Leanna Lehman
Fear not, rodeo fans. Just because the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas has drawn to a close and winter has descended on the Silver State, we do not have to wait until spring to catch some live rodeo action.
Grab your tickets and hold on to your seats. In less than two weeks, the 2024 Roughy Top Gun Invitational promises to deliver heart-pumping action as top-ranking bull riders from across the nation try their luck against 1,500 pounds of solid muscle and raw bucking bull power.
What could be better than a bull riding event on New Year's Eve in Fallon at the Rafter 3C indoor arena? How about a professional showdown brought to life by a Nevada native with a deep love for the sport and his home state? Driven by his passion, he founded Busted Up Productions to make it all happen—because nothing says Nevada like grit, bull riding, and a New Year's Eve to remember.
Meet Chad Denton, a former bull rider and NFR qualifier who grew up in Round Mountain, Nevada—current population 2,233. Chad began pursuing bull riding at an early age. "I started going to junior rodeos and then high school rodeos throughout Nevada," said Chad, whose love for the sport is still evident today.
"I hit the professional ranks and moved up from there. I qualified for the NFR once, and the PBR [Professional Bull Riders organization] world finals three times," Chad noted. "I rode in the PBR for many years. I made a living doing it, and really chased my dreams."
Retired at 33 after breaking his leg in the eighth round of the NFR. Chad continued to compete after his injury, but he couldn't sustain a career in the highly competitive and dangerous sport. "The fire had gone out," Chad recalled.
Chad turned to extreme danger of a different sort—as a professional firefighter instead of a professional bull rider. He is now a captain with a fire department in northern California. And, instead of an eight-second wild ride, Chad began dreaming of bringing a top-notch Xtreme rough stock event to his home state of Nevada, where he is still a resident.
"From Round Mountain, it was a long way to go to any professional event," Chad explained, who grew up traveling great distances to compete or even spectate. "Pretty much the only thing was Reno Rodeo. I could go to the NFR, of course, but I couldn't ever get tickets to that as a kid."
With a bit of prodding from Chad's Fallon friends—he put together what he called, "something for kids like me, from the middle of nowhere." The result was Busted Up Productions, which puts on one event per year: the Top Gun Invitational bull riding in Fallon.
Speaking of kids like Chad, he brings something very special to 3C this year - a youth bull riding clinic. With help from a few top-ranking Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association bull riders like T.J. Gray, aspiring young riders from Fallon and around the region can learn some fundamentals that will help them avoid injury and improve their skills.
This New Year's event will be Chad's third Top Gun bull riding and first PRCA production. "We were not a professional event, but we had professional bull riders there, of course, but the money didn't count towards the NFR," explained Chad, referring to the points that qualify professional riders for the world finals. This year's bull riding is a fully sanctioned PRCA Xtreme Bulls event with 35 competitors on the roster, and the top eight making the short go (final round).
Helping Chad fulfill his dream are good friends Justin Andrade, Jesse Segura, the operations deputy at Rafter 3C Events Complex, and with Hunter Giovanetti, 3C’s event specialist. According to Chad, he has brought in three stock contractors for the bulls—Jeff Davis of Four Star Rodeos, also a longtime friend and a stock contractor in the PRCA; Western Rodeo Company; and Legacy Pro Rodeo, LLC, who will bring most of the bulls. All three are known for some of the toughest bulls on the circuit.
Beyond bull riding, ticket holders can look forward to a trade show and event vendors, Drinks and VIP catering from Troys Double Shot Bar, and concessions by The Grid. There will be music and dancing, of course, with award-winning country artist Chad Bushnell taking the stage right after the final go-round.
Chad thanks his event sponsors, including Roughy (the rough stock branch of Hooey brands), the City of Fallon—who has been instrumental in helping the event become a PRCA-sanctioned bull riding—The Grid, Boot Barn, A&K Earthmovers, Peek Construction, Cheek Construction, Hoof Beats Corrals, Hot Wire Electric, Les Schwab, Tedford Tire, and many others.
Tickets are now on sale for $30 online at Bustedupproductions.com and in Fallon at The Grid, 3-D Shipping, and Les Schwab, or $35 at the gate. VIP tables are also available, seating nine for $1,000, with single seating at $125. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., with the bull riding kicking off at 8 p.m.
Don't miss top riders from around the country taking on some of the fiercest bulls in the sport. Ring in 2025 at what will surely be an all-out New Year's Eve party—cowboy style.
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