A Helping Hand

LAS VEGAS – Bradlee Miller was back in his old stomping grounds Monday.

The 21-year-old from Huntsville, Texas, returned to the YETI Junior World Finals where he won five outright world titles – three in bareback bronc riding and two in bull riding – and tied for another bareback title.

Later that night, Miller was across town at the Thomas & Mack Center where he’s competing in his first National Finals Rodeo. He has been sensational in his NFR debut, winning two rounds, finishing second in another and placing fourth in Round 5 Monday night.

“The Junior World Finals prepared me for this week,” Miller said. “You got to come out here and experience Vegas, and the pressure that you feel to win this event is pretty similar to the experience I’m feeling now, but the NFR is definitely on a bigger scale. Having success here definitely boosted my confidence to further my career.”

Throughout the morning, Miller offered help and gave advice to bareback riders during Championship Monday.

He watched and cheered as Koaltyn Ogilvie (Junior division), Azreal Lara (Senior division) and Kash Loyd (Novice division) won world titles of their own.

“This is the first time I’ve been here when I wasn’t competing,” Miller said. “It’s a cool experience to see how the sport has evolved.

“The horses and riders here are better than they ever have been,” he added. “I really noticed a big change in the horses; they were good when I was here, but these horses I’ve seen here today have been great.”

So was the competition.

Ogilvie scored 70.0 points – his lowest mark of the week – on CT Rodeo’s Scrambled Eggs, but still won the average with 237.5 points on three head. The Canadian cowboy entered the short go-round with a commanding lead after winning the first round with an 86.0 and the second round with an 81.5.

Westin Clemens of xxx won the short go with an 80.0 on CT Rodeo’s Cracked Eggs and finished second in the average with a 230.5.

Azreal Lara of Columbia Falls, Montana, electrified the crowd with an 87.5-point ride on Rafter 6P Rodeo’s Sir Buckingham to secure the title. Lara was leading the average with 154.0 points on two head entering the short go, but xxx cowboy Braylon Johnson, who was second with a 151.0, scored 84.0 points on Greasy Cheetah to put pressure on Lara.

The Montana cowboy delivered with his highest-scored mark of the week to win his first world title. Johnson finished as the reserve champion.

Loyd, on the other hand, won his seventh JWF championship buckle thanks to an 84.0 on 836 Costanza.

“I know what I can do in the arena,” Loyd said after defending his Novice title. “I just had to stick to my guns, ride the horse I was given, and it would all work out in the end.”

The Cleburne, Texas, cowboy also won bareback titles in PeeWee (2016-17), Junior (2018-19) and Senior (2022).

For Loyd, seeing Miller back at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena brought back memories.

“I’ve known him forever,” Loyd said of Miller. “I remember watching him here.”

Watching Miller compete on the sport’s biggest stage, Loyd wants to follow in his footsteps.

“It’s something that I’m looking forward to in the future,” he said. “He knows what it feels like. He understands what we’re going through right now and he understands what it takes to get to the NFR.”

Miller was happy to help out Monday, even if the kids he was helping might be the same ones he’s competing against in the future. After all, he “vividly” remembers former NFR bareback rider Trenten Montero, who died last year from injuries he suffered when a horse fell on him, came to the Junior World Finals in 2019.

“Trenten came to the back of the bucking chutes and he helped me pull my rigging,” Miller recalled. “He always had a heart for the up-and-comers.

“Now I’m the guy that I used to look up to. That’s pretty cool.”

Saddle Bronc

Wade Magner of Breda, Iowa, won his second Junior division title in convincing fashion. Magner won the short go with a 79.0-point ride to give him a total of 215.0 points on three head. He was the only competitor with three qualified rides.

Cash Sellman of San Angelo, Texas, entered the short go of the Senior division with only one qualified ride, an 83.0 to win the second round after a no-score in the first round. He moved to the top of the leader board with a 79.0 on Monday and won his first world title after both Hayden Barber and Teage Erickson failed to make the 8-second buzzer.

In the Novice division, Jasper Frost of Browns Valley, California, had an 83.5 in the short go to win the average with a three-head score of 242.5.

Wilder, Idaho, cowboy Trey McFarlane also had an 83.5 to tie Frost for the win in the short go and finish as the reserve champion with a 236.5.

Bull riding

Brently Hartinger (10-11), Wild Willie Walling (12-13), Tate Gray (14-15) and Nicholas Jackson (16-18) all won titles Monday.

Hartinger, who hails from Cleveland, Texas, had an 84.0 to win the short go and added a championship buckle to his collection when Toby Blanton, who was leading the average after two rounds, got bucked off.

Walling had to be helped back to the bucking chute after his first bull got the better of him. Given the opportunity for a re-ride, the Alvin, Texas, cowboy didn’t hesitate and rode his way to a 78.5 to finish with 230.5 points on three head. Minutes later, the title was his after Kaysen Chaffin of Temecula, California, who won the first two rounds, was bucked off shortly after the gate opened.

Traegen Adams of Annabella, Utah, won the short go with an 88.0 and finished as the reserve champion with a 228.5.

Nicholas Jackson, the 16-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, finished his week in style.

Jackson finished fourth in the short go with an 84.0 to give him 246.5 points on three head. But Xavier Antez of Cuba, New Mexico, who was just 0.5 points back of Jackson entering the day, had an 81.0 to give Jackson his second world title.

Jesus Villa of Weatherford, Texas, won the short go with an 88.5.