NFR DAILY ROUNDUP

EVENT RECAP

• STEER WRESTLING -- Matt Reeves felt the blood. He's well-acquainted with the sweat. On Wednesday came the tears.

"As bad as I don't want to admit it, I did sit in my room and cry for a little while when they told me I couldn't run them the other night," said Reeves, who suffered a concussion in Tuesday's sixth round of the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center. "But certain things you learn are more important than one steer, and one of those things is your health."

The harrowing experience -- his head crashed into the steer's after his 4.6-second run -- made his return to the arena Friday that much more special.

Reeves threw his steer in 3.6 seconds for a second-place tie with Wade Sumpter, 0.4 seconds behind round winner Luke Branquinho. The $11,370 paycheck was nice, but it didn't erase the disappointment of having to watch the NFR from his hotel room Wednesday and Thursday.

"It was very difficult not getting to run those two steers," the Pampa, Texas, cowboy said. "I'd thrown all my steers down (to that point), and it basically looked like as long as I threw the next four steers down, I'd win no worse than sixth in the average. Basically, I set that on fire in the arena right about then."

• BAREBACK RIDING -- Will Lowe of Canyon, Texas, scored an 86-point ride on Calgary Stampede's Gorgeous Connie, placing for the sixth consecutive round and taking home his second buckle of the event.

"My goal is to win every time, and with the field of guys we have, that's not going to happen," said Lowe, who has won three bareback world titles. "But things have been working well, and we've still got another round and almost $17,000 to win (today)."

• TEAM ROPING -- So much for the theory that experience matters. The two tykes of the competition are proving skill is the only contributing factor, as Colter Todd, 23, and Cesar de la Cruz, 22, won their second buckle with a 4.1-second run.

The two go-round wins are accompanied by a second-place finish, a second-place tie, a third-place finish and a third-place tie. All told, the buddies have won an event-high $73,862 so far.

"My heroes -- like (fellow team ropers) Allen Bach, Clay O'Brien Cooper and Walt Woodard -- they're still in the mix, and it's pretty awesome" to be there with them, de la Cruz said.

• SADDLE BRONC RIDING -- Taos Muncy, a 20-year-old rookie, won his second go-round with an 86.5 on Burch Rodeo Co.'s Blood Brother. For the NFR, Muncy has won $57,644. Canada's Rod Hay ($64,974) is the only rider to stick on nine horses.

• CALF ROPING -- Calf ropers rarely are as nervous as when they're checking their draw.

When Stran Smith saw his draw on Friday, he realized he had just the right calf for his style.

"I didn't think that calf was the very best one in the pen," said Smith, who won his second buckle with a 7.2-second run, "but he was the one I wanted because he was a little bigger, faster and stronger."

• BARREL RACING -- It's getting tough to beat Lindsay Sears.

The Canadian cowgirl raced to her fifth buckle of the NFR with a 13.81-second run in the ninth round, bumping her earnings to $104,711.53.

She propelled ahead of Brittany Pozzi-Pharr in the world standings, but Pozzi-Pharr leads the aggregate standings.

• BULL RIDING -- After 12 months, it comes down to eight seconds: If Wesley Silcox has one more ride in him, he'll probably be crowned PRCA champion. If not, a crowded field will vie for the championship buckle, with four cowboys still in the mix.

Silcox's 86.5-point ride on Vertical Exit gave him $59,495 in NFR earnings and his second go-round win.

JON GOLD/REVIEW-JOURNAL