Jesse Brown wrestles his steer during the National Finals Rodeo at the Thomas & Mack Center on Dec. 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. 

Jesse Brown capped his best professional season as a steer wrestler with a runner-up finish over the 10 nights of the biggest event in rodeo, but it’s a much smaller amount of time that he can’t help but think about.

A few tenths of a second.

A minuscule interval.

But a completely unpredictable one, when a quarter-ton of uncooperative steer is involved.

“You can always go back and look at a situation,” said Brown, 31, a Baker City native who competed in the National Finals Rodeo for the fourth straight year.

Brown was in the money in four of the 10 rounds at the National Finals in Las Vegas, which concluded Saturday, Dec. 16.

For the second straight year, he was second in total time, a testament to his consistency in the season-ending event that draws crowds of nearly 18,000 spectators to the Thomas & Mack Center.

Brown’s total time on 10 steers was 46.2 seconds, behind only Don Payne at 44.9 seconds. The second-place finish earned Brown a bonus of $63,889.

In the 2022 National Finals Rodeo, Brown’s total time was 46.1 seconds. He won $60,159 for taking second.

Brown said his ultimate goal was — and remains — to win a world title.

He was excruciatingly close this year.

His season earnings of $276,444 ranked third, behind only Dalton Massey of Hermiston ($283,993) and Tyler Waguespack of Gonzales, Louisiana, who earned $303,575.

Brown ponders the number that separated him from the world championship — $27,131.

“I could have earned that anywhere” during the season, which spans most of 2023, he said.

“You try to be perfect every run, with no mistakes,” Brown said. “I guess I’m happy.”

He improved on last year’s fifth-place finish in the world standings, when he won $241,152. That figure didn’t, however, include the $100,000 he won at a single event, The American in Arlington, Texas, on March 6, 2022.

Another memorable December

Brown said that although he’s become more comfortable competing on rodeo’s biggest stage, familiarity doesn’t diminish the thrill of riding into the arena before the massive crowd.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

And a lot of work — most of which happens outside the view of the fans both in the arena and on television.

Brown said he’s busy most days during the National Finals with autograph sessions or attending a variety of events put on by sponsors.

“I’m not complaining about it at all,” he said. “I’m just lucky to be able to do that.”

Brown also feels fortunate to have so many fans in the stands cheering him on.

His parents, Jim and Vicki Brown of Baker City, attended all 10 rounds.

Jesse Brown chuckled when talking about his younger sister, Allie Brown, who teaches at North Powder Charter School. She attended the last three nights. Earlier in the event, he said, Allie texted their parents to say she hadn’t yet seen them on the Cowboy Channel’s coverage of the National Finals.

His parents, he said with a laugh, made bigger signs to be more conspicuous to the TV cameras.

Brown said he talked with many other Baker City residents who traveled to Las Vegas to watch him compete.

“I met buddies from high school and college,” he said. “It’s a great group of people. I have awesome support.”

Heading home, preparing for 2024

After the National Finals, Brown traveled to Arizona, his traditional post-Vegas training site.

He will return to Baker City for Christmas, then start training for the 2024 season.

Having established himself as one of the top steer wrestlers on the pro circuit, Brown said he doesn’t plan to make any significant changes to his training regimen or his other preparations.

“It’s a bit of a marathon,” he said. “There’s a lot of steers. But it can still come down to that last steer.”

And after battling for most of a year for every tenth of a second and every dollar, Brown said he’s ready to start all over.

“Now everyone goes back to zero dollars,” he said.