2 Steer Wrestlers Ready To Take On Thomas & Mack for First Time

A couple of NFR rookies are gearing up for the action at the NFR which is set to take place in under two weeks.

Nathan Meyer Photography

The National Finals Rodeo is quickly approaching as night one is set to kick off on Thursday, December 4, in Las Vegas. There are going to be quite a few familiar faces ready to compete in every event, and that includes the steer wrestling, which has 13 guys who are no strangers to the Thomas & Mack Arena.

But, that leaves two competitors who have yet to run a steer in the short arena and both have had very different career paths so far, the No.15 man Gavin Soileau and No.13 Chance Howard. The two snuck into the top 15, especially Soileau, but it doesn't matter how they got there, but that they did.

Soileau and Howard's Road to the NFR

Soileau- The Louisiana native is a 26-year-old past college national champion who had by far the best season of his young career. He made it across the finish line right at the end of the year, specifically in the final weekend of September (cutoff date is October 1).

Soileau finished in the bottom hole over Mike McGinn by $1,694. How much did he win at the final rodeo of the season in San Bernadino, Calif? $2,644 for his second place finish. He also took home big wins at a few other rodeos throughout the year.

• North Dakota Rough Rider Cup $9,447
• Ogden Pioneer Days $11,886
• Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo $7,774
• Greeley Stampede $13,216
• National Western Stock Show and Rodeo $9,312

Howard- Now, Howard had a entirely different journey this year and in general since joining the PRCA back in 2010. The 34-year-old is just now headed to the T&M for the very first time, but again, it doesn't matter how long it took him, just that he did it.

The eastern Oklahoma cowboy didn't win nearly as many rodeos as Soileau (only two), but he was as consistent as one could hope for as he amassed more than $108,000 on the year. Even though he didn't pick up multiple major wins, he did take home the gold at Days of '47 in Salt Lake City where he picked up nearly $20,000 by the end of competition.

Anybody who rodeos professionally can attest to the importance of every single check won along the way, big or small. These two are now going to compete for nearly $37,000 a night and over $94,000 for the average winner at the end of 10-days of competition.

Both Howard and Soileau are gearing up for the dream experience that is the NFR, and even though they aren't inside the top 10, payouts like that make it anyone's game.

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