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Las Vegas • Milford's Cody Wright needed a big saddle bronc ride in the 10th round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

With the help of a horse named Painted Valley, he got it.

Wright posted a score of 87 on Saturday night to prevail in a fierce two-man battle with Wade Sundell, of Boxholm, Iowa, and win his second world championship in three years.

Wright placed second in the final round, while Sundell finished out of the money with a score of 81.

The result gave Wright a total of 847 points on 10 rides at the NFR.

Sundell finished with 842.5 on his 10 horses, meaning Wright narrowly won the NFR average title. That, in turn, gave him the world title with season earnings of $224,673.

"It feels awesome," said Wright. "I ain't so sure it doesn't feel better than the first time."

Wright's first title came in 2008, but he clinched it with far less drama.

Three years ago, Wright wrapped up his championship after the ninth round.

This time, Wright's victory wasn't assured until he finished his final eight-second ride.

"It was nip and tuck all the way," Wright said. "Wade was riding good. Everybody was riding good. It kind of turned into a drawing contest, and it looks like I might have drawn the best horse tonight."

Hello, Painted Valley.

Asked about drawing the 2010 Horse of the Year, Wright said, "I was real excited. I was happy to have him. I knew he was one of the ones to have."

Wright's winning ride came only moments after Sundell's subpar 81-point effort.

What was Wright thinking just before the chute opened?

"I thought, 'You better make a good ride,' " he said. "It really didn't change my plan. I was still going to try to make the best ride I could. … I was just going to nod my head and hope things worked out."

Wright's 10-ride total of 847 points set a new NFR record.

His 10-night earnings of $148,287 set another National Finals record.

"That's incredible," Wright said. "I didn't know all that. I had no idea."

Three other Utah participants did well during Round 10.

In the bull riding, Payson's Steve Woolsey and Santquin's Wesley Silcox earned final-round paychecks. Woolsey finished fourth with a score of 87. He earned $7,343.

Silcox posted a score of 85, good for fifth place. He pocketed $4,519.

With $215,348 in season earnings, Silcox finished second in the world behind three-time champion J.W. Harris, of Mullin, Texas.

Woolsey, who ended up eighth in the world, was fortunate to escape serious injury.

After being tossed to the ground a split-second after completing his ride, Woolsey was stomped by his bull but was able to walk out of the arena.

Meanwhile, in bareback, Payson's Kaycee Feild posted a score of 86 and finished third.

Riding a highly regarded horse named Faded Jeans, Feild earned $10,450 with his seventh top-three finish in 10 nights.

Feild won two rounds and ended up pocketing $87,042 during the National Finals.

Despite missing two months of the season because of a broken arm, Feild finished fifth in the world standings with earnings of $161,190. —

10 rides in Las Vegas

Cody Wright's round-by-round performance in saddle-bronc event at the National Finals Rodeo:

Round Score Finish Earnings

1 81.5 Fifth (tie) $3,671

2 87.0 First $17,512

3 88.0 First $17,512

4 84.5 Second (tie) $12,145

5 81.5 Out None

6 88.5 First $17,512

7 86.0 Fourth $7,343

8 84.5 Second $13,840

9 78.5 Out None

10 87.0 Second $13,840