MULVANE, Kan. – Throughout his illustrious PRCA career, Trevor Brazile has proven time and again he thrives under pressure.

The legendary Decatur, Texas, cowboy did that again Friday night on the first day of the 2019 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping at the Kansas Star Arena.

Brazile came into the NFSR as the leader in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $71,845, followed by Vin Fisher Jr. ($59,844).

All Brazile did was place in four of the first five rounds to keep his lead in the world standings by $8,213 over Fisher and sit in first place in the average with a 64.3-second time on five head.

“I didn’t know any of those stats, I knew I won second in the first round and that’s all I knew,” Brazile said. “I was getting through and feeling like I was doing the best I could with what I had until that last round. I had an opportunity to make a big move and win good money in the round and I mis-strung him. It was just a bobble."

The NFSR concludes Saturday with Rounds 6 through 10. Action begins at 7:30 p.m. (CT).

Brazile placed second in Round 1 (11.0 seconds), split fifth in Round 2 (13.1), was third in Round 3 (15.2) and was sixth in Round 5 (11.4). He earned $17,364 on Day 1, second only to Fisher’s $21,152 haul. The average pays $27,347 to the winner.

“I have not gotten in a hurry to this point,” Brazile said. “I just tried to score smart so each step sets me up for success on the next step, and I try not to skip any steps. That is the biggest part of my plan right now and make the best run I can on the steers. That’s easy to say and hard to do, but in the position I’m in I want to still stay aggressive because that’s just the way I rope. I do not want to change anything because that style that I roped (Friday night) is how I rope all the time anyway.”



This is Brazile’s 22nd NFSR qualification. He owns six NFSR gold buckles (2006-07, 2011 and 2013-15). Brazile has won a PRCA-record 24 gold buckles – a PRCA-record 14 in all-around (2002-04, 2006-15, 2018); three in tie-down roping (2007, 2009-10) and one in team roping (2010) to go with those NFSR buckles.

Fisher was thrilled with his performance on Day 1. He won Round 1 (10.4 seconds) and Round 3 (11.8) and was fifth in Round 5 (10.7). The only thing that hampered the Andrews, Texas, cowboy was his no-time in Round 2, which dropped him to sixth in the average with 52.6 seconds on four head.

“I had a good night,” said Fisher, who is trying to win his first gold buckle. “I made one mistake in (Round 2). I had a steer I knew was pretty strong and had a history of getting up, and I really tried to get a good trip on him, and I didn’t, and he got up. The one thing I have done in the past so much is I go out of the average and I go gunning for go-rounds. I didn’t do that this time. Those two rounds I won I didn’t try to win them. I just went and roped, and I was fortunate everything worked out great.”

Fisher was riding Gump, 17.

“That horse was phenomenal,” he said. “He gave me the go-rounds I was looking for here. He scores, he runs, and he had a perfect drag. I’m sixth in the average and things happen in steer roping. I think I have a chance of third or better in the average and with that being said, I’m going to keep trying to go rope consistent and tie five steers down, and we will see what happens with Trevor and J. Tom (Fisher) and see how the cards fall. If Trevor ropes lights out, he came in with the lead, and he’s going to beat me, but I have to stay in there on nine head so if he stubs his toe and I keep placing, I have a chance.”

J. Tom Fisher, Vin’s younger brother, is second in the average with a 66.2-second time on five head, followed by Tony Reina, who is third with a 72.7-second time on five.

In addition to Vin Fisher Jr.’s round wins Friday, Rocky Patterson won Round 2 (10.1 seconds) and shared the Round 4 victory with Landon McClaugherty, as they were both 9.6 seconds. Tuf Cooper claimed the Round 4 title with the fastest run of the night at 9.4 seconds. Cooper is third in the world standings ($69,421) and is 11th in the average.

By virtue of winning Round 2, Patterson also won the Colby Goodwin Award. The Second Go-Round Award is given in honor of the late Goodwin, who passed away after being injured during the ninth round of the 1999 NFSR.

Cole Patterson, Rocky’s son, who finished 13th in the regular-season world standings with $38,251, won the Dixon McGowan Award, given to the highest-ranked first-time qualifier to the NFSR. The award memorializes McGowan, who died at age 23 in an automobile accident May 10, 1997.

Before the start of the 2018 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Brazile announced that season was going to be the last season he was going to rodeo full time so he could spend more time with his family – wife, Shada; son, Treston, 11; and daughters, Style, 9, and Swayzi, 4.

“I love when my kids say they love coming to this place (Kansas Star), because I have gone to enough steer ropings to go to the (NFSR),” Brazile said. “That’s a shot in the arm for sure because it gives me a little incentive to at least go to 20 to 30 steer ropings a year. No other event I have worked over the years allows me to do what I do and still have my kids in school. This schedule definitely fits our lifestyle better. I don’t know if I will keep doing this or not, but this was my transition and we will see where we go from here. I have really enjoyed this year because of all the changes, and I don’t regret my decision at all.”

On Friday, Brazile rode J.R. Magdeburg III’s horse, Raider, 16.

“That’s a good horse,” Brazile said. “I have another little horse I rode most of the year, and he’s working great, but I feel like at a 10-head competition, Raider was just really, really solid and would let me go do my job all 10 rounds.”

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What to Watch For

ProRodeoTV.com

Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, Mulvane, Kan., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. (CT)

Rural Radio Sirius XM 147

Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping, Mulvane, Kan., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m. (CT)