LAS VEGAS – There are times an athlete has to reach beyond what might be his limits to accomplish something special.
After Andrews Rodeo’s Empty Promises got out of the starting blocks early, Kade Sonnier had to kick int into high gear just to catch up. He did, managing an 83.75-point ride to finish sixth in Wednesday’s seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo.
That was worth $5,914 and marked the fifth time he has earned money in Las Vegas.
“We just keep chipping away at it,” said Sonnier of Carencro, Louisiana. “That horse beat me out of the gate a little bit. She kind of hit the chute gate, and it caused us to have a little bit of a foul start. She reared up and stalled. I knew there were a couple of tricks to here, but that was just some unfortunate luck.
“The hardest thing about that horse is getting out (of the chute) clean. I don’t necessarily think I had the best go at her today, but I feel like I’m probably riding as good as I’ve ever rode. Sometimes you don’t necessarily draw the best horses for you. That was one hell of a pen of bucking horses, but I probably had one of the weaker ones. To get a check out of that, you’re doing something right.”
He is. He’s earned $102,064 and has ridden seven broncs for a cumulative score of 594.5 points. He is tied for third in the average standings and is in line to snag a good bonus if he remains in similar position when the rodeo season concludes Saturday. He has increased his season total to $273,571 and is fifth in the world standings.
“The cool thing about this rodeo is that it pays so good every night that a guy can be a little cold right there at the beginning and still finish strong,” Sonnier said. “That’s the name of the game for us for the rest of this week. It’s time to just go finish what we started, and that was to come here and have fun.
“As long as you’re having fun, this is a dream come true.”
