After winning Round 9 on Friday night, Missouri Valley College graduate and Marshall resident Tim O’Connell was very close to winning another world championship in bareback riding at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Although he suffered some kind of injury to his left shoulder, the Zwingle, Iowa, native finished tied for fifth in the final round on Saturday night to earn $5,500. Adding in the hefty haul of bonus money he got for tying Steven Dent for the overall lead in the average at the NFR- O’Connell claimed his third straight world championship.
According to prorodeo.com, O’Connell scored an 87 on “All Pink,” and finished the average with 849.5. Dent scored an 84.5 in the final round and did not earn any money.
Heading into the final round, O’Connell was at the top of the money list, with $253,378.11, just under $13,000 more than the second-place rider. The website says, with his bonus money claimed for tying for first in the average, O’Connell finished with $319,801.18- more than $65,000 ahead of Dent.