Oklahoma’s Joseph Harrison, sitting 12th in the PRCA world standings, has qualified for his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo come December with header Charly Crawford. Harrison banked $78,387.10 during ProRodeo’s regular season in his first attempt at a WNFR qualification. Along with qualifying for his first trip to the WNFR, he is currently headed to Tulsa, Okla. for the Prairie Circuit finals as he is sitting fourth with $13,632.87 won.
Kaitlin Gustave: You just qualified for your first trip to the WNFR. How does that feel?
Joseph Harrison: It’s pretty awesome—I’d have to be know to not think that it is pretty cool. I’m looking forward to it. Obviously, it’s a life-long dream. Almost everybody as kids—if they rope or if they ride calves and steers and onto bulls— anything, everybody that has anything to do with this industry has the dream to make the NFR. It’s the goal and to get it done is pretty cool.
KG: As a whole, how was your year on the rodeo trail?
JH: It was pretty fluid. We got along OK in the winter and in the spring. We didn’t get to go to San Anotne (Texas) or Fort Worth (Texas) and some of the good rodeos because Charly was ERA last year, and I didn’t rodeo much. Then when we did get to go we drew some decent steers—we did decent. We had almost $20,000 won before we went to Reno (Nev.) so we had a pretty good start. From Reno week all the way through the week of Nampa (Idaho) and Spanish Fork (Utah), we had a good time. We drew good steers and made good runs and won pretty good. Toward the end of the summer we just placed along. We didn’t kill them by any means, but we just won enough to get done and do what we needed to do.
KG: Will you and Charly practice much together?
JH: Yeah, I’m sure. He’s laid out some practice plans and what we need to work on. I’m sure that about a month or so before hand we will get together several times and kind of go over the scenarios. He’s been there, obviously a bunch—eight times and I’ve never been so it’ll be good for me to get to go over the plans because he knows the drill and I’m not familiar with it.
KG: What horses do you plan on taking to Vegas?
JH: I’ll take my little brown and my big sorrel. Dual Chip is the little brown and Main Streak Boon is my sorrel horse.
KG: It must be nice to be home for a while now that the rodeo season slowed up.
JH: Oh yes—I’m a home person. I like home, and I like to be working. I ride horses for a living—work for Bobby Lewis Quarter Horses. I like to be doing something because down-time is hard on me. The rodeoing is fun and I had a great time this summer and I wouldn’t trade it for anything but I am glad to be home and working and making myself useful.
KG: In the mean time, what are you going to be doing?
JH: There’s quit a bit of stuff. Like right now we’re at Tulsa, Okla. at the circuit rodeo for me. There’s a little bit of jackpotting. They have real good futurity at Fort Worth (Texas) next week. It’s Jay Wadhams’ and Dean Tuftin’s futurity so we’ll go to that. I have some young heel horses and head horses entered there. With the jackpots and the World Shows coming up in November there’s going to be enough stuff to keep us busy.
KG: Who are you roping at your circuit finals?
JH: I’m going to rope with Bubba Buckaloo.
