Stetson Wright chucked his helmet in excitement after he appeared to be the Round 8 winner with a 93.5 on the second-to-last bull ride of the night but it was not meant to be. Five-time world champion Sage Kimzey, riding last, notched a career-best ride of 94 to win the go-round and move closer to a sixth world title.
“This is a personal best, and it’s special to have it at the NFR,” Kimzey said. “My previous best was a 93. If you’re that many points you’re never going to have a good seat, and it is toe-to-toe and us swapping blows. It’s pretty miraculous – it was pure bliss, it really was. Bruiser is a smooth bull and is a big pet really. I scratched him in the loading alley, and he looked at me like, ‘It’s you and me tonight, champ,’ and it really was.”
Kimzey now leads by more than $125,000 in the bull riding standings and with $129,000 (not counting ground money) through eight rounds at NFR, he is also second in the RAM Top Gun Award standings behind bareback rider Clayton Biglow.
“I feel great and am healthy and riding good, obviously,” Kimzey said. “It’s been an incredible week, and it’s God’s blessings raining down in abundance.”
Clayon Sellers and Boudreaux Campbell, who is No. 2 in the world standings, shared third Thursday night.
Bull Riding World Standings (NFR money in parentheses)
1. Sage Kimzey - $390,046 ($144,608)
2. Boudreaux Campbell - $263,764 ($136,993)
3. Stetson Wright - $237,729 ($85,307)
4. Tyler Bingham - $196,264 ($68,737)
5. Koby Radley - $178,849 ($64,294)