Steer wrestler Lee Graves is competing in his 10th National Finals Rodeo and over the years has gotten to know Las Vegas pretty well.
National Finals Rodeo
At Thomas & Mack Center
Cody DeMoss is called “Hot Sauce” and Heith DeMoss is nicknamed “Danger.” The brothers from Heflin, La., also are known as two of the best saddle bronc riders in the world.
At Thomas & Mack Center
Josh Peek seems to be one of those cowboys who believes that timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. He’s big on faith, on a higher being guiding our destiny.
As he has almost every year for the past quarter-century, Marty Jandreau trekked to Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo.
Bill Engvall has spent 11 Decembers in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. To him, one image sums up the strange confluence of cowboys and casinos.
If you didn’t live around Las Vegas before it had an Eiffel Tower and New York City skyline dotting the Strip, then you might be surprised that Southern Nevada’s roots are buried deep in western culture.
Trevor Brazile will feel right at home tonight when he rides into the Thomas & Mack Center for the opening of the National Finals Rodeo — and not just because the 33-year-old Texan has competed in the event every year since 1998.
Trevor Brazile started the National Finals Rodeo a year ago with an overwhelming lead in the all-around race and won his sixth championship as the world’s best cowboy.
The 2009 National Finals Rodeo marks the 25th year that the event has been held in Las Vegas and at the Thomas & Mack Center. The 10-day rodeo remains the biggest in the world, with the best rodeo athletes, but much of the landscape has changed around the event. Following are facts and figures comparing the 1985 NFR with the 2009 NFR:
