Ride 'em cowboy — Utah County horseman heads for bright lights of Vegas

PAYSON — For a young cowboy just days away from one of the biggest rodeos of his career, Jess Davis is decidedly calm.

That wasn't the story last year when the Payson bronc buster made his first ride at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo — the equivalent of a Super Bowl for cowboys.

Sure, he'd dreamed about making it to the national rodeo since he was a junior buckaroo. And, sure, he'd ridden hundreds of horses at hundreds of rodeos across the nation. But Davis had never gone for eight — seconds, that is — in front of such a roaring, screaming crowd.

"I'd been in big rodeos, but not like this," Davis said Saturday in his dad's shed. Davis' riding equipment had been placed on a nearby table, and the season's first snow covered the ground outside. "That's a big place."

Davis is one of six Utah rodeo athletes who are headed to Las Vegas to compete in the 2007 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which starts Thursday and runs until Dec. 15. Last year, more than $5 million in prize money was given away to the top contestants, and the rodeo drew an estimated crowd of 176,625.

This year, more than $5.5 million will be awarded to the nation's top cowboys and cowgirls who vie for money and bragging rights in such events as bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling and barrel racing.

Davis' dad, Rod Davis, said that last year it was tough for a small-town boy like his son to get used to the lights and noise from the roaring crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center. "It's not like a podunk rodeo," he said. "It's like a rock show."

If the lights, noise and crowd made Jess Davis antsy, his performance didn't reflect it. He finished in fifth place, earning about $57,800 in prize money. This year, he's going into the national rodeo ranked No. 4 in bareback riding. He's also earned more than $88,000 this year.

The money's nice, Jess Davis says, but the real thrill comes from "making a good ride" on a horse that would like nothing better than to toss a rider off.

Davis started his rodeo career as a junior buckaroo in Salem, a town about 13 miles south of Provo. He competed in a few different events before he tried bareback riding and saddle bronc riding on for size. He made his first ride in 1991, but it must have been less than memorable.

"It was a blur," Davis said, laughing. "Don't even remember if I stayed on for eight or not."