NFR

BY GARY TURNER...   gpturner62@msn.com

THIS THE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO IN LAS VEGAS..... 7TH GO.

HERE ARE RANDOM THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS TO TONIGHTS PROGRAM.

LIKE ALL LVEN REVIEWS...YOU START WITH A SCORE OF 100 AND LOSE ONE POINT FOR EVERY MINUTE LATE....NOT HERE...NOT TONIGHT.

PUNCTUALITY PROMINENT HERE...THE  ULTIMATE RESPECT FOR THE AUDIENCE.

OVERALL OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION ....STARTING AT 7PM HEADS UP TO THE  SECOND....AN EVENT RECOMMENDED TO THE WORLD.

FIRST CLASS STUFF....THE RODEO CAME HERE DECADES AGO TO THE THOMAS AND MACK CENTER ON THE UNLV CAMPUS WHERE IT REMAINS A PERFECT FIT FOR THE ARENA AND THE CITY.
NICE  TO SEE THE NFR IN PERFECT STEP WITH PUTTING ON A FIRST CLASS SHOW IN A CITY WHICH  HAS A LIMITLESS NUMBER.

OKLAHOMA CITY HAD THE EVENT AND ALONG WITH DALLAS WANTS IT BACK...WE IN LAS VEGAS WANT TO KEEP IT AND EVERYTHING ELSE ....WE EXCEL IN MAMOUTH PRODUCTION EVENTS AND THE NFR FITS THE SLEEVE PERFECTLY.

I REMEMBER WHEN THE NFR BEGAN ITS RUN IN LAS VEGAS WHEN BENNY BINION PAID ALL THE CONTESTANTS FEES....FEED AND HOUSED THEM  AND RODE THE CARRIAGE IN THE ARENA.....THE THOUGHT RETURNED TO ME TONIGHT WHEN I SAW TONIGHTS SIX HORSE CARRIAGE IN THE ARENA...TIMES HAVE CHANGED...BENNY IS GONE AND THE RODEO HAS STEPPED UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL.......PERSONALLY I COULD GET ALONG WITH OUT THE LOUD RAP MUSIC NOT ONLY HERE BUT EVERYWHERE.

ALONG WITH THE PERFECT FIT FOR LAS VEGAS IS....." WHERE ELSE WOULD PEOPLE WISH TO VISIT" ?........SEEING TONIGHTS USUAL 18,000 IN THE THOMAS AND MACK MADE ME FEEL GOOD....THIS THE PERFECT ALL AMERICAN CROWD....MOTHER ...FLAG...PRAYERS....SPONSERS....APPLE PIE...BEER DRINKING COWBOYS WITH BLACK HATS....(I DID SEE SOME WHITE ONES TONIGHT).

THIS IS COMMERCE....MY GUESS IS OVER 80% OF THE CROWD FROM OUT OF TOWN AND THIS IS THE USUAL PATTERN FOR EACH OF THE 11 DAYS HERE IN TBCOTA...(THE BEST CITY OF THEM ALL).

OK RODEO....

I GREW UP IN NEBRASKA AND SOUTH DAKOTA AND REMEMBER PAUL TIERNEY AND THE WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA COWBOYS OF THE LATE 1980'S WHO PARTICIPATED HERE....I WISH I HAD FOLLOWED THE RODEO MORE CLOSELY THRU THE YEARS...ESPECIALLY  HERE....QUITE A TRANSITION FROM MY LAST REPORTINGS ON THE RODEO..

STILL BEST OF ALL THEY STARTED AT 700 AND 858 I WAS IN THE CAR.....UNLIMITED LACK OF DOWNTIME....THANK YOU NFR.

7  EVENTS AND THEY RAN LIKE CLOCKWORK 15 MINUTES A POP.15 CONTESTS PER EVENT.

EVERYTHING  TO TASTE....MUSIC....SPORTS....THEATRE...NFR AND EVERYTHING ELSE.

MY REPORT....MY TASTE ! ! !

