By Susan Kanode
Here are some of my observations about the NFR. I’ve done a lot of research and if the facts presented are wrong, it’s on me. I hope you enjoy my meanderings and stay tuned for the next issue where I break down the events. There are so many reasons the NFR is a favorite rodeo. The money adds drama and excitement, but there is a lot more to it.
December 14, 2025 – 118 rodeo contestants left Las Vegas. The season was officially over. Champions were crowned and the focus turned to 2026. Rodeo never stops. It waits for no one. What ends one day, starts over the next. When someone wins, someone else loses. It’s the nature of the game and it is not for the weak. The 2026 season has proven that once again.
On December 3, 2026, 119 competitors will be vying for more than 14.2 million in prize money and the coveted gold buckles that signify they are the world’s best. The NFR features the top 15 in seven events for a total of 120 competitors. Last year, Wacey Schalla and Stetson Wright both competed in two events. This year, Stetson is in the driver’s seat in the race for the only buckle that says “Cowboy” on it. He is the only contestant in two events – the saddle bronc riding and bull riding.
There are 27 competitors who will ride in the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time. The most in one event is the bull riding with six and four of those are in contention for the Resistol Rookie of the Year. The event with the most veterans is saddle bronc riding. There is only one NFR first-timer, Waitley Sharon from Ordway, Colorado, who has already sewn up the rookie title. Bareback riding has two. Steer wrestling, team roping (heading and heeling) have four and the tie-down roping and barrel racing have three each.
The biggest gap between first and 15th is also bull riding. Noah Lee, from Mineral Wells, Texas, leads Canadian Jake Gardner by $248,972. The tightest race going in is the barrel racing where two palomino horses have less than $90,000 between them. Hayle Gibson-Stilwell from Redcrest, California, and her AQHA horse of the year, Buncha Dinero “Piper,” are in first. In the final spot is last year’s reserve champion, Tricia Aldridge from Sanger, Texas, who continues to wow us on her stallion, Adios Pantelones.
There are a lot of things about rodeo that make it so special. At the top of my list is the generational aspect. That is showcased this year across the board. Last July, the late Butch Myers, NFR competitor and 1980 world champion steer wrestler, was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. In 1989 he competed in Las Vegas in tie-down as well. This year, his grandsons, Holden Myers (steer wrestling) and Quade Hiatt (tie-down) are continuing the family legacy.
The first time Cody Wright competed at the NFR was 2003. His youngest son Statler was just four months old. Last year, that baby boy won the gold buckle. Cody qualified for the NFR 13 times and made history in 2014. Robert, Billy and Dan Etbuaer competing together in saddle bronc riding was a record for siblings. Cody, Jake, Jesse and Spencer Wright beat that in 2014. Twelve years later, Cody’s four boys are on the roster. Rusty, Ryder, Stetson and Statler make up the blue-shirt brigade.
Barrel racer Makenzie Mayes is making her first appearance and part of that is because of her grandmother, Nancy Mayes, who competed at the NFR in Oklahoma City in 1983. MaKenzie’s father, Jim Bob qualified twice in Las Vegas in tie-down roping. Riley Duvall’s uncle Roy is legendary, grandfather Bill hazed many a steer at the NFR and his father, Sam, and uncle Spud all have history at the NFR. And he’s had cousins compete as well.
In the team roping, first-time qualifiers Tyler Tryan and Nicky Northcott are products of world champion fathers. Tyler and Nicky have been roping together for most of the season and have been so fun to watch. Tyler’s father, Clay Tryan, won the heading gold buckle three times. The first was in 2005 when Clay’s wife, Bobbie, was pregnant with Tyler. Clay’s mom and Tyler’s grandmother, Terri Kaye Kirkland, also competed in the barrel racing that year. And he has other family members on both sides that have made NFR appearances. Nicky’s father, Steve Northcott, was the world champion heeler thirty years ago. Now it’s the dads turns to be spectators in the Thomas & Mack.
Other competitors this year that have had fathers compete for rodeo’s championships are Ketch Kelton in the heading, Trey Yates in the heeling, Zeke Thurston in the saddle bronc riding, Shad Mayfield in tie-down, and John Crimber and Hayden Welsh in bull riding. And, bull rider Noah Lee’s father won a world title in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR).
The crossover between the two organizations is also seen in Crimber. Last February, he joined the PRCA with the idea that he could make history winning world championships in both organizations. He accomplished half of that equation in the PBR in May. Then his focus turned to rodeo. He enters this year’s NFR in sixth place. Both of John’s parents, Paulo and Maria, are from Brazil. Paulo competed in the PBR and the PRCA and qualified for the NFR in 2004. While John was born and raised in the U.S. and calls Decatur, Texas, home, his roots are in Brazil. He is the first bull rider with those ties to compete in the Thomas & Mack Center since his father.
That gives Brazil two entries to this year’s NFR. Australia also has two and Canada has seven representatives. Another reason I love rodeo is the pride taken in where these athletes are from. Seeing the arena filled with maple leaf flags when the Canadians compete makes my heart happy even though I am an American who lives in Texas but will always call Colorado home. I also have that in common with a lot of the competitors that represent their home states, not their current mailing address. This year there are 27 states represented. As expected, Texas has the most competitors at 33, followed by Louisiana with 8. Utah has 7, followed by Arizona, Oklahoma and Oregon with 6. California, Colorado, Idaho, and Montana have five. Three Wyoming cowboys join three from New Mexico. North and South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota and Tennessee have two each. There is one competitor from Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and Washington.
If fans are driving to Las Vegas from a contestant’s home town, Kaleb Driggers have the longest trip from Hoboken, Georgia at 2,209 miles. Close behind that is Dustin Eguisquiza from Mariana, Florida, at 1,987. Perhaps the most difficult drive comes from Jake Gardner’s hometown of Fort St. John, British Columbia. The settlement is located on the Alaskan Highway and is closer to the Northern Territories than it is to Las Vegas. Planning a trip to watch him ride would include 1,872 miles or over a day in a plane. Planes are the only way to get to the NFR from Brazil, Australia, or Hawaii.
The route to Las Vegas doesn’t matter. Getting there does. For 10 nights, it is the heartbeat of rodeo.