By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo
Six years ago, Cole Franks was 18 years old with an eye for bucking horses.
Fringe Jacket was three and had already drawn praise as one of the rising stars of bucking horses. He comes great genetics.
His sire is Lunatic Fringe, which has produced many top bucking offspring. One of the most legendary stallions is Night Jacket, which sired Big Valley, Fringe Jacket’s mom.
J-Bar-J’s Fringe Jacket is now 9 years old and is recognized as one of the top bucking horses in the business.
“Guy French raised him,” Franks said of the Texas man, whose son rides bareback horses in the PRCA. “I’ve seen that horse when it was a colt they bucked under a dummy. Keenan Hayes (the 2023 world champion) got on it twice one week at the Junior NFR in like 2019, and I saw it then. Every time I’ve seen that horse, I wanted to get on that horse.”
He got his chance and made it work. He rode the athletic bay for 87.25 points to finish in a tie for sixth place during Monday’s fifth round of bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo. That was worth $7,688 and added a little more to Franks’ pocketbook. He has cleared $19,660 in five nights, but half that came with the $10,000 bonus all contestants receive when they qualify for ProRodeo’s premier event.
It was also the second straight night in which Franks has placed after being shut out of the pay window after the opening three rounds.
“That round money is not bad,” said Franks, 24, of Clarendon. “Compared to the first three days, it’s good. Something’s better than nothing. My confidence is where it needs to be. I’m doing my job.”
When the business is riding bucking horses, it’s good to be in Las Vegas. There are a lot of rodeos in which Franks competes that a $7,700 paycheck would mean winning the rodeo; at the NFR, it’s because he finished just above the pay line. This is the place he wants to be in December, and he’s missed the finale just once since he was the 2021 Rookie of the Year.
That came in 2023, when he finished 17th. He’s never seen a season where he wasn’t in the top 20, and he’s finished among the top 6 in each of his four appearances to the NFR.
“I’m a little worried, but that’s because at this point of the NFR, I’m used to having a lot more won, and I’m sitting a lot better,” said Franks, who is seventh in the world standings with $220,022. “At the same time, I came in a lot higher this year than I ever have. I’m sitting about the exact spot I always have about this time, but I just haven’t made much money yet this week.”
The 10-round marathon has reached its halfway point. In five days, world champions will be crowned, and over that stretch, go-round winners will collect nearly $37,000 a night. The opportunities are there for the taking.
“It’s a restart (Tuesday),” he said. “I’m looking at it as two five-round rodeos. This rodeo is over, and tomorrow is a new rodeo.”
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