{gallery}12_10_09/asay{/gallery} Powell's Kanin Asay completes a ride during the 2009 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Through six rounds, Asay has successfully ridden two bulls, placing him fifth in the average standings prior to the start of Wednesday's round. Asay currently sits fourth in the world standings. The NFR continues through Saturday with more than $53,000 in prize money up for grabs each day. ourtesy photo/ Timber Tuckness Eight seconds. For Powell bull rider Kanin Asay, that's all the time it took to make an impression at this year's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Asay rode Cervi & Guidry Rodeo's Hot Diggity Damn to an opening-night score of 89, posting the night's top ride and scoring $17,139 in prize money in the process.

The money briefly elevated Asay to number two in the world standings.

Two nights later, Asay was back in the prize money as he posted an 85.5 ride aboard a bull named Ricky Bobby. The performance netted Asay an additional $10,228 in prize money.

Despite posting two solid rides during the first three days of competition, Asay ended Tuesday night — the sixth round of a scheduled 10-round competition — in fifth place overall on the average board. The Powell rider was shut out in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds after failing to complete his rides.

The brief dry spell was enough to drop Asay back into fourth place in the world standings. To date, Asay has earned $119,537 this year. He's hot on the heels of Gillette's Bobby Welsh ($133,436) and Weatherford, Okla., rider Corey Navarre ($131,870). Three other competitors are nipping at his heels and began Wednesday night's seventh round within $11,000 of Asay.

Of course, the entire field is straining to gain ground on defending world champion J.W. Harris, who currently boasts $219,274 in earnings this season. Harris is striving to become the first bull rider in the past eight years to successfully defend his title and is competing in Vegas with a broken hand in order to do so.

Rodeo fans have already witnessed one rare feat in the bull riding event at the NFR. During Monday's fifth round, all 15 bull riders found themselves bucked to the ground before the eight-second mark. It marked the first time in 12 years that an entire panel of riders had been shut out at the NFR.

Less than 24 hours later, the scenario nearly repeated itself. Navarre waved off an option to re-ride, choosing to hold on to a ride of 70.5 points. The score snapped a streak of 23 consecutive thrown riders and wound up being the only successful ride of the sixth round, earning Navarre the nightly first prize of $17,139, plus an additional $38,149 in “ground money” — prize money not claimed due to fallen riders, which does not count toward official annual earnings.

The 2009 National Finals Rodeo runs through Saturday in Las Vegas. The event is televised nightly by the ESPN network of sports stations (ESPN2 and ESPN Classic).