Mason Moody knew he had a chance at a special weekend.
For his opening ride at the RAM Badlands Circuit Finals, the Letcher, S.D., cowboy drew a bull he had previously faced. The same scenario played out for his second-round ride as well. Both of those matchups had previously resulted in Moody being bucked off.
This time around, Moody used past experience to his advantage.
“I knew (my first bull) was kind of the pick of the pen and he kind of matched my style good. I kind of came in knowing I should ride that one,” Moody said. “I rode him, then came into the second round and got on another rematch. He had bucked me off earlier this year in Watertown (S.D.). I knew he was going to be really good too. Sometimes, when you’re hot, you’re hot. And when you’re cold, you’re very, very cold.”
Moody finished the rodeo as the only bull rider to cover three rides, finishing with 228 points on three head. Between his three successful rides and the average championship, the Badlands Circuit Finals won him just shy of $15,000.
In the opening go-round, Moody rematched with Sutton Rodeos’ Rock N Roll Fantasy, a bull that bucked him off last season. This time around, he held on for 83 points. The second go was even better, as his effort on Sutton Rodeos’ Mad Max resulted in the highest scoring ride of the rodeo at 86 points. While his third go only scored 59 points, it was more than enough to place second in the round and make him the only competitor to cover multiple bulls, let alone all three.
The weekend was another big mental boost for the up-and-coming bull rider as he looks ahead to next season.
Following Pendleton, Moody took some time away from PRCA competition as he knew he was out of position to earn a spot at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this year.
While he took a break from the PRCA, Moody kept honing his craft and working to build up his confidence. He also got some coaching from experienced bull riders like veteran bull rider Silvano Alves, helping him find a new groove. The hard work culminated in his success at the Badlands.
“You get confidence from people like that in your corner, and then you’re riding good, it just makes life a lot easier,” Mood said.
Even though 2023 didn’t exactly go as he had hoped, Moody believes his efforts have set him up for 2024. With enough money won to qualify for many of the higher paying winter rodeos, Moody is looking forward to keeping his momentum going next season.
“It definitely starts out the 2024 season really well. You get an early jump going into next year,” Moody said. “You just know this winter, when you go to them rodeos, that you’ve got something going for you already. You’ve just got to keep that ball rolling and just take it from there.”
Other winners at the $199,848 rodeo were all-around cowboy Austin Hurlburt ($10,581, tie-down roping and steer wrestling); bareback rider Ben Kramer (240.5 points on three head); steer wrestler Cameron Morman (12.1 seconds on three head); team ropers Jon Peterson/Trae Smith); saddle bronc rider Cash Wilson (242.5 points on three head); tie-down roper Austin Hurlburt (26.6 seconds on three head); breakaway roper Sawyer Gilbert (7.7 seconds on three head); and barrel Lisa Lockhart (40.61 seconds on three runs).
Courtesy of PRCA
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