A dream season has renewed expectations for Luke Snyder.

Snyder finished fifth in the average last weekend at the Canadian Finals, and is now on his way to Australia for a one-day event in Tamworth before focusing on the 2012 Built Ford Tough Series.

After the way the 2011 World Finals turned out - he was 1-for-5 and failed to make the Built Ford Tough Championship Round - Snyder wanted to use these last two events as a way to prepare for the first BFTS event of the upcoming season in New York.

In Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he finished second in the first round and won Round 2 before bucking off in the championship round.

"I was just shy of 90 and felt really good," he said of his 89.5-point round win. "I'm still capable of doing it when I show up in New York. … Now it's back to business and show them what I believe I'm capable of."

After nearly being cut from the BFTS earlier this year, Snyder came on strong in the second half of the season, finishing 12th in the world standings.

Luke Snyder rides Cooper Tires Wild N Out for 90 points to win the Last Cowboy Standing title in Las Vegas.

It was his best finish since his 2001 rookie season when he won the World Finals event average, claimed the Rookie of the Year title and finished seventh in the world.

This year, he was within 200 points of his second Top 10 ranking.

He recorded only two Top 10 finishes in the first 14 events of 2011, but started off the second half with a win in Las Vegas and a $217,000 payday as the Last Cowboy Standing. He finished with ten Top 10 finishes, including five in the Top 5, both of which were career bests.

Even without the money from Las Vegas, he would have made in excess of $100,000 for only the second time in the past eight years, after making well over $500,000 in the first three years of his career.

His average of 39.29 percent was the third-highest of his career, and over 5 points higher than his career average of 33.84 percent.

"This year, I turned on the burners a little late, but we had a great end to the season," Snyder said. "I can't wait to roll into the next one and do it all over again."

He hasn't looked forward to a new season like this since the 2002 season.

"There's no telling what I can get done," he said, "as long as I stay healthy."

'There's no telling what I can get done as long as I stay healthy.'

Asked if he can win a world title, he said, "Absolutely. I'm definitely going to be going for it."

As great as 2011 has been for Snyder, he realizes he still has his work cut out for him if he intends to do more than compete.

He specifically pointed to the importance of the championship rounds.

He said improving his average there is the difference between the Top 10 finishes he had this year and the increased Top 5 finishes he needs to be a true contender.

"You have to ride the last ones," Snyder said. "The ones that really count."

Most importantly, he's having fun again.

"If you're not having fun, it's going to show through," Snyder said. "The risk and the price you have to be willing to pay is just way too high to do just for a paycheck."

NOTES

BRAZILIAN BIG TIME: PBR Brazil will host its Finals in Cajamar on Nov. 24-27. Newly crowned World Champion Silvano Alves is expected to compete, along with Fabiano Vieira, Rubens Barbosa, Douglas Ferreira, Elton Cide, Wesley Lourenco and Paulo Lima.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Ross Coleman, J.W. Hart, and Cord McCoy will participate in a Celebrity Cutting Horse Event to benefit the Careity Foundation on Friday, Dec. 2, in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity. The three will be joined by reigning Iron Cowboy Colby Yates Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for an autograph signing at the Best of the West Shopping Experience in the Amon G. Carter exhibit Hall at the Will Rogers Memorial Complex.