Las Vegas gears up for National Finals Rodeo

It’s not just a news flash that the National Finals Rodeo gets underway tonight in Las Vegas.

Shane Proctor, the Grand Coulee native and 2011 bull riding champion, has drawn News Flash for the first of 10 performances at the Tomas and Mack Center.

The rodeo starts at 8 tonight and is televised on Great American Country (Comcast 484, DirecTV 326, Dish 165). Each round is replayed twice the next day before the live performance.

Ryan Gray, a Cheney native, has drawn Bar Bandit for the first round of bareback riding.

The other Washington cowboys are tie-down roper Tyson Durfey, a Missouri native who has called Colbert home, although he will be moving to Texas after his recent marriage, and Ellensburg brothers Riley and Brady Minor in team roping.

On Friday, Gray is riding First Kiss and Proctor is on Squirrel Grove.

Also, the first of the Flying Five and Big Bend bucking horses will make an appearance on Friday. Taos Muncy has drawn saddle bronc Broken Saddles from Flying Five, one of the companies owned by Chad Hutsell of Ritzville and Sonny Riley of Pomeroy. In total, the two companies have one bareback and eight saddle broncs in Las Vegas.

The rodeo runs through Saturday, Dec. 14, when the world champions are crowned in seven events. Durfey enters the NFR second in tie-down roping while Gray is fourth in bareback riding. Riley Minor is sixth among team roping headers, Brady is fifth in heeling and Proctor is 10th in bull riding.