Dent rides to victory while pal’s in hospital

Nebraskan bareback rider Steve Dent is competing in his third National Finals Rodeo and had never won a go-round until Saturday night.

He couldn't be happier about the victory that helped put him in the lead for a world championship. He just wishes the circumstances were different.

On Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, Ryan Gray began the second go-round of the 10-day NFR with a $15,000 lead over Dent in the world championship race of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

The night ended quickly for Gray after he was bucked off before the eight-second whistle. His sixth NFR ended a split second later when Buetler & Son Rodeo's Golden Dream stepped on his back with its hind hoofs.

Gray was carried from the arena and transported to University Medical Center, where is being treated for a lacerated liver. On Saturday afternoon, he was transferred from intensive care.

As serious as Gray's injury is, it could have been much worse had he not been wearing a padded, protective vest, according to rodeo medical staff.

"I'm glad he's going to be all right. There's not a better guy in rodeo," said Dent, who travels with Gray on the rodeo circuit throughout the season.

Dent visited Gray at the hospital Friday, and the injured rider offered him explicit instructions.

"Last night I asked him if there was anything I could do for him, and he said, 'Go win a gold buckle,' " Dent said. "That's the kind of guy he is."

Dent, of Mullen, Neb., took a big step toward putting a smile on his buddy's face during the third go-round, about 24 hours after Gray's dreams were stomped cold.

Dent took the season money lead from Gray with a winning 85-point ride on Carr Pro Rodeo's Big Lights before a crowd of 17,207.

"He's going to be all right," Dent said. "It's tough to see anybody get hurt, especially this time of the year and the position he was in. It's hard to see."

But Dent, like all rodeo cowboys, knows it's not a matter of if you'll get injured but when.

Dent did precisely what his friend asked of him. He bowed his neck as the last of 15 riders to leave the chute and was not intimidated by competing against the toughest bucking horses in the event.

"In the eliminator pen, you're just happy to get by one," he said of how groups of horses are rated and rotated throughout the NFR.

"I've been here (for the NFR) twice before and never won a round, and it's harder to win a round here than it looks. I'm excited to be able to win a round."

Gray, who is expected to remain hospitalized for a few more days, will be excited, too, when he hears the news.