If last year was a dream for Bridger Chambers, who will always be a Stevensville cowboy even though he now lives in Butte, this year was a grind for him on the professional rodeo circuit. The lanky cowboy had a dream Wrangler National Finals where he placed in five rounds and finished second in the average where he won $54,577. With those winnings he catapulted to second in the world with totals winnings of $216,762.
After taking some time off, Chambers got back into the groove and headed to Kissimmee, Florida, for the Ram National Circuit Finals. He had won the Montana Circuit Finals earlier in January and felt like he was ready to move on. But the National Circuit Finals was tough and he didn’t place and from there he moved on to other big rodeos down south.
“They were rough,” he said. “I felt like I was behind the 8 ball from the start.”
He went on to say he lost confidence and now thinks he didn’t practice enough. The next major rodeo was the American at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas. Although he had hazed in that rodeo before and said he thought he was more nervous hazing, Chambers didn’t have a good run in the American. “It hurt my pride more than anything.”
Chambers kept gritting it out on the winter tour but did not have much luck and the distance between the top 15 and he got wider. But Chambers is not a quitter. He dug in and kept going. He felt his performance was not what he was capable of doing and wanted, no, was going to do better.
By mid June he had climbed into the top 25 but for every dollar he won, the cowboys ahead of him won too and it was difficult to make any headway on that margin. Chambers, who starred on the basketball court in high school and at UM Western, related his efforts to that on the court.
“You just grind it out and keep shooting. There’s no time outs. You have 85 rodeos to count (towards the standings) and you build on the ones that went well.”
He had been placing in rodeos and then, at the end of August, he finished tied for second in the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo in San Juan Capistrano, California. That gave him a bump up in the standings.
“Had I not done any good at San Juan, that would have been the end of it (his season).”
Chambers’ luck was changing, or the grind was playing off. He went to the Pendleton Round Up, the second week of September and it all came together. He won the first round and a check for $3,984.84. He tied for sixth and seventh in the second round and won another $1,126.15. That put him into the finals where he placed fifth and picked up another $409. When the average was complied, he was in third place and had won another $4,417.98. He had made the top 15.
Throughout the season, Chambers has had quite a crew backing him up. Of course there is his wife, Kristen, and children, Maddie, Hudson, Crewe and Case; but then there are his parents, Keith and Raecille. His dad went to Pendleton with him to provide extra support. Raecille has been a driver for Chambers oft and on this season.
“Mom drove a rig down to Reno from Montana, where I flew in and competed. I got back on the plane and she drove home. Dad will working in our business (Interquest Canines) up until Wednesday when he flies down.”
Chambers said that his dad being a coach has helped on the mental side of competing. He’s able to break things down and identify problems. And having his family in his corner and willing to do what it takes to get there, that’s a huge help.
But there are more than just family behind Chambers. This year, he’s spent a lot of time practicing. “My buddies have come and hazed for me, not getting down on any steers themselves. It’s all about helping me to get there. Chambers has stayed at home and focussed on practicing and getting ready.
“Making it back to the NFR, it’s a reward, not just for me, but for the ones who helped me along the way.”
Caleb Bennett is a newcomer to the Bitterroot Valley, having only lived here for about a year. He and his bride, Savannah, make their home in Corvallis. But he’s no stranger to the PRCA and the rodeo world. He will be making his eighth appearance at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas this week. He heads into the 10-day rodeo in seventh place in the bareback riding with season earnings of $110,972.66.
Bennett is a native of Utah where he competed in high school rodeo and qualified for the nationals all four years and won the national championship in 2007. He competed at the college level and qualified for the college national finals in 2008 as a freshman. His career earnings are $1,267,120.
This year, Bennett won Rodeo Austin, San Angelo (TX), the Rocky Pro Rodeo in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Cody Rodeo, Richland County Fair & Rodeo at Sidney, Montana, Bozeman Stampede in Bozeman, and the Hand Hills Lake Stampede in Craigmyle, Alberta.
Last year, at the 2018 National Finals, Bennett won Round 4 with an 86.5 point ride on Three Hills Rodeo’s Just Peachy. In 2017, he finished sixth in get world standings and placed in five rounds at the NFR. Bennett has consistently placed in the NFR throughout his pro rodeo career.
For much of 2018 and 2019, Bennett has travelled with another newcomer to the Bitterroot Valley, Richmond Champion. Champion and his wife, Paige, recently moved to the Stevensville area. Champion was born in California but most recently lived in The Woodlands, Texas. His wife is from Canada where she was a figure skater and competed for Canada in the Sochi Olympics in 2014 in pairs skating.
Champion is correctly ranked fifth in the bareback riding with season earnings of $130,828.93. His career earnings are $954,514. This is his fifth appearance in Las Vegas at the NFR. He qualified in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
This year, he won the Ponoka, Alberta Stampede, the Innisfail (Alberta) Pro Rodeo, Sundre (Alberta) Pro Rodeo, Grande Prairie (Alberta) Stompede, Eagle (Idaho) Rodeo, Lea Park Rodeo (Marwayne, Alberta), Missoula Stampede, Fallon County Fair & Rodeo (Baker, Montana), the Nicola Valley Pro Rodeo (Merritt, British Columbia), and the MSU-Northern PRCA Extreme Bares & Broncs Challenge (Havre).
Champion finished third in the world in 2014 and won Round 5 of the NFR that year and also Round 7. He was second in the Wrangler NFR average standings that year. In 2016, he placed in three rounds and finished 11th in the world standings. In 2017, he finished second in the world standings and placed in seven rounds at the NFR. He won Round 8 and split Round 2. Last year, he placed in six rounds.