Cut Line Comeback: Competitors' Diverse Approaches to 2024 Goals After 2023 NFR Shortfall

While they might not have made an appearance in Las Vegas, success at the circuit finals and other winter rodeos have put several rodeo athletes in early contention to reach the NFR after coming up just short last year.

It is the goal of every individual competing full-time at professional rodeo’s highest level – earn enough money during the regular season to be among the 15 best in their area of competition, securing themselves a spot among the field for the National Finals Rodeo in mid-December.

Getting to that point generally requires months of hard work, a dedication to travel and a little bit of luck. Riders and horses have to stay healthy. Draws have to be favorable. And the money has to add up just right.

But what happens when all the efforts come up just short? When the quest to reach the top 15 ends at 16, 17, 18 or lower?

“Honestly, all I could say is it really lit a fire in me. It really made my drive harder and go for what I want this year,” said barrel racer Ashley Castleberry after finishing 17th in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) world standings last year.

To be fair, Castleberry came into the 2023 season without a set of hard goals. The Montgomery, Texas, cowgirl had been involved in a single-vehicle accident in September 2022 that ultimately led to one of her horses losing its life.

The moment left her unsure of what was next, and while Castleberry still had her primary mount, Skyy, she planned to use 2023 as an opportunity to season a recently acquired horse, Stormy, in anticipation of 2024.

Instead, her newly formed tandem produced winning results, putting Castleberry in position to reach NFR for the first time. She ran at 97 rodeos, earning almost $88,000. It was a career-best moment that left her two spots away from competing in Las Vegas.

Instead of wallowing in the shortfall, Castleberry has pushed even harder. She won the Texas Circuit Finals average title in October and has picked up some additional earnings early in the winter season, giving her more than $17,500 already, placing her top three in the WPRA as of late January.

“This will be my sixth year hauling, and I’ve never had a good winter. Every winter, I’ve gone into my summer run with about $12,000. This winter, I’ve already got $17,000 won, and I’ve never had that,” Castleberry said. “That would have definitely made me every single year if I would have had that. I’m hoping that I can go have one of my normal summers, and we can be in Vegas this year.”

Cole Franks can relate to that situation as the bareback rider knew his 2023 campaign wasn’t going to be easy.

After making a second straight NFR in 2022 to start his career, Franks came into 2023 battling a bulging disc in his neck. He fought through the discomfort during the winter season, then took April through June off to try and heal.

Despite the issues, the Clarendon, Texas, cowboy stayed in contention all summer, earning a little more than $109,500 for the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to put him in the NFR field for a third consecutive season as he placed 17th in the world standings.

The byproduct of that shortcoming – a little time off.

“I’m feeling a lot better than I was last year at this time, at least. It gave me a lot of downtime, which was nice, but it also kind of sucked at the same time. I don’t do real good at sitting still. I hate it,” Franks said with a laugh.

While he missed the NFR, Franks made the most of the opportunities he had at the tail end of 2023 to help himself for 2024. He rode to a big payday at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo in November and picked up nearly $5,500 at the New Year's Eve Buck and Ball. All told, he already has nearly $15,000 in his ledger and sits sixth in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings.

It’s a good start that Franks hopes will play in his favor as the season rolls along.

“That was kind of my game plan this year was just get as big a jump as I can early so that later on, I’ll be able to spread myself out a little bit more and make it easier on my neck and not have to get on so many back-to-back all the time,” he said.

While a finish outside the top 15 might drive others to push themselves, Glen Ullin, N.D., steer wrestler Cameron Morman isn’t getting too caught up in that mentality.

Yes, Morman would love to get back to the NFR for his first time since 2019. And yes, finishing 17th in the PRCA world standings last year was a little frustrating.

But the veteran chooses to look at the bigger picture beyond just a trip to Vegas.

After winning the average at the Badlands Circuit Finals in October, Morman still finds himself among the top 15 in the standings thus far, sitting at 13th with more than $8,300 in earnings for the year.

He fully plans to hit the winter rodeos he’s qualified for, like Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and others, but if the money doesn’t line up just right, he’ll look to change his focus during the summer months.

There are priority shifts when you become a new father and still have to manage a ranch back home, and those are things Morman is proud to put his focus on if NFR falls out of reach.

“Yeah, we’re top 15 right now, but there’s a lot of rodeo left and a lot of time for that to change,” Morman said. “I guess If I have a big winter, I’ll dang sure try to make it again, but we’ve got a little boy now and a ranch back home, and we’ve got some other stuff we’ve got to tend to.”