NFR Day 6: Frost rides ‘roller coaster’ to bull riding lead — PHOTOS
Bull rider Josh Frost said this year has been a “roller coaster.”
After a slow winter, Frost started to find his rhythm during the summer before a shoulder injury in August sidelined him until the National Finals Rodeo.
Frost lost ground in the standings, but he said he wasn’t worried, not with the 10 rounds of competition and all the money on the line in Las Vegas.
It didn’t take long for Frost to erase the deficit after missing three months of competition. Frost won his go-round Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center with a score of 86.5 and picked up $37,219 in earnings.
On Tuesday, Frost took another victory lap around the arena, winning the go-round with a score of 90 to add $33,687 in earnings.
“It’s nice to get one,” Frost said after his win Sunday. “The big deal here is just knocking down these bulls. If you try to get seven or eight rode, you’re probably going to end up the average champ. Every round has its own challenges. Every pin is set up a little different, and it’s cool to come up on top and just try to keep the momentum rolling for the rest of the week.”
Frost has started to create some separation in a tight bull riding title fight. The Randlett, Utah, native leads TJ Gray by more than $69,000 in the overall standings.
“Went to kicking butt in the summer, took the lead in the world and tore my shoulder up pretty good in August and had to sit out for about three months before Vegas,” Frost said. “A little bit of a roller coaster, but that’s where the mental toughness comes in to show up here in Vegas and knock them down.”
Tough competition
That mental toughness was on display in Frost’s run Monday. Out of the chute, Frost’s bull fell on its side. As Frost picked himself up off the ground and away from the bull, he was chased around the arena before the bull was eventually handled.
Frost got a rerun and received a score of 82.5 after falling off the bull as the eight-second buzzer went off. He picked up $29,521.56 in earnings Monday since just three riders lasted the full eight seconds.
“That’s the big part — being here, you’re going to get bucked off one or two (bulls),” Frost said. “The goal is to ride 10, but realistically you ride seven or eight, you’re going to win a pile of money. So many guys hit the ground once and let that turn into two or three buck-offs. Being able to know how to bounce back from that one buck-off and come back and ride the next one and keep that rolling is a big factor here.”
That’s been key with how close the bull riding standings are. Entering Las Vegas, six riders had more than $200,000 in earnings.
Gray, Jace Trosclair, Copper James and Clayton Sellars are all in contention. Frost has won 11 times and was co-champion in two other events this year. He said the class is “as good as it’s ever been.”
“The last couple years coming into Vegas, there’s always been one person that’s had a really big lead,” Frost. “What’s cool this year is everybody’s really tight, and there’s a bunch of young guys that are hungry and greedy, and you’re fixing to see probably the best 10 days of bull riding we’ve seen in Vegas for a few years.”
For Frost, he said he feels better when he’s fully “aware” of where everyone sits in the standings.
“I’m kind of a stats person,” Frost said. “I do better knowing the numbers. It kind of gives me that safety of mind knowing where I’m at and knowing what I need to do. If I try to ignore it, it just kind of eats away at me. I try to know the information, know how to handle it and still show up and perform, then try to block it all out.”
From rodeo family
Frost can lean on his rodeo family for help. Frost is a third-generation PRCA cowboy with his father, Shane, and grandpa, Joe. His great-uncle Clyde competed at the first NFR in 1959.
Josh’s older brother Joe competed at NFR five times. Frost said he makes sure to call his brother as soon as he can after he completes a run.
“I try to call him first after the ride, but half the time, he’s in bed. It’s nice having him,” Frost said. “He’s kind of one of my bigger coaches or mentors through my bull riding. Since he’s retired, he really helped me a lot. We break down my rides. … It’s a blessing coming from a rodeo family.”
With NFR in its middle days, Frost said he’s in the “swing of things” and that the early jitters are gone. With four runs left after Tuesday, Frost is within grasp of a first-ever bull riding title.
“It just comes with experience, knowing yourself, knowing what it takes to be ready to ride the bull,” Frost said. At the end of the day, we’re here to compete in this arena. You got to show up here locked in, ready to do your best, because this is where it counts.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
Youngest Wright brother takes 1st NFR victory
Statler Wright has watched older brothers Stetson and Ryder take their fair share of winning victory laps around the Thomas & Mack Center at the National Finals Rodeo.
Now Statler, the youngest of the four Wright brothers, can say he's an NFR winner.
On Tuesday, the 21-year-old won the saddle bronc go-round with a score of 87.5 points. Wright is making his first appearance at NFR.
"It felt awesome," Wright said. "I still honestly don't know much (about the horse). I don't really remember half the ride, but it felt awesome. She was bucking and doing her thing and it was just one of those rides that it made me really feel like a saddle bronc rider. "
Ryder won go-rounds on Sunday and Monday and leads the saddle bronc overall standings by more than $25,000. Statler is eighth in the standings.
Statler had to sweat out watching his brother and other top saddle bronc riders like Zeke Thurston and Damian Brennan for the go-round win.
"That was more nerve-wracking than getting on. I was very nervous," Statler Wright said. "Once Damian Brennan went, he was right before Ryder who was the last guy out, I kind of knew that it was between me and Ryder. One of us were going to the South Point so I was pretty pumped."
Wright has watched his brothers, father Cody and other family members compete at NFR since he could remember. The Wrights have been some of the loudest supporters at this year's NFR, cheering on Statler and Ryder.
"I give all the credit to my dad, (brothers) Rusty, Ryder, Stetson, they've been at every step of the way helping me and teaching me," Statler Wright said. "It's been awesome. I love having them here. I don't even know how to put it into words. It's just amazing that I got the support system that I do.
The family spent Tuesday at City National Arena watching the Golden Knights practice. The Wrights met defenseman Brayden McNabb and were given jerseys and a Golden Knights branded number plate.
"That was awesome," Wright said. "That's some crazy stuff they do. Skates, I don't know if I could handle that. It looks hard on your ankles and those are some big dudes. It was pretty awesome and a cool experience.
Other go-round winners:
—- Rocker Steiner, Weatherford, Texas, in bareback riding (89 points).
—- Scott Guenther, Consort, Alberta, Canada, in steer wrestling (3.8 seconds).
—- Brenten Hall, Jay, Oklahoma, and Kaden Profili, Jacksonville, Texas, in team roping (3.5 seconds).
—- Haven Meged, Miles City, Montana, in tie-down roping (6.9 seconds).
—- Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, in barrel racing (13.25 seconds).
