2024 World Champions

By Patrick Everson

Shad Mayfield knew he needed to tie his calf in 10 seconds or less Saturday night. He didn’t need to place, he didn’t need to cash.

He just had to beat 10 seconds. Do that, and he wins the prestigious title of all-around world champion cowboy.

Mayfield did it. Just barely.

“I just wanted to be 10 flat or better. I put my hands up at 9.6, which is way too close,” Mayfield said.

But in this case, close was good in the final round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He didn’t make a dollar in the 10^th go-round of tie-down roping. However, he clinched fourth in the NFR tie-down average, which was worth $40,751.

And he needed almost all of that to win the all-around gold buckle. Mayfield, primarily a tie-down roper and the 2020 world champion in that event, finished the 2024 season with $335,474 in all-around earnings.

Coleman Proctor, primarily a team roping header, missed his steer in the final go-round for a no-time. That was the difference, as Proctor finished the 2024 season with $334,798 – a mere $676 behind Mayfield.

“Coming into the NFR, I knew it would be a battle,” Mayfield said, basking in the afterglow of his first all-around crown. “All-around cowboy means the world to me. I feel like this buckle right here represents being a real cowboy. And that’s what I’ve always wanted to be, since I was a little kid.”

Achievement reached, at age 24. So don’t be surprised to see Mayfield come back for more.

Bareback Riding

Saturday night needed to go really well for Dean Thompson to win his first bareback riding gold buckle. And it did.

Thompson was fourth in the world standings entering the 10^th go-round. He then took second with an 88.5-point ride aboard Straight Stick, good for $26,624. That ride also put him first in the NFR average, with 854.5 points on 10 rides. That was worth another $86,391.

So on just the final night, Thompson netted $113,015. Add to that the previous $299,106 Thompson won throughout the year before Round 10, and he finished the 2024 season with $412,121.

With his final-round cash haul, Thompson overtook Rocker Steiner ($394,187) for the world championship.

“I just feel incredible,” said Thompson, who last year earned just $39,221 at his first NFR, while finishing 13^th in the world standings. “To come back and make it all happen in my second year, it means everything to me.”

Thompson recognized that staying steady for 10 nights was the key to his first world title. He cashed in eight go-rounds, including a split of first in Round 5 and a solo win in Round 8.

“You can’t score 90 every night. But you can make the most consistent rides of everybody here and win the average. And that’s what lands you here.”

And by “here,” Thompson means holding that gold buckle. He could hardly believe it was in his hands.

“It absolutely exceeds all my expectations,” Thompson said.

Steer Wrestling

Like Thompson, steer wrestler J.D. Struxness won the 10^th go at the 2024 Wrangler NFR, pocketing $26,624. And although Struxness only took eighth in the NFR average, that $8,150 proved to be the difference.

Struxness finished the season with $309,220 to claim the world title, barely $1,500 ahead of second-place Will Lummus ($307,713).

“It feels awesome. I’ve been working at this for years here,” Struxness said after getting his first gold buckle, following his sixth NFR appearance. “It was just a great week. To get it to turn out like this is just unbelievable.”

Indeed. Consider that Struxness missed his first steer of the NFR, for a no-time. But he turfed the next nine, cashing in seven go-rounds. He won Round 4 and tied for second in Rounds 8 and 9 before taking solo second Saturday night.

“I knew I was gonna have to be fast [tonight] and have a few things go my way. It all fell in our direction. We fought back and came out on top,” Struxness said.

Cash Robb won the NFR average, totaling 43.30 seconds on 10 runs to win $86,391. Robb finished third in the world standings at $301,671.

Team Roping

The 2024 Wrangler NFR produced a repeat world champion in team roping. Header Tyler Wade and heeler Wesley Thorp bagged gold buckles for the second straight year, finishing the season with $361,480 apiece.

And we’ve got a theme developing here: Wade and Thorp – like Thompson and Struxness before them – took second in the 10^th go-round. The duo clocked 3.8 seconds to earn $26,624 apiece.

With all the money to be made over 10 days at the Thomas & Mack, a world champion would usually have to win some of the NFR average money. And perhaps a lot of it.

Wade and Thorp earned zero average dollars. The teammates made up for it by winning the first, second and fifth go-rounds, along with a second in the ninth go and that second-place time in the 10^th go.

“Last year, we knew we just had to catch the last steer and we’d win the world,” Wade said. “This year, there were a whole lot of scenarios.”

The two were trying to do the math right up until the point that they backed into the chute.

“I looked at Wesley and said, ‘What do we gotta do?’ He said, ‘Make our run,’” Wade said.

So they did. Wade now has two gold buckles, while Thorp has three, as he took the 2019 world heeling title, roping with Cody Snow.

“I still haven’t quite wrapped my head around it,” Thorp said.

And neither had Wade.

“To be here again makes me want to cry,” Wade said.

Surely tears of joy.

Clint Summers and Jake Long won the NFR average, clocking 44.3 seconds on nine steer to collect $86,391 apiece. That boosted Summers and Long to No. 2 in the final world standings, with Summers at $342,501 and Long at $345,938.

Saddle Bronc

This will come as a shock to no one: A member of the Wright family won the saddle bronc gold buckle. Ryder Wright claimed his third world title, finishing in style by splitting first in the 10^th and final go of the 2024 NFR.

Wright spurred All Or Nothin to 89.5 points to match Lefty Holman for the round win Saturday. Wright earned $30,155 for that ride, another $14,670 for taking seventh in the NFR average, and over the 10 days at the Thomas & Mack, he netted a hefty $228,694.

Wright cashed on eight of 10 nights, with solo wins in the fourth and eighth go-rounds, and a split of first in the fifth and 10^th go-rounds. Total it all up, and Wright finished the year with $479,957.

“I feel awesome,” Wright said. “The second buckle was pretty special, to show that the first one wasn’t a fluke. But there’s not a whole lot of people who have three. This one feels pretty damn good.”

When Wright learned he’d drawn All Or Nothin, he expected good things to happen Saturday night.

“I knew that horse would give me a chance to win the round. He’s the Horse of the Year. I was tickled pink to draw him,” Wright said.

Between the second-place ride and that average money, Wright held off Damian Brennan ($442,442) for the world title.

Wyatt Casper won the NFR average with 853 points on 10 head, good for $86,391. That vaulted Casper to third in the world standings at $439332.

Tie-Down Roping

Riley Webb proved his 2023 world championship wasn’t a fluke. He backed it up with another gold buckle after 10 nights of the 2024 Wrangler NFR.

And Webb was dominant. He won three go-rounds, on Nights 1, 2 and 4, and cashed in eight of 10 go-rounds. He won the NFR average with a time of 79.70 seconds on 10 calves to bag $86,391. For the week, Webb earned $258,307.

Which took his season-long earnings to a massive $475,214, almost $80,000 ahead of world No. 2 Shad Mayfield ($397,408).

“To back it up and win two years in a row, there are no words to explain it,” Webb said. “I kept pushing, kept grinding, and it worked out.”

Webb was ecstatic to have one world championship to his name. After getting two, he’s got an appetite for more.

“It’s wild. I’m just so blessed to be here. It makes me want to work harder to be back here in years to come,” he said.