National Finals Rodeo: Utah's Wright b..

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Las Vegas • Utah's Wright brothers have taken flight at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Jake and Jesse Wright tied for second place and Cody Wright finished fourth in saddle bronc during the opening round of the NFR on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M., won the event with a score of 87. Jake and Jesse Wright posted scores of 84.5 and earned $12,462. Cody Wright, a two-time world champion, finished with an 83.5 and pocketed $7,656.

All three Wright brothers are from Milford, Utah.

Elsewhere in Round 1:

• Reigning world bareback champion Kaycee Feild of Payson finished fourth, and Caleb Bennett of Morgan placed fifth. Feild posted a score of 84.5 and earned $7,656. Bennett, in his first NFR appearance, scored an 84 and earned $4,711.

• Tom Lewis of Lehi tied for fifth in steer wrestling with a time of 3.8 seconds. After qualifying for his first National Finals by finishing 14th on the season money list, he earned $3,813.

• Kelli Tolbert of Hooper finished second to Mary Walker of Ennis, Texas, in barrel racing. Tolbert's time of 13.77 seconds was only two-tenths slower than Walker. She earned $14,429.

• In his fourth NFR appearance but first since 2009, veteran Clint Robinson of Spanish Fork finished 12th in tie-down roping with a time of 10.8 seconds.

• Tag Elliott of Thatcher did not post a score in bull riding. J.W. Harris of Mullin, Texas, won the event with a 90. Only five of the 15 qualifiers completed their ride. —

National Finals

P Thursday through Dec. 15

Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas

National Finals Rodeo: Utah's Wright brothers dominate at saddle bronc