NFR Flag Girls provide rodeo’s pomp, pageantry

Ask anyone connected to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo — fans, lawsuit officials, and of people contestants — and they’ll archer you that these 10 days are each astir the competition.

But they’ll besides hold that the pageantry of the NFR is simply a cardinal constituent of what makes this lawsuit the yearly spectacle that it is. And there’s arguably thing that exudes that pageantry much than the NFR Flag Girls.

They fig 21 successful all, and each nighttime of the rodeo begins with portion of this extraordinarily talented squad — dubbed the Opening Six — starring the mode for the Grand Entry. In the dark, by the way, arsenic the lights are turned down for the team’s entrance, giving a full caller level of appreciation for each rider’s timing and skill.

At assorted different points passim the evening, each 21 riders are involved. Every 1 of them has a communicative to tell, too, astir however they arrived astatine this point. Let’s endeavor to archer a few.

The architect

As the Flag Girls coordinator, Angie Burton oversees these 21 young ladies, mostly successful their precocious teens to mid-20s. And Burton knows what it takes to beryllium successful their shoes — oregon rather, successful their saddles, arsenic that’s wherever she erstwhile sat.

“I carried flags for the archetypal clip successful the 1998 NFR. Then I competed for Miss Rodeo America successful 1999, and past I carried flags for 7 much years,” Burton said. “I’ve done astir each portion of the pageantry.”

So successful 2009, erstwhile the accidental came on to nonstop the team, she was a earthy fit.

“I emotion being progressive successful the accumulation portion of it. And I emotion having the accidental to enactment with these women from crossed the country. They’re from Alaska each the mode to Florida,” Burton said.

Burton’s occupation is to hindrance unneurotic 21 riders who, astatine best, lone thrust with each different erstwhile a year, if they’re Flag Girls veterans. And determination are rookies successful the mix, too. Burton annually does the occupation flawlessly, mostly owed to the talents of those connected the team.

“These girls are great,” she said. “I conscionable speech to them astir being prepared for anything. They’re professionals, they’re cowgirls, they person large horsemanship. They genuinely marque it look truthful easy, but it’s not. It’s astir timing and precision. And each eyes are connected them.”

Indeed, 17,000-plus fans battalion the Thomas &Mack Center each nighttime for the NFR, and the Flag Girls acceptable the code for the night.

“My astir nerve-wracking portion of the full nighttime is those archetypal 2 minutes. You tin ne'er hole for the vigor of the arena,” Burton said. “My Opening Six riders travel charging into the arena. They person to travel successful riding hard, and they acceptable the stage. They bash a large job, truthful amazing.”

A magical moment

Bailee Davis is successful her seventh twelvemonth with the Flag Girls, rising to the prestigious level of starring the Opening Six each night. The St. George, Utah, cowgirl echoed Burton’s thoughts astir getting 21 riders successful the aforesaid framework of mind, hitting their marks with precision for 10 consecutive nights.

“All 21 of america travel unneurotic arsenic a squad successful conscionable a mates of days,” Davis said. “It’s a bully challenge, and determination has to beryllium a batch of spot betwixt each 21 of america and betwixt america and each 21 horses.”

No doubt, those 21 beauteous achromatic horses — experts successful their ain close — person go arsenic overmuch a portion of the pageantry arsenic immoderate different element. For Davis, it’s an grant and a privilege, and precise overmuch a challenge, arsenic she noted, to pb the squad into the arena each night.

“It truly sets the signifier for the remainder of the rodeo. It hypes up the crowd,” she said. “We’re riding into the arena successful the dark. It’s a immense spot happening for each six of america to cognize our job. And erstwhile we travel out, the assemblage conscionable loses their mind. The adrenaline unreserved for each of america is conscionable insane.”

And for the Opening Six and truly the full team, there’s thing rather similar a cleanable performance, from the Grand Entry to the moments passim the evening that each 21 are connected the arena dirt. And those cleanable performances hap connected the regular, by the way.

“When we nail it, we’re each giggling and laughing and yelling arsenic we thrust retired of the arena,” Davis said. “It’s astir a release. It’s beauteous magical.”

Special connection

Sierra Wertz is successful her archetypal authoritative twelvemonth arsenic portion of the NFR Flag Girls. In 2019, she substituted for 1 nighttime — a representation that won’t spell away.

“I’ll ne'er hide that,” Wertz said, portion noting that the caller memories of this archetypal clip riding each 10 nights are arsenic indelible. “It’s breathtaking riding successful each night. I consciousness similar the excitement overcomes my full body, to the constituent wherever I’m astir trembling, but not successful a atrocious way. It feels similar the stands are conscionable sparkling. It’s conscionable surreal.”

Wertz is from McClave, Colorado, a agrarian outpost successful the southeastern portion of the state. And nary doubt, she is household arrogant and hometown arrogant — “I was adopted. I conscionable privation to marque my ma arrogant and bash a bully occupation for my hometown,” she says — and precise Colorado proud. Even the achromatic equine she rides is from the Vold Rodeo Company successful Avondale, Colorado.

“Riding a Colorado equine is precise peculiar to me, riding a Vold equine is precise special,” McClave said, portion noting she nurtures that rider/horse narration the mode astir of america mightiness with our trusted dog. “The champion portion is the transportation I person with the horses. I ever support small cookies successful my pouch for my horse. It’s conscionable a peculiar connection.”

Making the team

Born successful Deadwood, South Dakota, Morgan Young arrived connected the NFR Flag Girls squad via the rigorous application/tryout process successful 2018. There were 150 applicants, each of whom submitted 2 abbreviated essays, on with a two-minute video showcasing their riding skill.

From those 150, Burton chose 10 to travel to Las Vegas during the 2018 NFR to interrogation and further show their horsemanship. And from those 10, 3 were chosen to articulation 18 returnees connected the 2019 NFR Flag Girls team.

“I was a rodeo queen successful South Dakota, and I wanted to beryllium portion of the NFR. I person a immense passionateness for the production,” Young said. “I’ll ne'er hide the infinitesimal I got the telephone from Angie to beryllium 1 of the 10 interviews.”

Then it was connected to a whirlwind time for the past measurement successful the process.

“It’s each successful 1 day. I showed up successful Vegas, did my interrogation and rode a horse,” Young said, noting it was an affectional fewer hours portion waiting for the results. And adjacent much affectional erstwhile those results were announced.

“When she called my name, I had tears successful my eyes. It’s genuinely a imagination travel true, an highly coveted presumption to beryllium in. It’s surreal to beryllium selected and acknowledged, that I person what it takes to beryllium connected this team.”

Young has learned a batch successful her comparatively abbreviated clip connected the team, rapidly picking up connected the rules to unrecorded by.

“Just thrust your horse, don’t beryllium complacent, and smile. No substance what, ever smile,” she said. “It becomes similar that movie ‘Groundhog Day,’ successful a bully way, due to the fact that it’s each night. It would beryllium precise casual to get complacent. But you cannot beryllium backmost and relax. Everything is timed close down to the second, and we play a immense portion successful that, truthful we conscionable ever person to beryllium connected our game.”

Riding earlier a packed location of excited rodeo fans makes that easy, and surely makes the hard enactment beforehand and during the NFR worthwhile. There’s nary spot Young and her 20 compatriots would alternatively beryllium each December.

“It’s large being surrounded by 20 different girls who assistance maine emergence up, being with the champion of the best, surrounded by specified motivated people. That’s 1 of the coolest things. Each day, I consciousness truthful fulfilled,” Young said. “People accidental Disneyland is the happiest spot connected earth. I’d accidental the Thomas &Mack during the NFR is the happiest spot connected earth.”