.
"I've had enough experience behind me to where now I've seen all the scenarios play out," Thurston said. "You just can't get ahead of yourself and trust your gut. The fundamentals never change, and the basics always apply."
Thurston has four go-round wins at NFR and has the most earnings of any saddle bronc rider ($153,214). The Big Valley, Alberta, native said he "feels good" going into the final night with the lead.
"This is what you live for," Thurston said. "This is the stuff you dream of, and it's what dreams are made of. That's what you call the pressure cooker. We'll show up Saturday and let it all hang out."
Thurston is the defending world champion and won the title in 2016 and 2019. He said the close competition all season prepared him for the 10 rounds at NFR.
"When you get out here, it's easier to blow it up bigger than it actually is," Thurston said. "But it's the same horses we've got on all year. You just have to show up and do your job."
Other go-round winners Friday:
— Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, in bareback riding (87).
— Cody Devers, Balko, Oklahoma, in steer wrestling (3.5 seconds).
— Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas, in team roping (3.5 seconds).
— Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, and Westyn Hughes, Caldwell, Texas, tie in tie-down roping (7.1 seconds).
— Kassie Mowry, Dublin, Texas, in barrel racing (13.37 seconds).
— Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, in bull riding (89).
Alex Wright/Las Vegas Review-Journal
