LAS VEGAS -- December 6, 2014 - Curtis Cassidy earned his first check at the 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this evening inside the Thomas & Mack Center meaning all three Canadians have now placed in a round.

First out tonight, Cassidy's time of 4.0 seconds held up for fourth place worth $7,969 moving his season total to over $65,000. The difference from 15th to 1st in the event is just over $60,000 meaning it's still anyone's game. Kyle Irwin took first at 3.2 seconds which is only one-tenth off of the round three all time record and moved himself up to third in the world.

Jake Vold kept things going cashing a check in his third straight round tonight after getting by the eliminator pen. 78 points was the result on a horse called Momentum Shifter from Picket Pro Rodeo to tie him for fifth with three-time World Champ Kaycee Field. He's won the fourth most amount of any bareback rider at $20,331 to this point, $3,984 of which was from tonight and sits third in the aggregate.

Dustin Flundra didn't have much luck this evening. His score came up as a 63 and that's how it stayed. The good news for him after not being awarded a re-ride was he's now got three horses covered and sits sixth in the aggregate. Wade Sundell took tonight's round after an 87. Taos Muncy leads the world as of tonight by a mere $100 over Cort Scheer.

After his rope broke in round two, Cody Ohl came back and about blew the roof off this place after tying his calf in a 6.6. One tenth of a second off his NFR record of 6.5 seconds. He's up to ninth in the world. Tuf Cooper leads but the now 21 time World Champion, 12 of which are from the all around, nine of which are consecutive, sits second, hot on his heels pursuing his third triple crown.

"This is awesome. Every time that number gets bigger it gets harder to believe. I never expected anything like this, so it almost doesn’t seem real," Brazile said.

Tweet of the Night
As it turned out, there had been a lady make a run with a helmet on before meaning Fallon Taylor isn't the first. Either way she's now number one.

https://twitter.com/TedStovin/status/541454358861193216

I think an interesting thing to note is that in the barrel racing, 10 of the 15 contestants have already crossed the $100,000 mark. The same cannot be said for any other event (other than when counting individual team ropers). Kassidy Dennison earned the round win this evening with the first sub 14 second run at 13.94.

NFR Rookie Joe Frost is the only man with a shot to ride all ten bulls this year. He's up to 240 points on three thus far having won nearly $35,000 - which moves him up to fourth in the world. Sage Kimzey won tonight's round with an 84.5 to increase his lead to just under $33,000 over second place Trey Benton III. Ten points back from Kimzey was J.W. Harris at 74.5 points to finish fifth in round three. Harris has yet to crack 80 points at the biggest rodeo in the world and is $83,000 back from Kimzey in the world standings.

Las Vegas Events announced their commitment to the 2014 Wrangler NFR this evening. A cheque was presented to the PRCA for $10,312,500 which goes towards the payout, compensation to stock contractors and sponsorship.

Official Results from Round Three of the 2014 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV on December 6th, 2014.

Bareback riding: 1. Justin McDaniel on Frontier Rodeo's Delta Ship, 89 points, $19,002; 2. Winn Ratliff, 87.5, $15,108; 3. Bobby Mote, 82.5, $11,340; 4. Austin Foss, 80, $7,969; 5. (tie) Jake Vold and Kaycee Feild, 78, $3,985.

Steer wrestling: 1. Kyle Irwin, 3.2 seconds, $19,002; 2. Cole Edge, 3.8, $15,108 each; 3. Luke Branquinho, 3.9, $11,340 each; 4. Curtis Cassidy, 4.0 $7,969; 5. Nick Guy, 4.2, $4,904; 6. Ty Erickson, 4.4, $3,065.

Team roping: 1. Dustin Bird/Paul Eaves, 3.9 seconds, $19,002; 2. Trevor Brazile/Travis Graves, 4.0, $15,018; 3. (tie) Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill and Kaleb Driggers/Patrick Smith, 4.2, $9,655; 5. (tie) Coleman Proctor/Jake Long and Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 4.3, $3,985.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Wade Sundell, 87 points on Rafter G Rodeo's Low Bucks, $19,002; 2. (tie) Spencer Wright and Heith DeMoss, 84, $13,179; 4. (tie) Cole Elshere and Tyler Corrington, 83.5, $6,436 each; 6. Jacobs Crawley, 82.5, $3,065 each.

Tie-down roping: 1. Cody Ohl, 6.6 seconds, $19,002; 2. (tie) Hunter Herrin and Shane Hanchey, 7.2, $13,179 each; 4. Trevor Brazile, 7.4, $7,969; 5. Tuf Cooper, 7.6, $4,904. 6. Marty Yates, 7.9, $3,064.

Barrel racing: 1. Kassidy Dennison, 13.94 seconds, $19,002; 2. Nancy Hunter, 13.99, $15,018; 3. Fallon Taylor, 14.05; 4. Lisa Lockhart, 14.07, $7,969; 5. Christy Loflin, 14.08, $4,904; 6. Mary Walker, 14.10, $3,065.

Bull riding: 1. Sage Kimzey, 84.5 points on Pete Carr's Classic Pro Rodeo's Line Man, $19,002; 2. Trey Benton III, 82, $15,018; 3. Cody Teel, 81.5, $11,340; 4. Joe Frost, 80.5, $7,969; 5. J.W. Harris, 74.5, $4,904; 6. Tyler Smith, 73, $3,065.

For full results, draws and more visit ProRodeo.com

Courtesy of Ted Stovin, EverythingCowboy.ca