Lovell Kisses Full-Time Rodeo Trail Goodbye

Colby Lovell just roped at this sixth wrangler national finals Rodeo presented by polaris RANGER, where he won $27,769 heading for Travis Graves. His other NFR partners have included Kory Koontz in 2010, York Gill in 2011, Russell Cardoza in 2012, Martin Lucero in 2013 and Koontz in 2015. Lovell, 29, lives in Madisonville, Texas, with his wife, Kassidy, son, Levi, 11, and daughter, Jewel, 3.

- Kendra Santos

KENDRA SANTOS: How was your sixth NFR different from your first one?

COLBY LOVELL: Expectations were a lot higher than they were for my first one. In 2015, I almost won the world but lost my rope in the last round. All I had to do was get a time. Expectations are always high when you get there. You never know what’s going to happen or how it’s all going to unfold at the end.

KS: Talk about this NFR, where you and TG placed in a couple rounds.

CL: I just didn’t do as good a job as I needed to.

KS: Now that it’s in the rear view mirror, what stands out to you about your 2016 rodeo season?

CL: Just getting to spend time with Travis and his family, and getting to know them as friends, like I do with all my partners. That’ll come in handy when we’re old one day.

KS: You only had one horse with you in Vegas—Fast Time—that you bought from Kaleb Driggers. Is that the first time you ever just took one horse to Vegas?

CL: Yes. He’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden. The great ones try so hard.

KS: You’ve basically been having a big dispersal sale, right?

CL: Yeah, I sold all my other horses before I went to the Finals. As long as Fast Time was healthy, I wasn’t going to ride anything else. I have a lot of confidence in that horse and he fits me good.

KS: What’s next for you?