By Brett Okamoto (contact)

Mon, Dec 8, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Bareback rider Steven Dent doesn't believe in putting too much thought into the future. With the kind of season he's put together in 2008, why would he?

"You can't look ahead too much," Dent said. "My goal for the future right now is to win tomorrow's round."

It's a philosophy that seems to be generating Dent a lot of success in the early stages of his career. Since joining the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 2006, Dent has been on a steady rise to the top. After finishing in 15th place in the World standings a year ago in the bareback event, Dent came into the 50th Anniversary National Finals Rodeo as the top rider in the world. He's currently third in the all-around standings and has earned a career-best $155,655 this season.

"It's been a great year, I can't complain," he said. "I've been drawing good horses and it's been working out. Hopefully I can let you know what it feels like to have a World title here in six days."

Through the NFR's first four rounds, Dent has taken checks away from three of them and just missed the winner's cut with a 85-point score Sunday night in front of 17,149 rodeo fans at the Thomas & Mack Center. He's in a good spot to win the average, currently sitting second, and has added to his World standings lead over second-place Will Lowe.

Despite his ability to stay on a horse and the influence of his father Steve, a former PRCA cowboy, Dent's future in rodeos became a difficult choice when Division 1 schools like Colorado State and Kansas started to recruit him as a football player. In his junior year at Mullen High School in Mullen, Neb., Dent led the state in eight-man football rushing yards with 2,488. He was also the state wrestling champion as a senior.

In the end, Dent chose to join the PRCA and says he hasn't looked back since.

"I decided to go with the rodeo because of the income and the chance to go professional right off," he said. "Everything I've decided to do with my life I've tried to go into it fully and not leave any regrets behind."

The decision to dedicate his life to rodeos has definitely paid off for Dent, with the exception of maybe one instance. While still in high school, he was jerked down by a bull in the middle of a ride and shattered both his cheekbones and his jaw in 11 places. Although he says he plans on getting back on one this spring, Dent hasn't ridden a bull since the accident.

"It was a freak deal, I just got knocked out," he said. "I planned on coming back actually, the following year was my rookie year, but bareback riding and saddle-bronc riding started taking off so I just stuck with those."

The 50th Anniversary NFR will continue with the fifth round competition Monday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

McTaggart Watch: Colin McTaggart is the cowboy with the closest ties to Las Vegas in the competition. McTaggart was a student at UNLV last year and plans on returning next year to earn his degree in marketing. He entered this year’s finals, the second of his career, in eighth place in bull riding. Last year he finished 15th in the final world standings.

It was a quick night for McTaggart who was thrown from a brutal looking bull, Vitalix Hot Diggity Damn, immediately out of the shoot. That makes one of four bulls ridden for McTaggart, the only one coming in the second round, a third-place finish. McTaggart still has six rounds to pick up some money. And the third-place finish in the second round is still good enough to place him 10th in the average. He's seventh in total World earnings, with $101,645.

Notes: Steer wrestler Dean Gorsuch has had a good weekend in Las Vegas. After taking first place in Saturday night's round with a 3.5-second time, the Nebraska cowboy took first place again Sunday night, this time with a 3.7-second time. The two wins earned Gorsuch $33,533 over two days and moved him into sixth place in the average after he had failed to earn a check in the first two rounds.

"I'm just getting good starts," Gorsuch said. "That was a good steer and I was just happy to catch him because he really stopped with his head down to the right. I'm not even trying to pay attention to [the World standings.] Hopefully I'll just keep making money, fast. I'm just trying to make the best run I can every night."

It was a fun night for bareback riding fans to watch as eight different riders posted scores of 85 points and higher. Round winner Kelly Timberman ended up with the win on an 87.5-point ride aboard a Beutler & Son's horse, South Point. 

"It was a rider contest because all these horses were real rider friendly," Timberman said. "It's one of those things where, if you have a horse like mine that's a little bit tougher, you've just got to perform. It shows the athleticism of the rodeo cowboys and the quality of the livestock when the scores are that high. To win a round like that is a pretty cool thing."

After coming into the NFR with a $36,157 lead in the tie-down World standings, Josh Peek has been shut out of money through the first four rounds. Second-place roper Hunter Herrin has taken advantage of Peek's slump. He earned another $4,326 Sunday night with a fifth-place finish to bring his NFR total to $28,125, cutting Peek's lead to $8,032. 

At least one person was all right with the rough night tie-down ropers had Sunday. Clint Robinson watched the rest of the field turn in only three runs under nine seconds, none under eight, including two no scores from Jeff Chapman and Justin Maas. With the advantage of going last, Robinson settled in and just concentrated on getting a score that would get it done.

"Going last was a huge advantage," he said. "The round was so easy I knew I could tie him in a long seven. That's what happened. It was just one of those deals where a couple of guys miss and then everybody starts missing."

For those of you keeping track of Trevor Brazille and his quest to become the first PRCA $3 million cowboy, he is now $91,272 away from the feat after another $5,679 check for a tied-fourth finish in team roping.

Justin Boots Sports Medicine Team announced that bareback rider Jessy Davis is out for the rest of the NFR with a dislocated left shoulder. Davis finished in second place in the second round but was in last place by the end of Sunday night's fourth round.

Round winners

Bareback Riding: Kelly Timberman; 87.5 points

Steer Wrestling: Dean Gorsuch; 3.7 seconds

Team Roping: Jake Stanley, Walt Woodard; 4.1 seconds

Saddle-Bronc Riding: Cody Wright; 88.5 points

Tie-Down Roping: Clint Robinson; 7.9 seconds

Barrel Racing: Brittany Pozzi-Pharr; 13.84 seconds

Bull Riding: Bobby Welsh; 88 points