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Joe Beaver, the 2000 all-around champion, competes in calf roping Sunday. While Beaver made more than $123,000 at the NFR, some cowboys, such as Sean Culver, departed without a dollar earned.
Photo by Amy Beth Bennett.
| Monday, December 11, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal COLUMN: Joe Hawk Not every NFR cowboy hits jackpot in Las Vegas
Gold belt buckles and golden paychecks. Ten days of the Midas touch for pro rodeo's best riders and ropers and 'restlers. Yep, a couple of good performances during the season-ending National Finals Rodeo can turn a pick'em-up truck pauper into a king-cab king. Forget those late-night dinners at Waffle House next season. It's Denny's for these guys who crisscross the country's backroads, going from rodeo to rodeo. Hey, Motel 6, don't bother leaving the light on. With the money these cowboys pocketed this month, it's nothing short of Budget Suites. The NFR, which concluded Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center, paid out $1.5 million in prize money, between go-round and event-average earnings. That's $77,000 per each of the 102 cowboys and 15 barrel racers entered. So what is bareback rider Sean Culver doing heading home to Grandview, Wash., with nothing more than arena dirt in the pockets of his Wranglers? For every Joe Beaver, this year's all-around champion who claimed more than $123,000 at the NFR and then spoke afterward of how much more should be paid to its competitors, there's a Culver, a 31-year-old horseshoer by trade who goes home richer only by the experience of having competed. Not that Culver is complaining, mind you. Not even a minor concussion after the first go-round or sprains of the left ankle and left wrist following the ninth go-round had him bemoaning his cashless fate -- or begrudging the fate of those who cashed. "I'm not jealous," Culver said in true "aw-shucks" cowboy fashion. "Heck, them guys went out there, and they earned that money. I'm not jealous at all. It makes me ... well, I look at things a little different after (Sunday). "I'm just thinkin' I need to go home and prepare myself a little better mentally." This was Culver's first NFR. He had qualified eighth out of 15 bareback riders with regular-season earnings of $59,470. And although he completed the 8-second ride on eight of the 10 horses he drew this past week, his scores weren't high enough to earn a check. Everyone else in his event earned at least $13,000. In fact, bareback champion Jeff Collins returns home today to Redfield, Kan., with almost $93,000 in NFR green. Sort of depressing, isn't it, Sean? "No, not really," he said, smiling through the pain. "I'm so sore today, heck, I'm just kinda relieved that it's over now. I get to go home for about a month, rest up, and that'll get me freshened up." While at home, Culver undoubtedly will play over in his mind what he might've done differently, what he should've done better. One thing he already knows he has to work on for next year, if he's so fortunate as to qualify for the NFR, is not battling himself when he hasn't cashed the night before. "Mentally, the longer the week goes on, you start putting a little more pressure on yourself," Culver conceded. What this first-year competitor should do, said 16-year NFR bareback veteran Clint Corey, is "just have fun" with the memories of having made the event. That, he explained, is the real accomplishment. "What I'd like to tell a guy like Sean is there's only 15 guys that get to come here (in bareback) every year, and he was with the best. He is one of the best," said Corey, who won $45,400 over the 10-day run. "No matter whether Sean won money here or not, he qualified. He did it." Sean Culver did -- and he can take that to the bank. Still, cashing in on it would've made for a better National Finals Rodeo. Joe Hawk can be reached at 387-2912 or Joe_Hawk@lasvegas.com.
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