Local cowboy places fourth at National Finals Rodeo, ninth overall in world

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Local cowboy Stephen Culling placed fourth overall in steer wrestling at the 2023 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week, finishing the season ninth overall in the world. 

This year’s NFR marked Culling’s first attempt at the world-renowned event, which took place from December 7th to 16th.

Culling placed in six out of the ten rounds he competed in, earning $37,145 in the Average category. 

The third round of steer wrestling was Culling’s best. He split a second-place win with California’s Stan Branco, finishing with a time of 4.3 seconds, earning $21,296. 

The local steer wrestler didn’t rank in his first, fourth, fifth, or tenth rounds. 

In his second round, Culling split a sixth-place win with Tyler Waguespack of Louisiana. Both cowboys finished with a time of 4.4 seconds, earning $2,476

In round six, Culling placed sixth with a time of 4.1 seconds, earning $4,953. He placed sixth in his seventh round as well, finishing at 4.5 seconds, earning another $4,953. 

In his eighth round, he finished with a time of 3.9 seconds, ranking fifth and earning $7,924. 

Finally, in round nine, Culling earned another $4,953 after ranking sixth at a time of 4.0 seconds. 

In total, Culling walked away from his first NFR with $93,699.

The Fort St. John steer wrestler says he feels good about his overall performance during his first NFR experience. 

“I learned a lot and got a lot more things figured out now,” said Culling. 

“It was a good week, but it could have been a lot better — I was one broken barrier away from within the Average, and that barrier alone cost about $80,000.”

Culling plans to analyze his performance and identify areas for improvement in preparation for next year’s NFR. 

“All in all, it was a good week. I made some decent money and made some good runs on some steers that weren’t the best ones to have.”

Reflecting on the 2023 rodeo season, Culling says this year was “his best year yet.”

“There’s a lot of guys out there doing what we’re doing, and only 15 of them get to make finals every year,” said Culling. 

“So, to be in the top 15 in the world — it’s a pretty big goal to set every year, and then to go down there and have a decent [performance at] finals and end up in the top tens is even better.”

Culling will take a brief break for the holidays before heading back to the United States to start his 2024 season, competing in winter rodeos in San Diego, Denver and Fort Worth in January.