Wells a great watch at NFR

Two summers ago at the Cody Stampede I had a nice chat with a roughstock rider from Powell who had just been bucked off his saddle bronc horse less than a second before hitting the timer.

He was frustrated with the ride in front of the home crowd, but still more than happy to talk — he was still having, after all, a successful year and trying to hold onto a spot in the top 20 PRCA saddle bronc riders for the 2023 season.

Even with the tough night, he was happy to be home, having grown up in Wapiti and then Powell, and riding in the Cody Nite Rodeo.

How incredible it is now to see a classic case of “hometown boy done good.” Brody Wells has been fun to watch in his first National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. He won two early go-rounds, placed in five of 10 and was sitting at 10th in the world as the dust settled on the NFR extravaganza.

Whether you know saddle bronc from bareback, roughstock from roping, I hope our community can all appreciate seeing someone from our town make such an impact on the biggest stage in the sport — it’s like having a Powell High School grad play in the Super Bowl.

Wells was a high school wrestler, and credited that program under then coach Nate Urbach, now the successful middle school coach, with being a part of increasing his toughness to then compete in a sport where you try to stay on a powerful horse who most definitely wants you off its back.

And he credits the Cody Nite Rodeo for getting him started in the sport where he has now reached the pinnacle of success.

He told me that Cody summer night in 2023 that he loved the chance to come home to see family and friends, now that rodeo has taken him away much of the time after refining his skills at college in Texas.

Now it’s our turn to cheer him on as he wraps up his already incredibly successful trip to Vegas.

He’s yet another example of the excellence our community can produce.