We had a lot of fun at RFD-TV’s The American in 2018 and—after all the qualifiers, slacks, buy backs, semifinals and the always-exciting finals—it was hard to pick our favorite moments of the event that is always bound to create great stories of competitors pulling through against all odds. 

We had a lot of moments to choose from, but here are our top 10 moments of the 2018 edition of The American, and we can't wait to live out more in the 2019 edition.

Watch 2019 The American LIVE on FloRodeo, Feb. 23 to March 3. Click HERE to sign up. 

10. Denver Berry’s 3.47-Second Run

Denver Berry has some experience at The American, but in a slightly different fashion than we saw this year. Berry’s dad, the four-time world champion steer wrestler Ote Berry, came out of retirement twice to compete as a special invite at The American. 

The younger Berry was by his side in the box when he nodded his head and nearly made the top four round by placing fifth on one of those occasions. After earning his own exemption through winning the College National Finals Rodeo, as well as earning a qualification spot at another event, the younger Berry was ready to be in the spotlight.

This 3.47-second run in the shootout of the semifinals proved he’s well on his way to carving his own name in the professional rodeo game. 

9. Tyler Milligan: First & Second In The Semifinals

If you were allowed to qualify more than once in the same event, Tyler Milligan would have doubled his chances to win the million dollars. 

Milligan, not a face we're used to seeing on the world stage of rodeo, dominated the semifinals shoot-out. While the finals does not allow you two chances to compete, competitors that qualified on more than one run or ride are allowed to compete twice in the semis. 

The tie-down roper placed first and second with his runs—a 7.64 for first and 7.80 for second—more than a second ahead of his nearest competition. With an impressive showing like that against the likes of 2016 world champion Tyson Durfey and nine-time WNFR qualifier Hunter Herrin, Milligan may be a name you need to write down this rodeo season. 

8. Brandon Cullins Record-Breaking Run

Cullins did a last minute trade-out for the buy-back opportunity when one of his horses came up lame after the slack, and we’re glad he did it. Cullins and “A Cornerstone” ran a 13.523, the fastest time The American semifinals has ever seen.

The run sent Cullins into the semifinals, and from there he made it all the way through to the top four round of the finals with a chance at the million-dollar bonus prize.

7. Wesley Thorp Pulling Off A Switch-Ender

It’s hard to focus on getting one run through to The American finals, let alone dealing with two runs, two horses and two totally different jobs in a team roping run. Most competitors that try usually end up seeing both of their runs suffer. 

Wesley Thorp proved he can handle the pressure and has the skill to compete well on both ends by becoming the first competitor to ever qualify for The American finals on both ends (in the only event where you can have two shots if you switch ends). 

Thorp is a two-time WNFR qualifier on the heel side and had the legend Speed Williams working the heading end for him. Then, he switched it up and headed for Seth Smithson for his other qualification in to the finals. While the latter run was unsuccessful, Thorp showed his talents as a heeler by earning a final four spot with Williams. 

Thorp was also named the all-around champion of The American.

6. When Colton Jesse Got More Bull Than He Bargained For

In the game of cowboy versus bull, the cowboy is hands-down outmatched when it comes to size, weight and power. Cowboys must use agility to stay aboard a bucking bull, but what happens when it’s no longer cowboy versus bull, but cowboy versus bulls?

We’re just going to leave this here so you can see for yourself. 

5. Clay Elliott’s Third-Straight Semifinals Win

For the last three years, Clay Elliott has dominated the semifinals of The American as the only saddle bronc rider to win the event three-years running. The Nanton, Alberta, cowboy that has twice been to the WNFR talked about how many horses he had to get on just to make it through to the finals—from the qualifiers he entered, to the semifinals long round and shoot out—all happening before he could even have the chance to ride two more in the finals. 

In his interview after winning his third semifinals, the tough cowboy clearly wasn’t tired when he left us saying:

“I'm looking forward to getting on some big, strong, bucking son of a gun tomorrow.” 

4. Jess Lockwood: The Youngest Champion Of The American, Ever

We saw Jess Lockwood become the youngest PBR World Champion back in the fall of 2017—and at 20 years old, we did a little snooping into some birthdays and found that he had the opportunity to become the youngest champion of The American in 2018. Richmond Champion, the very first winner of The American, had set the bar pretty high by winning at the age of 21.

With Lockwood not turning 21 until September 2018, and laying down his impressive 90-point ride aboard Chad Berger's "More Big Bucks" to win the $100,000 prize, he has now raised the bar for the event even higher.

If that wasn't enough, Lockwood did it all with a torn knee. 

Check out his ride and his thoughts on winning The American HERE.

3. London Gorham Winning $45,000 In The Semifinals

This 10-year-old cowgirl has class, sass and now a lot of cash.

London Gorham barely squeaked in to the semifinals of The American, coming into the finals in the 30th, and final, spot. She must not have wanted to have that stress again, so she laid down the fastest time of the semifinals: a 13.740-second run. 

Because of the large number of barrel racing qualifier contestants throughout the year, the barrel racing at the semifinals boasted a $40,000 paycheck, plus a surprise bonus of $5,000 from Dish for Gorham being the youngest competitor.

So what does a 10-year-old do with $45,000? Find out in her interview.

2. Kaycee Field, Matt Reeves & Cort Scheer Splitting The Million

The true nature of rodeo is that anyone can win on any given day. The horses, bulls and cattle don't care what your name is; they care about what you do in each moment you are competing in the arena.

While these three competitors are all well-accomplished, they all had to battle it out just to qualify for the event. The American ensures that only the best-of-the-best rise to the top—whether that be a young hot-shot making his big break, or these champions proving why they have the resume they do. 

None of these qualifiers had seen this kind of money in one shot before, and they had many ideas about what to do with it. Cattle, investment, paying off debt, their children's future education. No matter what their plans were for the money, all three agreed that this particular moment was life-changing.

1. Junior Nogueira Giving 100 Percent For His Late Father

At the age of 5, Nogueira lost his father when he suffered a heart attack in the roping box as he was about to nod his head, but the inspirational man is still a driving force behind team roping’s Brazilian wonder today. Just the night before Nogueira was to take his steers in The American’s finals, his father was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Brazil for his accomplishments as a cowboy, despite the fact that his career was cut short. 

It was then that Nogueira decided he was going to give it 100 percent for the father that gave his all right until the end. The results speak for themselves. 

All of these special moments, and so many more, came together to create one heck of an event where competitors were able to truly live out the American dream.