CANADIANS IN CONTENTION FOR WORLD TITLES WITH TWO PERFORMANCES TO GO
December 11 , 2009

Lee Graves and Luke Branquinho have been putting on quite the show at the 51st annual Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) this week, a bit of a thriller, to be sure, and one that has the two bulldoggers playing musical go-rounds at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

And after the eighth round, it was Graves who emerged the leader.

The Calgarian’s 3.7-second run was enough to earn him a third place finish on Thursday night, just three-tenths of a second behind round winner Stockton Graves of Oklahoma, and the $10,228 that came with it was enough to reclaim the lead from Branquinho.

Just $7,076 separates the two athletes, a little less than a fourth place cheque at this year’s NFR, and with both easily within range of winning the average, this is one battle that’s going to last until the final round on Saturday.

While Graves is leading the World standings, Branquinho currently leads the average with 34 seconds on eight head. Graves’ fellow Albertan Curtis Cassidy is holding fast to second place in the average, a position he’s been sitting comfortably in since the third round. Cassidy is currently fourth in the World.

Lindsay Sears is leading the pack of ladies barrel racers vying for that event’s championship title.

And the Nanton, Alta. cowgirl has been taking chances to stay there. In the seventh round, she bumped two barrels. Neither were knocked over, and she crossed the finish line in 13.71 seconds, placing first in that go-round, but it goes to show just how fierce the competition is.

She’s still leading the World standings and the average after her third place finish in go-round eight, but less than $5,000 separates Sears from Texan Brittany Pozzi in the standings, which should make for an exciting race as the final rounds of NFR come to a close.

Saddle bronc rider Dustin Flundra picked up his second cheque of this year’s NFR after his fourth place ride in go-round seven. The Pincher Creek, Alta. cowboy scored an 81.5 on Mosbrucker Rodeo’s Paper & Fire. He’ll collect $7,188 for the ride, adding to the $4,423 he won in round two. The bronc rider is unfortunately out of contention for the saddle bronc world title, but there’s still plenty of NFR money to be earned with two go-rounds remaining.
                       
Tune in to prorodeo.com for more detailed results and television schedule as the 51st annual National Finals Rodeo wraps up in Vegas this Saturday.