Mason Clements stretches just behind the chutes before the Young Living Farms Rodeo held Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, in Mona, Utah. A relative newcomer to rodeo, Mason competes in the bareback-riding event and last year placed 10th at the world's top rodeo, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mason Clements laces up his boots before the Strawberry Days Rodeo held Friday, June 22, 2018, at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo Grounds in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Mason is currently a resident of Springville, which holds the 801 area code, but he was born in Henderson, Nevada.
Kaycee Feild gestures to his mentee, Mason Clements, as they joke around while preparing for the Days of '47 Rodeo held Thursday, July 19, 2018, at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah. Feild, of Genola, is a four-time world champion bareback rider, and helps coach Clements. “We’re competitive with each other no matter what we do,” said Clements. “Then we add making money, the physicality of rodeo, the crowds and it makes it that much more fun and makes us more competitive.”
Mason Clements dons his cowboy hat as he prepares to head to the chutes before the Strawberry Days Rodeo held Friday, June 22, 2018, at the PRCA Rodeo Grounds in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Clements competed in roughly 85 rodeos this year, riding in as many as four to five rodeos a week during the peak summer season.
Mason Clements and his horse burst out of the chutes as he competes during the Strawberry Days Rodeo held Friday, June 22, 2018, at the PRCA Rodeo Grounds in Pleasant Grove, Utah. “Bareback riding has been compared to riding a jackhammer with one hand,” according to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
Mason Clements holds out his hand for his nephew, Jax Clements, 3, of Salt Lake City, to high-five him as some of Mason's family surrounds him after he was injured during the Days of '47 Rodeo held Thursday, July 19, 2018, at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mason would soon-after find that he had torn his ACL, but he continued to compete through the season.
Mason Clements exits the media room after being interviewed by a member of the media during the Days of '47 Rodeo held Thursday, July 19, 2018, at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bareback riding generally ranks as the second most injury-prone event in rodeo, according to Current Sports Medicine Reports.
Mason Clements holds the wheels steady as Kaycee Feild rides atop a bucking machine Tuesday, June 12, 2018, at Feild's home in Genola, Utah. When they have time, the two bareback riders train together.
Mason Clements make his way to his truck at the Palms Casino Resort before the final night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Considered the world's top rodeo, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo begins Dec. 6 and takes place on ten consecutive nights in "Sin City".
Mason Clements signs a bill for room-service food as he lies in a compression bag in his hotel room at the Palms Casino Resort on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Back to back rodeos for ten nights can test a cowboy's body, and Mason spent as much time as he could prepping his body in the mornings and afternoons before competing each evening.
During previous performances at this year's WNFR, Mason also injured his right hand, which is his riding hand. Pictured here at a previous rodeo, Mason Clements tapes up his arms as he prepares before the Fort Herriman PRCA Rodeo on Saturday, June 2, 2018, at the arena next to W&M Butterfield Park in Herriman, Utah.
Mason Clements bursts out of the chutes atop Frontier Rodeo's Gunfire as he competes in the bareback-riding event during the final night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo held Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the ten nights of the rodeo, Mason competed against 15 world-class bareback riders and placed as high as second twice.
Mason Clements finished in ninth place overall within the bareback-riding division at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, a spot better than the previous year. Pictured here at a previous rodeo, Mason Clements hugs Brianna Winn, his girlfriend, after competing in the Young Living Farms Rodeo held Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, in Mona, Utah. Clements underwent ACL surgery at the end of 2018, and looks forward to next rodeo season.