CANADIANS CASH IN DURING FIRST FOUR NFR PERFORMANCES IN VEGAS
December 7 , 2009

Lady luck has been known to frequent Las Vegas a time or two, but luck wasn't the name of the game for four Canadian rodeo athletes making their way to the Nevada city's Thomas & Mack Center  for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

Hard work, determination and try were the cards played by Curtis Cassidy, Dustin Flundra, Lee Graves, and Lindsay Sears, leading them into the 51st NFR.

And reflecting on the first four performances of the 2009 NFR, it's no secret they belong.

Cassidy picked up his first cheque of the Finals by winning round one, throwing his steer in just 3.6 seconds.

"It’s a really fast start here, and the steers run," said the five-time Canadian High Point Champion. “I knew absolutely nothing about (the steer). I asked a few guys, and they said those red steers were good average steers. But I asked the other guys, and nobody had any lists on him, so I just backed in like you would at any other rodeo where you don’t know about a steer.”

It was the Donalda, Alta. bulldogger's second NFR go-round win in his rodeo career so far, and helped him pass $100,000 in his 2009 season earnings.

Fellow bulldogger Graves, of Calgary, Alta., split fourth in that first go-round with a 4.2, squeezing into the money and earning $4,792.

Flundra was out of the money in go-round one after he placed 14th with a 75-point ride. But the Pincher Creek, Alta. bronc rider kicked it up a notch in round two, placing fifth with a 81.5 for $4,423.

In the ladies barrel racing, Sears placed fifth with a 14.18 and picked up $4,423 for the effort. Hailing from Nanton, Alta., Sears also put the pressure on the competition in the second round, placing first after a whirlwind run around the barrels. Stopping the clock at 13.95 seconds, the Alberta cowgirl added $17,139 to her season earnings.

Steer wrestlers Cassidy and Graves cooled off a bit in the second round, placing ninth and 10th respectively. But Graves picked up another cheque in round three, worth $6,151, after a three-way split for third with a 3.9 second tackle.

Sears was also in the money during the third round, her 13.97 second run earning her a third place go-round finish for $10,228, followed by a second place finish during the fourth go-round. Speedy Sears was 13.76 for $13,546. She sits in second place in the world standings, and leads the barrel racing average with 55.86 seconds in four rounds.

But probably the biggest win so far is Graves’ first-place win in the fourth performance. The five time Canadian steer wrestling champion, and 2005 World Champion, turned his Sunday steer in a rapid 3.4 seconds, cashing in the $17,139 cheque, propelling the Calgarian back into first in the PRCA world standings, and into the average lead at this year's NFR. Cassidy is right behind him in the average after splitting fifth for $3,594. Graves is 15.7 seconds on four head; Cassidy is 15.8. The next closest bulldogger in the average race is Oregon cowboy Shawn Greenfield at 16.3.

Heading into tonight's fifth round, which will be aired on TSN2 tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. MST, each Canadian contestant has a shot at another cheque.

The 51st NFR wraps up with the final round on Dec. 12, when eight new World Champions will be named.