OGDEN -- Top of Utah residents watching the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas can cheer for a local woman.
Jody Sheffield, of Ogden, will make her first appearance in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association barrel race at the championship event of the rodeo, set for Dec. 1-10.
"I'm excited," the 29-year-old said. "I've been wanting to race in the NFR since I was little and watching Charmayne James run."
James is an 11-time world champion barrel racer.
Sheffield qualified with regular-season earnings this year of $68,314, which were boosted by a big $50,000 win at Rodeo Houston in March, leaving her in eighth place.
Thanks to the Houston win, Sheffield said she didn't have to compete as much as her fellow contestants to make it to the WNFR.
Sheffield went to only 44 rodeos, while the next closest to her was Jill Moody with 50 rodeos.
"Some of those girls get up to 80 and 90," she said. "They haul all year long."
Sheffield said she feels fresh and ready for the contest because she has taken more time off.
"I got my batteries recharged, I guess," she said.
Sheffield is one of six Utah contestants who will vie for world championship titles at the WNFR, which will award $6 million along with championship buckles and saddles.
Hoping to get a big share of that are saddle bronc riders Cody Wright and Jesse Wright, of Milford.
Cody is the reigning Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion and enters the WNFR in second place with $147,940. Jesse isn't far behind, in fifth place with regular-season earnings of $80,413.
Second-generation cowboy Kaycee Feild, from Payson, is hoping to leave Las Vegas in the same position he now holds.
Feild is the No. 1 bareback rider, with $140,660.
When the WNFR moved to Las Vegas 27 years ago, his father, Lewis, earned the all-around and bareback-riding world crowns. Lewis Field also competed in saddle bronc riding and team roping to win the all-around title.
Two bull riders will be making their sixth trip to Las Vegas.
Santaquin resident Wesley Silcox, who earned the world championship in 2007, is in third place with $100,250. Steve Woolsey, from Payson, is in 12th with $70,221.
Sheffield said she feels like a winner already, as all contestants who qualify for the WNFR receive awards just for appearing in the rodeo.
"Everybody gets a saddle," she said. "Wrangler and Justin give you clothing. It sounds to me like you make out pretty good before the rodeo even starts."
Sheffield has been on the hunt for this honor since 2004, when she bought her first card to compete in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association.
Up until about 18 months ago, she rode a gray mare named Kat in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association.
But now, she's most often mounted on a bay mare named Zoey.
Sheffield said Zoey has been a fairy-tale horse for her.
"She's full-focus when she's turned loose and loves to do her job," the cowgirl said. "It seems like, the more complicated the pattern, the more she loves it."
Zoey is the horse Sheffield's hoping to ride in all 10 performances at the WNFR.
In the week leading up to the competition, Zoey was in Hanksville, kicking back a bit with Sheffield's husband, Jesse, also an accomplished PRCA competitor in calf roping and team roping.
"My husband spends a lot of time on her," Sheffield said. "They have a bond they've got going on. He'll go hunt on her. He'll rope or just go riding out in the desert."
And it's that bond that Sheffield hopes will keep Zoey fresh for 10 straight days of high-stress competition on hard ground at University of Nevada-Las Vegas' Thomas and Mack Center.
"We're keeping her at a friend's house just outside of town," Sheffield said. "Jesse can rope on her and get her mind off of it. She's a lot better off."
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