LAS VEGAS – It’s taken 16 nights of bucking horses at the National Finals Rodeo, but bareback rider Kade Sonnier finally cleaned off an item on his bucket list.
“It took (16) rounds for me to get it done, and I thought I’ve had a lot of really good chances to do that in my first 15 rounds of the NFR,” said Sonnier, who rode Land of Fancy from Sankey Pro Rodeo for 88 points to win Tuesday’s sixth round. “Sometimes I might have cost myself, or sometimes the horses just didn’t have their day.
“To be here in Round No. 6, it’s pretty special. We’re just halfway through this deal.”
He qualified for ProRodeo’s grand championship in 2023 and finished third in the world standings that season, placing seven of 10 times, but he never picked up a round victory. So far this year, he’s ridden six horses for a cumulative score of 510.75 points and sits fourth in the average race. He’s also earned $96,150 in Las Vegas.
“There’s a lot of money left to be won, and it’s a really good time to get hot riding bareback horses at the National Finals,” said Sonnier, 26, of Carencro, Louisiana. “I knew that I had a lot of ground to make up. Coming in, the No. 1 goal is to win the NFR average and just let the cards fall where they lay.
“When it comes to winning a world title, I knew I had a lot of ground to make up there, too, but if we keep the glory to God for good draws and keep our chin down and keep spurring hard, you just do that. The reality is, we’re going to control the controllables, and the main thing of that is just having fun.”
He is. He is fourth in the world standings with $267,657. He’s $154,000 behind the standings leader, Texan Rocker Steiner, but four round wins will put him within range. Winning the average title will pay an additional $94,000 bonus Saturday night.
Sonnier has placed in four rounds so far, including the last three. The momentum is on his side, and he spurred Land Of Fancy like a man on a mission. His traveling partner, Kansan Jess Pope, finished third on the horse during last Thursday’s opening round.
“That horse belongs to Wade Sankey, and I ran into Wade (Monday) night,” he said, pointing out that he finished second on Sankey’s Shoutin’ Shoes in Round 4. “I told him, ‘We’re going to do it tonight.’ I thought we were going to do it the other night and had a really good chance.
“I had a chance to get on her before. I was 87 in Filer, Idaho, and I knew what that horse felt like then, and I knew coming into it tonight that I had a really good chance. She bails in the air and hangs and kicks hard, and she gives you all the timing in the world to be able to show off your deal. I’m just grateful she did her job to the best of her ability so I could do mine.”
The fire has been lit, and the embers are burning. Four nights remain on Sonnier’s season, and he knows the task in front of him if he wants to walk away from the City of Entertainment with a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle.
Editor's note: This article was provided to KATC by Ted Harbin.
You can see his website here: http://TwisTedRodeo.com
