LAS VEGAS – All eyes are on Las Vegas for the 2003 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. The first of 10 go-rounds get under way Friday night at the Thomas and Mack Center. The last go round is Dec. 14.

As always, the Wrangler NFR features exciting races that will no doubt go down to the wire to determine world championships.

Will Lowe competed at his first Finals last year and won three rounds of the bareback riding. The Gardner, Kan., cowboy, who turns 21 on Dec. 24, has built an impressive lead coming into this year’s big show.

Another cowboy shooting for a title is Bobby Mote of Redmond, who is defending his bareback championship. Mote, who missed more than three months of the season because of injuries, made a late-season charge to earn a Wrangler NFR qualification with August victories in Canby and Bremerton, Wash.

Clint Corey of Powell Butte, the 1991 world bareback riding champion, qualified for his 18th Wrangler NFR.

The bulldogging field looks as tough as ever with world standings leader Shawn Greenfield of Lakeview taking the top spot heading into his first Wrangler NFR.

Greenfield has led the world standings much of the year, but there are several bulldoggers who could rise to the top. Teddy Johnson of Checotah, Okla., is within striking range as is Birch Negaard of Buffalo, S.D., whose year started slowly but finished with a flourish.

Speed Williams and Rich Skelton come to Las Vegas with a chance to make history by winning their seventh consecutive world championship in team roping. Williams of Amarillo, Texas, and Skelton of Llano, Texas, have a sizeable lead in the world standings.

In tie-down roping, a handful of ropers with gold buckles will take aim at another, with the rest of the pack in pursuit. Seven-time world champion Fred Whitfield of Hockley, Texas, is obviously a favorite with Blair Burk of Durant, Okla., who is roping in his ninth Wrangler NFR and is searching for his first world championship.

Burk is recovering from an emergency appendectomy Oct. 30, but should be in top form.

Brittany Pozzi, a 19-year-old cowgirl from Victoria, Texas, is ready to make barrel racing history. Pozzi is looking to become the first rookie to win the world title since Charmayne James, a then-unknown rookie, walked away with the first of her 11 world titles in 1984.

Kelly Kaminski has been at or near the top of the standings throughout the season and is another barrel racer to contend with. Former world champions who have a shot at the crown include Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz.; Kristie Peterson of Chilton, Texas; and Kappy Allen of Austin, Texas.

Glen O’Neill of Didsbury, Alberta, has put himself in perfect position to defend his saddle bronc riding title. Dan Mortensen of Billings, Mont., can capture his PRCA record-tying sixth saddle bronc and seventh overall title with a big Las Vegas performance. Mortensen surpassed the $2 million mark earlier this year, becoming the only roughstock cowboy to reach that milestone. Rod Hay, the seven-time Canadian champion who won the Pendleton Round-Up this year, is also in contention.

Terry Don West of Henryetta, Okla., the PRCA’s 1996 world champion bull rider, remains atop the world standings, but has a host of cowboys eager to claim the top prize. The pack behind West in the world standings includes Mike Moore of Kankakee, Ill.

,hr>Butch Thurman can of Pendleton has covered professional rodeo for 24 years. His e-mail address is bthurman@oregontrail.net.