RAPID CITY, S.D. – Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper began to wonder. He knows what is required to reach the top of his sport. But injuries and ineffectiveness have a way of creating doubt even for a three-time qualifier at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
“I hadn’t really struck big in a while. I have been through a little bit of heck, beating my head up against the wall,” Casper said. “I had to keep my confidence up and it finally ended working in my favor.”
That sound you heard is Casper exhaling. Everything came together at the Xtreme Broncs Finals in Rapid City, S.D., on Sunday night. The 27-year-old won the event with a score of 181 points on two head at WW Grandstand Arena, earning a crisp $25,000.
“The key before this was to try and win everything I went to. But after getting this win, it takes a little bit of weight off my shoulders,” Casper said.
Rapid City is saddle bronc country and Casper put on a show for the locals. It began with an 89-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Pip Squeak.
“The first ride, she was feeling fresh. She did everything a bronc rider wants a horse to do,” Casper said.
A match with J Bar J’s Straight Jacket offered a chance to walk away with the top prize. Casper knew the horse well, but “screwed up” on his previous ride, scoring an 80. He brought that intel into the final and delivered a 92-point trip.
“I am ecstatic,” said Casper, getting congratulations between interview questions. “I knew he would fire out really hard. And everything just clicked. The key was getting a good spur out. And getting ahead of him. I absolutely knew I had a chance when I drew him. That’s a great horse.”
The victory shoves Casper back into the top 15 with roughly five weeks remaining in the season. It is a testament to his talent and toughness. He missed a month this summer from July 4 to Aug. 5 after tearing his hamstring for the second straight year. Rapid City, however, shot him out of a cannon towards Las Vegas.
“For sure, this should put me up there to make the NFR. I am not sure I can take my foot off the pedal, but this takes some pressure off” said Casper, who has finished 13th, eighth and second in his three straight NFR appearances. “This is the best I have ever done here. It was a great event. It couldn’t have been a better place for this to happen.”
