Jake Vold tops bareback for third straight night

Jake Vold continued his dominance Tuesday at the National Finals Rodeo, becoming one of just a few competitors to win three go-rounds.

Vold’s victory kicked off the sixth night of competition at the Thomas &Mack Center. He posted an 85.5 in bareback riding and has won $101,243.58 at the NFR.

“Beating the top 14 other bareback riders in the world three straight nights isn’t easy, and I’ve been fortunate to put together some solid rides,” Vold said.

Fellow Canadian Zeke Thurston won saddle bronc riding, while 18-year-old Ryder Wright, who won the first four go-rounds, didn’t post a score.

There was a three-way tie at 3.60 seconds in steer wrestling among Riley Duvall, Billy Bugenig and world leader Tyler Waguespack, who has split first place in three go-rounds and won money in all six.

Tyler Durfey won tie-down roping; Kimmie Wall prevailed in barrel racing, her second victory in the NFR; and Brennon Eldred was the night’s top bull rider.

Luke Brown and Jake Long won their second go-round in team roping at 4.20 seconds.

“I knew coming in that if we roped good, we’d have a chance to throw our ropes at the gold,” Long said. “We’ve had a fortunate week — even some of our slower runs have made money — and we’ve had some good runs, too. A lot of things have to go your way to win the world.”

Dustin Bird and Russell Cardoza finished in a three-way tie for second.

Bird leads the all-around standings after surpassing Junior Nogueira, who is second, followed by Cardoza, Clayton Hass and Clay Smith.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.