BAREBACK RIDING.....NOBODY WAS THROWN OFF...RIDERS ALMOST PARALLEL TO THE HORSES REAR WITH THEIR BACK....LOTS OF SPURRING...CALEB BENNETT OF MORGAN UTAH...TOPS TONIGHT 84.

STEER WRESTING.....AMAZINGLY ATHLETIC WITH GREAT TIMING AND STRENGTH....THE COWBOYS FLY OFF THEIR HORSES TO CATCH THE STEERS....LIFTING AND SPEED THE ELEMENTS....ALMOST EVERYTHING INCLUDES TIMING, SPEED AND POWER...SAME THING HERE...INFANTISIMLE DIFFERENCE IN WINNING HERE....3.2..............3.3.............3.4......NICE EVENT TO WATCH.

TEAM ROPING.....I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT CATCHING THE HIND LEGS OF THE STEER WITH THAT ROPE WAS OVERPOWERINGLY DIFFICULT.....WHILE REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TONIGHT I THINK THE TRICK IS TO THROW THE ROPE WIDE AND OPEN UNDER THE LEGS AND PULL UP....WHAT THE HELL IT REALLY LOOKS GREAT WHEN COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY.....WORLD CHAMPION TREVOR BRAZILE AND PATRICK SMITH  TOPPED THE FIELD TONIGHT....ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY REALLY GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO.

SADDLE BRONC RIDING....AGAIN IT SEEMS SO FEW ARE THROWN OFF...15 CONTSTENTS IN EACH EVENT AND ONLY TWO OR THREE GO OFF EACH ROUND....CODY WRIGHT OF MILFORD UTAH THE MONEY LEADER HERE.

TIE DOWN ROPING....NOT A GAME FOR WISHY WASHY....COWBOYS BIG AND STRONG AND AGAIN SPEED AND POWER....IN 7 TO 8 SECONDS TO ROPE...THROW AND TIE A BIG STEER....THIS A REAL FAVORITE.......TUF COOPER OF DECATUR TEXAS THE SEASON MONEY LEADER HERE.

THERE WAS A SHORT REPAST WHILE THE RESTROOMS AND BEER STATIONS FORMED EXTENSIVE LINES.....I DIDN'T NEED EITHER BUT ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY  THE COMMERCE.

BARREL RACING.....I NEVER GOT A KICK OUT THIS UNTIL TONIGHT AND STILL BELIEVE THE GREAT HORSE  IS THE DIFFERNCE....I WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITHTHE  BARRELS AND ENJOYED THE POWER OF THE TURNS THE HORSE SHOWED...PRETTY GOOD THIS ROUND....SOME BARRELS WENT OVER AND AN ARENA RECORD OF 13.37 WENT TONIGHT....GREAT TO SEE ALL 15 COME AND GO IN 12 MINUTES.

BULL RIDING....TREMENDOUSLY SPOILED BY THE PBR FINALS WHICH GO IN THIS ARENA IN OCTOBER EACH YEAR UNDER THEIR MAMOUTH 200FT HD FOUR CORNERED CENTER REPLAY SCREENS.....
I WAS REALLY NOT SURE WHAT I WOULD GET....EACH DAY A DIFFERNT BALL GAME AND THIS NIGHT THE RIDERS REALLY  EXCELLED...AN 88 OPENED THE EVENT AND STOOD AS THE BEST SCORE....THE BULLS AVERAGE ON THIS NIGHT AND THEY HAVE TWICE AS MUCH ROOM HERE AS THEY DO AT THE PBR....I ALWAYS HOPE TO SEE THE BULLS CLEAR THE RAIL.....ONE CAUGHT ALL THREE BULL FIGHTERS TONIGHT FOR THE BULLS BEST EFFORT.

HELL.....JUST A GREAT NIGHT.....TIGHT .....FUN....ALL AMERICAN SPORT....GREAT FANS AND  TERRIFIC MANAGEMENT BY THE NFR TEAM.

THEY SELL THIS OUT YEARS IN ADVANCE AND WHY NOT ...RECOMMENDED TO THE WORLD.

102 A++