Consistency paying big dividends for Gleason

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 4:21 a.m.

Steady, consistent runs such as those made by steer wrestler Brad Gleason at the 1997 National Finals Rodeo rarely win rounds at Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center.

What they do win is world championships.

Gleason, a six-time NFR-qualifier from Ennis, Mont., placed in only four rounds at the '97 National Finals. But his consistency there earned him a second-place finish in the average race, something that proved crucial in his bid for a world championship.

Gleason's average payoff of $25,403 boosted his NFR earnings to $54,274 and propelled the nine-year professional rodeo veteran to his first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world championship. Gleason finished 1997 with a gold buckle and $120,890, a PRCA single-year earnings record in steer wrestling.

The title was a long time coming for Gleason, who earned his bachelor's degree in education from Western Montana College in Dillon.

"I've been here before and I think I learned from my mistakes in the past," he said. "I'm never going to be disappointed with being second in the world, but it was nice to win one for a change."

Gleason failed to qualify for the Finals in 1996, but the 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound cowboy has twice finished runner-up to the world champ. In 1994, he finished nearly $11,000 short of Blaine Pederson; in 1992, he finished about $17,000 behind Mark Roy. Pederson and Roy are both from Canada.

"Things just really went my way this year," Gleason, 33, said. "I had a good, solid week at the Finals."

Gleason entered the '97 NFR ranked third in the Crown Royal World Standings. But steer wrestling leader Rope Myers of Van, Texas, opened the door for Gleason and second-ranked Frank Davis when he clocked a 44.9-second run in the second round and fell out of the average race.

While 52-year-old Butch Myers, Rope's father, was on a record-setting pace to win the average title, he couldn't sneak into contention for the world title without mistakes by Davis and Gleason. When Davis did just that by breaking the barrier in the ninth round, Gleason slipped into second in the average race.

In the 10th and final NFR round, Gleason turned in a 5.1-second run to keep a firm hold on the second spot in the average race. But a second-place finish by Rope Myers would still have pushed Gleason to second in the world standings.

The younger Myers wrestled his steer in 3.6 seconds -- good enough to win the round -- but broke the barrier. A 10-second penalty was assessed and Gleason left Thomas and Mack as the new world champion.

"I had figured out all the different scenarios," Gleason said. "I knew when (Myers) broke that barrier that I had won."

His successful NFR capped what Gleason called one of his best seasons since joining the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1988.

"I had some horse trouble at the start of the year," he said. "But I borrowed Ote Berry's horse for the Fourth of July and that's when things really turned around for me."

Gleason picked up $15,411 during his Fourth of July run and jumped from 14th to third in the Crown Royal World Standings. A $9,740 paycheck at the Greeley (Colo.) Independence Stampede that week helped turn the season in the right direction for Gleason, and the Montana cowboy never looked back.