The pens of calves for the 2023 NFBR calves have been decided, with Pen 1 debuting in Round 1 of the Finals Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 2 p.m.
Following the run-through Monday evening, WPRA Western Roping Director Lynn Smith expressed her satisfaction with how the calves were able to be sorted.
“This is going to be a fun roping,” Smith said.
The black calves weighing about 300 pounds were brought by Lanham Mangold, who is also supplying the tie-down stock for the NFBR.
The Texas-to-Vegas transition
The calves were initially evaluated together at a jackpot in Ponder, Texas, following the WPRA Finals in Waco. Smith explained that the jackpot was a covered pen with open sides, and the calves ran harder in Texas than they did Monday evening in Las Vegas.
“Another factor here in Las Vegas is that the people handling the calves have a lot of influence on how they look,” Smith said. “More stress free. Not quite as much fight, which helps immensely on how they look, start and leave. They’re going to be roped by the Top 15 in the world, and if they’re not late, these calves won’t try as hard. If they’re late, these sum bitches will run.”
2023 NFBR Calf Pens
Pen 1: “These are the absolute best calves we have,” Smith said. “These are the ones that are more seasoned with jackpots and they will run four times.”
Pen 2: “These are good calves, and some will run a tick stronger.”
Pen 3: “These are going to be soft.”
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Round 10 |
| Pen 1 | Pen 2 | Pen 3 | Pen 1 | Pen 2 | Pen 3 | Pen 1 | Pen 2 | Pen 3 | Pen 1 |
“We were able to sort out any that the girls really didn’t like and put them as extras,” Smith said. “We have five extras in each pen, and they’re ranked from most desirable to least.”
Coverage of the 2023 NFBR is made possible by the incredible support from our friends at Resistol. Read more 2023 NFBR News.
