Center, the Junior NFR competitors authored their own storylines throughout their 10-day competition. Take, for instance, Bradlee Miller. The 14-year-old from Huntsville, Texas, not only successfully defended his title in the Young Guns bull riding event, but also doubled down with the bareback riding title. Miller posted bareback scores of 79, 78.8 and 86.8, and 72.5, 72 and 70.5 in bull riding to
The next generation of rodeo is on display at the Junior National Finals Rodeo presented by YETI.
pull off the impressive double.
stronger every year.”
“We trained all year long for it—I got on practice bulls and practice horses weekly,” says Miller, whose rewarding trip to Las Vegas also included a George Strait concert. “So when I got there, I tried to act like I was still home in the practice pen. It helps to calm your nerves to know you’ve done it a million times, and all you have to do is do it a million and one.”
Bridger Anderson, a 19-year-old from Carrington, North Dakota, also had a successful trip to Las Vegas. Riding a battle-tested horse at the Wrangler Rodeo Arena, Anderson claimed the steer wrestling crown with a 13.20-second three-head average time after impressive runs of 4.3, 4.9 and 4.0. He emerged victorious over Marc Joiner by a scant twotenths of a second in a very tough group of bulldoggers.
To say rodeo is in Miller’s blood is an understatement. His parents—Bubba and Tammy—both competed in rodeo and helped cultivate his interest in the sport. Bradlee, who prefers bull riding to bareback riding even though the latter comes more naturally, says he has thoroughly enjoyed his two Junior NFR experiences. “It’s a great deal, and it’s raising the future athletes in our sport,” Miller said. “I think it’ll help make the future of rodeo stronger and
Anderson competes on the Northwest Oklahoma State rodeo team of seven-time Wrangler NFR bulldogger Stockton Graves, as well the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s Prairie Circuit. He counts two-time NFR qualifier J.D. Struxness as a mentor, and hopes to someday pay it forward for future Junior NFR competitors. “I bet it’s going to keep growing and getting bigger and bigger every year,” Anderson says of the Junior NFR. This year’s champion in boys tiedown roping was Dawson Appleton of Copan, Oklahoma, who averaged 8.96 seconds for his three runs to win his event with a total time of 26.88. The victory proved to be a confidence boost for the 17-year-old Copan High School student. “It was the best of the best, and was a tough roping,” says Appleton, who rode his 20-year-old horse Jack in Las Vegas. “I just tried making the best run for each calf I had. It proved that I can compete with anyone my age, and a lot of times my confidence is what hurts me the most. This helped me a bunch, and I would love to come back.” Now that Miller, Anderson and Appleton have tasted victory inside a Las Vegas arena, their next goal is to duplicate the feat one day at the Thomas & Mack Center. “That’s the ultimate dream of every kid who’s ever rodeoed,” Appleton says. That includes the next generation of tots currently working on their ridin’ and ropin’ skills, hoping to someday receive their own invite to compete in the Junior NFR. NFRREWIND
39