MILFORD, Beaver County — Last December the Wrights of Milford sent four cowboys to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas — a family record in the saddle bronc event. This December they’re sending four more. But not the same foursome. In 2014 it was brothers Cody, Jesse, Jake and Spencer. This year Spencer and Jake return, along with their nephew, Rusty Wright, who is Cody’s oldest son, and CoBurn Bradshaw, who married their sister Rebecca — which not only makes him Spencer and Jake’s brother-in-law but also Rusty’s uncle.
It will be the first NFR appearance for Rusty, 20, and Bradshaw, 21. Jake Wright, 26, will be in his fourth NFR, and Spencer Wright, 24, in his second.
Other Utah cowboys who have qualified for the NFR Dec. 3-12 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas include Kaycee Feild of Spanish Fork and Caleb Bennett of Tremonton in bareback riding, Rhen Richard of Roosevelt and Clint Robinson of Spanish Fork in all-around, Wesley Silcox of Santaquin and Joe Frost of Randlett, Uintah County, in bull riding, and Baylor Roche of Tremonton in steer wrestling.
Feild and Spencer Wright are defending champions in their specialties. Feild has won four straight bareback titles.
Utah cowgirls qualifying for rodeo’s biggest event are Vickie Carter of Richfield and Nancy Hunter of Neola, Duchesne County, both in barrel racing.
This will be the 31st year the NFR will be held in Las Vegas — ever since the Nevada city wrestled the event from Oklahoma City in 1985 — and the prize money has increased from last year’s $6.4 million payout to $10 million, meaning $1 million will be up for grabs each night of the 10-night run.
Money is how rodeo cowboys keep score. Each season, the world champion in seven different events — saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding – plus the title of All-Around Cowboy is decided by which contestant accumulates the most prize money during the calendar year.
There is no limit to how many rodeos a cowboy can enter through the end of September, when the regular season ends. There are over 600 rodeos approved yearly in the United States and Canada by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and more than 6,000 PRCA permit-holders who compete in them. Utah has 28 sanctioned events, with the Days of '47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City, the Spanish Fork Rodeo and the Vernal Rodeo among the top 50 in prize money.
The top 15 regular-season money winners in the eight events qualify for the NFR in Las Vegas, which runs for 10 consecutive nights every December. As the winner of each night’s go-round collects $27,800, it’s possible to get on a roll and win more money in Vegas than during the entire regular season.
Twice in NFR history, cowboys have come in No. 15 and left No. 1. Last year, Spencer Wright went from 12th to first to claim his first world championship. In a week and a half, his yearly winnings jumped from $60,265 to $205,388. In 2011, Jesse Wright set an NFR record by winning $160,962 in Vegas — double the $80,412 he’d made the rest of the year (he finished second that year before winning the world title in 2012).
This year, Spencer Wright comes to the NFR with $74,388, good for 10th place on the saddle bronc money list. Cody Wright is No. 2 at $115,986, Jake Wright is No. 8 at $85,423, and CoBurn Bradshaw is No. 14 at $66,145.
The biggest money-winning Utahn headed to Vegas is Feild, who stands in first place in bareback at $118,145. Silcox is in fourth position in bull riding at $105,778, followed by Frost in sixth at $83,811. Bennett is 11th in bareback with $81,302. In all-around, Richard is seventh at $85,075 and Robinson 10th at $75,346. In steer wrestling, Roche stands ninth at $71,555.
In the women’s barrel racing standings, Hunter is No. 6 with $96,685 and Carter No. 13 at $62,768.