NFR DAILY ROUNDUP

• STEER WRESTLING — At the National Finals Rodeo, where fractions of seconds equate to thousands of dollars, the last few rounds are not the time to take anything down a notch. Especially not in steer wrestling.

In what has become a tight race — first and ninth place are separated by less than $33,000 — just hearing the words “safety up” is enough to make a cowboy cringe.

“You safety up, you’re gonna fall off the back end,” said Lance Creek, Wyo., bulldogger Jason Miller, who came to Las Vegas 13th in world standings but now ranks third. “You can’t. You can’t work all year, work your whole life, to come out here and safety up.”

Part of the reason for this “can-do, will-do” attitude is the fact the event is wide open.

Sean Mulligan of Coleman, Okla., came into the event more than $55,000 behind then-leader Luke Branquinho. But after winning three go-round gold buckles — including Thursday’s $16,394 payday, after a 3.4-second run — Mulligan is in the thick of it.

“Coming in, I didn’t think I had a chance,” Mulligan said. “Now, I’ve won three rounds, and, well, I do have a chance.”

Lee Graves, a resident of Calgary, Alberta, came into the competition at No. 4 but with $50,637 in earnings has leapt to first. Consistent through eight rounds — two gold buckles, a second-place finish and a fourth in the seventh round — Graves said you have to approach the last two rounds of the NFR like the first two.

“I gotta take chances,” Graves said. “Everybody up there in the average is doing that, too. … You gotta go for it.”

• BAREBACK RIDING — Justin McDaniel kept creeping up on Bobby Mote.

But with an 84.5-point ride on Harry Vold Rodeo’s Dusty Dan, Mote might have found the breathing room he’s been lacking for several days.

The Culver, Ore., rider tied for first with Scott Montague of Rapid City, S.D., to win $14,675 apiece.

With two rounds to go, Mote leads McDaniel by roughly $35,000. McDaniel is tied for second (with Jess Davis) in the aggregate. Mote’s ride moved him from 12th to sixth.

• TEAM ROPING — This hadn’t been an NFR to remember for Speed Williams, and he has had plenty of good NFR memories.

Partnered with heeler Dean Tuftin for the first time in NFR competition, the eight-time world champion had a fifth-place tie and a sixth-place tie in seven rounds.

With a winning run of 3.7 seconds — 0.2 seconds off the NFR record — Williams claimed another gold buckle.

The world title race among headers is one of the closest in the Finals. Clay Tryan, with heeler Walt Woodard, placed second to move Tryan within $2,400 of leader Chad Masters.

• SADDLE BRONC RIDING– With one paycheck through seven rounds, Billy Etbauer hadn’t gotten into a groove at the NFR. So much for that.

The 44-year-old rider from Edmond, Okla., took Mosbrucker Rodeo Company’s War Chick to an 88.5.

Cody Wright of Milford, Utah, didn’t earn a paycheck, but he completed his ride to stay in the aggregate title race, where he is ranked seventh. Taos Muncy, who is $16,000 behind Wright, was bucked off but is three spots ahead of Wright in aggregate.

• BARREL RACING — Brittany Pozzi-Pharr’s lead continues to shrink.

Lindsay Sears of Nanton, Alberta, won her fourth go-round of the Finals with a time of 13.69 seconds to cut Pozzi-Pharr’s advantage to $7,500.

“You’re always going to count on Brittany to be consistent and to be tough, so you’ve got to bring your game,” Sears said.

Pozzi-Pharr, who took sixth, is first in aggregate standings and leads the seventh-place Sears by around four seconds.

• BULL RIDING — Soft-spoken and humble, Ted Bert is certain about only one thing: Despite having earned more than $48,000 at the NFR, he isn’t done yet.

“Honestly, my goal this week (was) to win money to buy an arena — a practice pen — before I left,” said Bert, whose 90-point ride on Savage Shaker marked his second gold buckle of the week. “I still have a lot more to win, I think.”

With the struggles of B.J. Schumacher, who has successfully ridden only two bulls this week, Bert has a decent chance at the world title. Bert leads the aggregate standings with 424.5 points on five head, 7.5 points ahead of No. 2 Wesley Silcox.

But they have to catch Schumacher, the world money leader, and Kanin Asay, who is second.

JON GOLD/REVIEW-JOURNAL