Bradlee Miller's Biggest Rodeo Win Yet Could Change Everything

Bareback rider Bradlee Miller has won the Calgary Stampede, and is now only widening the gap between him and his competitors in the world standings.

Bradlee Miller | Fernando Sam-Sin

Bareback riding is one of the most competitive events in rodeo and the cowboys that take to the arena do not take it lightly. Bradlee Miller has been working his whole career to earn his first world title, and after a win at the legendary Calgary Stampede, he is solidifying his place at the top.

A Win In Calgary

His performance in Canada was one of the best of his career, as the cowboy was basically unbeatable throughout the event. In Bracket two, he won the second round and again tied for first in the third thanks to back-to-back 88-point rides. He secured a total of $16,500 to start things off, and he didn’t stop earning money all week. 

In the semi-finals, Luke Trash and Roedy Farrell gave him a run for his money as he finished in third thanks to a 88.5-point ride, but he was only getting better as the week went on. Miller went into the final round swinging, and came out on top after he earned 92.5 points on Wayne Vold Rodeo's Ols Tubs Stevie Knicks. It was this ride that earned him that massive $50,000.

Now, the cowboy sits on top of the world with $190,728. The 23 year old out of Huntsville, Texas sits almost $20,000 ahead of Jacob Lees in No. 2 ($171,278) and is a whopping $70,000 of last year's world champion Rocker Steiner at No. 3 ($122,142). 

Miller on a Roll

It’s quickly becoming clear that the athletes behind Miller in the standings are going to have to start earning big if they want to catch him ahead of the National Finals Rodeo, but it’s there that everything can change. Miller will have to continue to widen the gap in earnings if he wants to maintain that space heading into the Thomas & Mack arena come December.

This season for Miller has been that of a fairytale. He started the season off strong winning the Texas Circuit Finals and continued that momentum by championing two other rodeos ahead of Calgary, the Three Hills Rodeo FFA Edition and Rodeo Austin. 

His best ride of the season was that 92.5-point ride in Canada, and just goes to show that Miller is only just beginning to get hot right at the right time. He consistently lands in the high 80s for scores and rarely sees any scores in the 70s. 

Miller is proving to have a once-in-a-lifetime season this year, and after two back-to-back qualifications for the NFR, it could finally be the year this cowboy takes home the world champion title. If he can keep his momentum rolling after his big win in Calgary, Miller is sure to not only head to Las Vegas this winter, but win the crown as well.