2022 filled with firsts for MPR Circuit champ bull rider Cole Wagner
Cole Wagner had a pretty good 2022.
It was a year filled with firsts for the Valier bull rider.
Wagner won his first Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit title last January, earning the 2021 year-end championship.
That achievement was the catalyst in allowing him to compete at RodeoHouston, the NFR Open and Cheyenne Frontier Days for the first time.
“I didn’t do so good at those three,” said Wagner with soft chuckle.
During the summer, he placed second at Helena and Baker against world-class competition and closed out the regular season with a win at White Sulphur Springs over Labor Day weekend.
He even jump-started his 2023 by turning a smart decision into a big win at the NILE Pro Rodeo in Billings in October and winning a Professional Bull Riders Canadian event in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.
Wagner now returns to where it all started.
Wagner will defend his bull riding title at the MPRC Finals, Jan. 12-14 at Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.
“This year coming in, I thought I could win it again,” he said. “I was going for that. I had pretty high expectations this year but my body was not feeling as great as it should.
“I feel really good now.”
The popular rodeo features the top 12 competitors in each event and will determine the year-end champions for the 2022 season. The year-end and Finals winners advance to the NFR Open this July in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“I’m excited about the Finals,” said Wagner, who turned 27 on Christmas Day. “You can feel the crowds. It’s pretty electric.”
Wagner enters with $18,308 won. He has a lead of $5,112 on traveling partner and good friend Tristan O’Neal, also of Valier.
“Me and Tristan have been friends for a long time. We went to school together,” said Wagner, who graduated from Valier High School in 2014. O’Neal was two classes behind. “The thought of being first and second at the end of the year was pretty cool.”
It’s even better with good friend Kobe Whitford of Cut Bank third in the standings.
“We get along great,” Wagner continued of the trio. “We feed off each other, we push each other. They want you to win as much as they want to win.”
The second place at Baker, worth $6,445, accounted for 35 percent of his MPRC season earnings. He was only one of two bull riders to post a score at the high-paying rodeo in southeastern Montana.
"I was real excited about that,” said Wagner. “It’s not the closest rodeo for us, about a nine-hour drive, but being there worked out.”
He also picked up checks at Belt, Augusta, Stanford, Big Timber and Dillon.
Wagner turned his lowest score into his biggest check, $7,486, at the NILE in Billings.
After being awarded 32 points on his ride during the final performance, Wagner declined the re-ride option.
“It was last night and there were only a few guys left to ride,” he explained. “I talked it over with the bullfighters and I think I made the right decision. There was some luck to it. I took a shot in the dark and it worked out.
“After I made the ride, some of my buddies told me they would have done the same thing. It dang sure helped me out for this year (2023).”
The win in Billings put Wagner in the top 20 of the early 2023 PRCA world standings and gives him a nice lead entering a new MPRC season.
Following the Finals, Wagner, O’Neal and Connor Murnion of Jordan plan to head south for the winter rodeos.
“We plan to hit it hard this winter,” said Wagner. “This year, I just have to make my bull rides where I am. Ride for eight seconds. That’s our job title. That’s what we do.”
But first some business in Great Falls.
“This would be a great place to make a run and get the season started.”
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: 2022 filled with firsts for MPR Circuit champ bull rider Cole Wagner
