LAS VEGAS – There are times an athlete has to reach beyond what might be his limits to accomplish something special.

After Andrews Rodeo’s Empty Promises got out of the starting blocks early, Kade Sonnier had to kick int into high gear just to catch up. He did, managing an 83.75-point ride to finish sixth in Wednesday’s seventh round of the National Finals Rodeo.

That was worth $5,914 and marked the fifth time he has earned money in Las Vegas.

“We just keep chipping away at it,” said Sonnier of Carencro, Louisiana. “That horse beat me out of the gate a little bit. She kind of hit the chute gate, and it caused us to have a little bit of a foul start. She reared up and stalled. I knew there were a couple of tricks to here, but that was just some unfortunate luck.

“The hardest thing about

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