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By Ted Harbin, TwisTed Rodeo

LAS VEGAS – In February 2021, Cole Franks was a 19-year-old cowboy who was being trained by his dad, Bret, the rodeo coach at Clarendon (Texas) College.

Sippin Firewater was about 5 years old and was being used as a training tool for the Clarendon rodeo team. Bret Franks and the college had a partnership with Bill Hext, a livestock producer near Glazier, Texas, in which the student athletes would practice on the animal.

“We called him Mouthwash when we had him, because it felt like you needed some mouthwash when you got done dealing with him,” said Cole Franks, 24, a four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Clarendon. “He was a little hard to handle.

“We bucked him in the bronc riding a bunch, and no one could ever get out on him or get a clean go or could ever really figure him out. Finally, one day, I just told Dad that I’m getting on him, and we came up with a game plan. He went out there and was and was an NFR-caliber horse from the first time I ever got on him.”

The college and Hext sold the bronc to Rorey Lemmel, who owns Harper & Morgan Rodeo Co. Ten months later, both Cole Franks and Sippin Firewater were at the NFR for the first time.

“That horse made everything start snowballing for me,” Franks said. “Right after I got on that horse, I finally started winning a little bit at the ProRodeos. For whatever reason, everything just clicked. That horse and both his brothers hold a pretty special spot for me.”

It came full circle during Tuesday’s sixth round of this year’s NFR. Franks and Sippin Firewater danced across the Thomas & Mack Center dirt for 85.5 points. Franks finished in a tie for fourth place, collecting $12,420 – it was Franks’ biggest payday so far in Las Vegas. While the bronc is at an elite level in the sport, one brother remains a practice horse in Clarendon, and the other is being used as a pickup horse,

“We didn’t really know anything about those three horses when we got them, and still really don’t know much about them,” he said, noting that a Hext bucking stallion has been breeding on the family’s ranch in the northeastern portion of the Texas Panhandle. “Since we knew who their dad is, we started breeding to that stud to see what we could get.”

Raising bucking horses is an important step in the progression of rodeo. Bucking studs are matched with bucking mares to provide strong genetics, and the proof is shown at the 205 horses performing in Las Vegas. Sippin Firewater is one of them.

“We’ve both grown up a lot since then,” Franks said. “He’s chilled out a lot, but he’s still very hair-triggered and he’s just a freakin’ bucking horse. When I first got on him, he didn’t really know what he was doing because I was the first person to ever stay on him after the second jump.”

The horse has figured it out now.

“When I got on him the first time, I was putting my rigging on him and talking to him, scratching under his chin,” he said. “That was one thing I figured out with him. If you just treat him kind of like a baby, love on him a little bit, he’d mellow out a little. He’s definitely a lot more bucking horse today than he was five years ago.”

It’s been a bit of a slow ride in Sin City for Franks. He has ridden six broncs for a cumulative score of 507.25 points and earned $32,000. He is seventh in the world standings with $232,442.

“We’re chipping away at it,” Franks said. “A little bit is better than nothing. I’m just going to keep doing my job. I’ve got the horse I wanted in (Wednesday’s) pen.”

Franks will test Bridwell Pro Rodeo’s Silver Beaver in Round 7. His traveling partner, Rocker Steiner, won Friday’s second round on the California bucking horse.

“I was talking to Tim Bridwell (Tuesday), and I told him I predicted I’d be getting on his horse,” Franks said. “I guess I manifested it a little bit.”

At this stage of the week with four rounds remaining in ProRodeo’s grand finale, the Texas cowboy is ready to do anything he can to collect some big Las Vegas cash.

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.”

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos outlasted the Happy Cowboys at home last week in their 50-37 win.

Michael Randall, Heston Seay, and Braxton Gribble led the way with all three finishing with double digit points. Randall also grabbed 23 rebounds that allowed him a double-double on the night.

The Broncos worked their way to an eight-point lead after the first eight minutes and dominated from there on out. The Cowboys attempted a comeback in the final period but failed to convert the points they needed to catch up.

As a team, the Broncos posted 34 rebounds, 15 assists, 12 steals, ad. Five blocks against a determined Cowboy team. They finished at 44 percent from the free-throw line hitting seven of 16, and Happy finished at 25 percent. A little bit of foul trouble put them in a tough spot.

Randall put in 15, Gribble and Seay both finished with 10 from the field. Caleb Herbert put in eight, Tyler Cavanaugh had five, and Kreed Robinson helped with two.

The Broncos went up against Wildorado in the first round of the White Deer Tournament and defeated them 60-42 in their second meeting of the season.

The Broncos dominated the Mustangs on the board with 35 rebounds. They also had 15 assists, 12 steals, and five blocks in the game. Randall came home with another double-double with 21 points and 23 rebounds, while Gribble put up 12 points, and Herbert helped with 10. Brentley Gaines had eight, Seay put in five, Tyler Cavanaugh added three, and Robinson converted one free throw.

The Broncos fell short in the next game with Canyon JV and were defeated 31-55. They were only able to shoot 27 percent from the bonus line and were six of twenty-six from the arc.
Gribble and Tyler Cavanaugh led with eight, and Randall had six.

The Broncos will participate in the Childress Tournament December 11-13 and will travel to Fritch December 16 and play at Sunray December 19.