Daily Archives: January 10, 2010

Every cowboy or cowgirl has memories of the first time that he or she walked into the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas as a competitor in the Wranglers National Finals Rodeo, the Super Bowl of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Kaycee Feild, of Payson, Utah, is no different, talking about “getting chills up my spine,” in 2008 when he stepped behind the chutes for the first time as a professional.
It wasn’t his first trip to Sin City, though.
Throughout the 1980s, Feild made annual trips to the desert to accompany his father, Lewis, a five-time world champion (all-around 1985-87, bareback riding 1985-86) and member of the PRCA Hall of Fame.
After leaving the circuit, Lewis Feild moved into coaching at Utah Valley State College, retiring in 2008, the same year that Kaycee Feild won the College National Finals bareback championship.
“I had the best coach in the world,” Feild said Saturday night after earning an 82-ponit score on a reride in the bareback competition during the second round of the 77th SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo at the Ector County Coliseum…(read more)

The reigning world saddle bronc champion from Great Falls turned in a first-place ride Saturday night at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo. Kruse and Jace Garrett of Nebraska each earned 81-point scores to set the pace in the bronc riding as the 23-performance PRCA event got under way.

Meanwhile, former Boulder bareback star Cody Demers placed third with a 77-point ride and Glendive’s Cody Buller was fourth in the bull riding after a 67-point effort.

Kruse, who won his first PRCA world championship last month in Las Vegas, and the other athletes will be out in the arena a second time in the coming days, hoping to earn spots in the Western Stock Show finals on Jan. 24.

Kruse, 23, is a C.M. Russell High graduate who played football and wrestled for the Rustlers.

Next weekend, Kruse and Buller will be in Great Falls for the 31st annual Montana Pro Rodeo Finals. The event begins Friday night and continues through Sunday afternoon at Four Seasons Arena.