Joel Braden Harris topped Round 5 of his first National Finals Rodeo, earning $33,687 with 7.6 second run.
By the end of Round 5, the 22-year-old had accumulated $80,415 in NFR earnings, having also placed in Rounds 1 and 3.
“There’s so many emotions going through your head, especially in the first round,” Harris said. “There’s so many nerves because you’ve just been waiting and waiting and waiting for two months. By Round 4 or 5, I feel like you start to feel like it’s more of a normal rodeo, even though it’s not. So yeah, all kinds of different emotions.”
Harris entered the 2024 NFR ranked 13th in the world with $116,809. As of Round 6, he’s vaulted to No. 5 in the standings with $207,224, just $50,709 behind No. 4-ranked Haven Meged.
“I’m just trying to do as best I can on every calf,” Harris said. “I think it’s hard to worry about too much that’s going on. You can just control as much as you can control. I’ve done bad on two and I’ve done pretty well on three, and so you just kind of roll with the punches.”
NFR Preparation
Harris credits his preparation to time spent in the practice pen, with guidance from his older brother, Ty Harris, a six-time NFR qualifier.
“I just tried to practice as much as I could before the finals,” Harris said. “Which is not really a crazy change for me—that’s my focus all the time, to just practice as much as I possibly can no matter where I’m at.”
The Harris brothers joined the ranks of the Cooper brothers—Tuf, Clint, and Clif—as the only siblings to qualify for the NFR in tie-down roping in the same year.
“I mean, this is once in a lifetime,” Harris said. “You hope to get to do it more times, but the reality of life is you never know. So if it is only this one time, that’s really cool. So I really am just trying to enjoy it as much as I can and understand that it’s a really special opportunity.”
NFR Calves
Jeff Yates and Lanham Mangold have provided a great set of calves for the 2024 NFR. Harris drew calf No. 63, which Cole Clemons roped in 8.8 seconds during Round 2.
“To be honest, Cole thought the calf was going to be slower than he was, so he was a little disadvantaged,” Harris said. “I really liked the calf just based on how he handled with Cole on the run. He’s a great roper. There was definitely room to tie that calf pretty fast. I didn’t get the best start myself, but the calf popped around so fast, and I got done with him quick—it was pretty fun.”
Trusty Peso
Since Round 1, Harris has been riding Logan Bird’s solid as a rock horse, Daddys Shiner Cat, aka Peso. Together, the Harris brothers have now earned $128,228 on Peso.
“It gives me confidence to know I’m on a horse that good,” Harris said. “You know what he’s going to do. The round wins have just been Riley Webb and Peso, so you better be one of those two, I guess, right now. I’m really happy with the horse we chose this year—he’s been really good to us.”
