PUEBLO, Colo. – Josh Frost planned to have already purchased his PBR card for the 2022 season.
During the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in November, Frost filled out all of his paperwork and got everything situated at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa and handed it over to PBR personnel.
There was only one problem, Frost recalled with laughter on Wednesday.
“I forgot to stay on any bulls, so they didn’t get any money from me,” Frost said, referencing his 0-for-2 showing at the Velocity Tour Finals.
Frost made sure to officially pay for his card on Tuesday, which was much easier thanks to a $69,204 payday at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, presented by Teton Ridge earlier this month.
The 26-year-old went 7-for-10 to win the bull riding event average at the NFR, capping off his come-from-behind victory by riding Top Shelf for 92.5 points in Round 10.
“Besides the world title, winning the average at the NFR or PBR World Finals is the most prestigious award you can get in bull riding,” Frost said. “Same thing at the PBR. If you are not the World Champion, you at least want to win the average. To go 7-for-10 on that caliber of bulls is a huge confidence booster. It was a cool week, and I am excited to go from here and try to keep the momentum going and continue to get better.”
Frost rallied to win the NFR average by posting five consecutive rides after beginning the NFR a mere 2-for-5.
“Parker Breding was 5-for-5, and it was at the point for the first part of it I didn’t even think I had a chance at winning the average,” Frost admitted. “Then going into the ninth round I caught up, but he was still a bull ahead because I had a 52 early on. The only way I had a chance was if he bucked off on the last day, and once he did, I knew I just had to stay on and I could win the average.”
Two years ago, Frost went 0-for-10 at his first NFR (2019).
“I was 0-for-10 at the NFR in 2019, and coming in this year bucking off the first two, I started thinking, ‘Am I going to fall off all of them again!?’” Frost said.
“I was a lot more mentally tough this year. I knew how to handle those first two buckoffs this time. There dang sure was a million pounds lifted off my shoulders after I rode that first bull in Round 3 (85 points on Mr. Winston).”
Frost hasn’t made a full decision on what his schedule may look like in 2022, but he is not ruling out a potential run on the Unleash The Beast.
The Randlett, Utah, native finished runner-up in the PRCA bull riding standings. He wants to build off the best year of his career and chase a gold buckle in the PRCA, but he also knows with the PBR premier series now ending in May there is a potential opportunity to ride in the PBR and then focus his efforts on the summer rodeo run.
Frost finished $48,112.73 behind seven-time PRCA champion Sage Kimzey.
“You always have the goal to be a World Champion, so until you do it, it is somewhat hard to believe it,” Frost said. “There is so much of a mental part of it. This year, I wanted to be within striking distance of Sage heading into the NFR. Technically, looking back, yeah, one or two bulls and I probably could have beaten him, but you have to stay with him in the regular season. This is going to give me confidence for next year.”
Frost, a two-time NFR qualifier, went 68-for-153 (44.44%) with seven 90-point rides to propel himself to 12 event wins this year in the PRCA.
The initial PBR plan for Frost is to enter the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season-opening events in Reno, Nevada, and Denver in January so he can earn some points toward at least qualifying for the 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals on May 6-7 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Reno Rumble kicks off the Velocity Tour season on Jan. 7-8 at the Reno Events Center, while the Denver PBR Chute Out at the National Western Stock Show is set for Jan. 10-12.
RELATED: 2022 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals to be held in Corpus Christi, Texas
“I haven’t hammered it out exactly,” Frost said. “With PBR crunching the season down, the PBR season is going to busier than ever in a shorter period of time. The No. 1 goal next year is to try and get that PRCA gold buckle, but I am going to start making the shift into the PBR some. I will go to Reno and Denver, and hopefully for sure I make the Velocity Finals.
“But if a guy wins Denver, it will be hard to not go to those UTBs then. I really want that PRCA gold buckle, but at the same time, I am going to Reno and Denver to win first place at both of them. So that’s the goal. Go ride my best at Reno and Denver, and if I get the UTB call, then I will have a decision to make.”
Article Courtesy of PBR
Photo By Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media