By TED HARBIN
LAS VEGAS – They started decades ago, when D.V. Fennell was still quite young.
Gold-buckle dreams have been part of the Neosho, Mo., cowboy’s life ever since. Now competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time in his 15-year career, Fennell showing the world why he’s one of the elite bareback riders in the business.
On Wednesday night, he shared a piece of the seventh go-round victory with world standings leader Clint Cannon after the two scored 84.5 points to win $15,343 each. Fennell, 36, matched moves with JK Rodeo’s Brother for his share of the round win.
“He just bucks,” Fennell said of Brother. “That horse turns out of there, and it seems like a lot of guys have trouble with him. I figured the game plan is to just let ’em roll. Just not your head and do it on purpose.”
After a decade and a half of traveling up and down the rodeo trail, the Utah-born, Oklahoma-raised bronc buster is living his dreams. Though he’s not collecting the wearable trophy of a world champion, playing on the biggest stage in the sport and winning go-rounds is a big part of who Fennell is.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Fennell, who was part of the college championship team at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. “I really didn’t think that score would be enough, but I new it was going to be a tough riding. They just kept ticking by, and I kept looking up. Then they said I had to get on the victory-lap horse.”
Later Wednesday night, Fennell traveled to the South Point Hotel & Casino to retrieve his NFR go-round buckle, the first of his career.
“Getting the buckle is the easy part, because I’ve had time to think about it,” he said. “When I stepped off that victory-lap horse, it all kind of hit me. The hard part was not choking up between there and the locker room.”
Ever so humble, Fennell said he was actually happy to win the round with Cannon.
“I’m really happy for Clint, because he’s been struggling all week,” said Fennell, who was given a rocking chair by the other bareback riders as a sign of respect and his advanced age compared to the rest of the field. “That guy’s had a tough seven days, but he’s kept his chin up and been positive. I was really tickled for Clint.”
Fennell is now fifth in the all-important average race with 567.5 points through seven rides. If he stays in that position, he’ll add another $15,000 to his payroll from Vegas. He is also ninth in the world standings with $104,438.
“I just feel really blessed,” he told the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. “It’s really been an up-and-down week. That first five head, I think I just got the one check. My goal was to come back in the last five rounds and place in every round, and I know that’s a lofty goal with that set of bareback riders and that set of horses, but I just give the glory to God, let it roll and enjoy the ride. That’s my goal for the rest of this week.”
