There’s a clear line in the sand in the bull riding, after the $10,000 NFR bonus was paid out earlier this week, there are four cowboys who will begin Round 1 with more than $300,000. The next closest doesn’t even have over $200,000.

The four who have put themselves a cut above the rest are Wacey Schalla, Stetson Wright, Ky Hamilton, and Tristen Hutchings.

Schalla is the upstart challenger. In just his second season in ProRodeo, he seemingly made a big ride every time he needed it the most in a knife fight with Stetson Wright for the No. 1 spot all summer long. For his part, Wright will hopefully get on 10 bulls at the NFR for the first time since 2022, when he covered 8-of-10 and won the Gold Buckle.

For Hamilton, it’s a similar story. His last NFR was his 2023 World Title year when he etched his name into history by being the only one to make the whistle in Round 7 to win nearly $100,000 after he was knocked out just hours earlier.

For Hutchings, he has yet to have the World Title or No. 1 pedigree, but he has been the most consistent bull rider who has not a World Title this decade. He has three straight Top 10 finishes and two Top 5 finishes since 2022.

It’s not often this can be said, but it’s safe to assume the 2025 World Champion will come from this quartet in 2025.

 

1. Wacey Schalla – $352,596.11

In his second NFR appearance, the 20-year-old enters as the top dog thanks to noteworthy wins in Austin, Calgary, Denver, Nampa, and many, many more.

In addition to his victories, Schalla also closed the season with a Finals appearance in Puyallup and a round win at the Governor’s Cup.

He averaged 85.39 points in 2025 which put him third in the World behind Stetson Wright and Ky Hamilton.

2. Stetson Wright – $350,174.66

In his comeback season, the eight-time World Champion did not a miss a beat.

He covered 63.9% of his bulls for an Average Score of 86.74, both marks were tops in the PRCA. He also led the PRCA in 90+ Point Rides with 13.

The last time we saw Wright, before he missed the last month of the season, he went 4-for-4 in Ellensburg to win the Xtreme Bulls and take second in the rodeo. He won 16 rodeos in total, including San Antonio, Sheridan, Casper, Ogden and Livingston.

He won the World Title the last time he was healthy at the NFR in 2022.

3. Ky Hamilton – $317,617.90

The 2023 World Champion dominated down the stretch by winning the Governor’s Cup, Roughrider Cup, and Puyallup. All three combined to pay him over $93,000. He went 10-of-14 in September.

Before the final month of the season, he also won Reno, Casper, Prescott, and Gooding as part of his 12 total victories.

Hamilton was the only bull rider other than Stetson Wright to rank in the Top 3 in both Average Score (86.23) and Riding Percentage (57.4%).

4. Tristen Hutchings – $292,882.19

Hutchings as a bull riders’ bull rider in 2025 as he dominated at X Bulls events. He won the George Paul and Cactus Jack consecutive weekends and also won the Cowtown Xtreme Bulls.

As for rodeos, he was notably the champion in Houston and St. Paul.

Hutchings has made the NFR three times previously and rode at least 50 percent of his bulls in Las Vegas twice.

5. TJ Gray – $184,148.29

Gray won San Angelo, Clovis, and Canby this season and is looking to make it two straight Top 5 finishes. He entered the NFR No. 1 a season ago and made $105,538 in the Thomas & Mack.

This season, he rode 48.9% of his bulls for an average of 84 points.

6. Hudson Bolton – $179,477.96

Bolton is the highest ranked of three bull riding rookies in the NFR field and is attempting to become the first bull rider ever to win PBR and PRCA Rookie of the Year in the same season.

He closed the season on a heater by winning Ellensburg, taking third in the Average at both the Xtreme Bulls and rodeo in Pendleton before going for 92 at Duel at the Dunes on Sept. 30.

He won more than $50,000 in the final month of the regular season and covered 54.1% of his bulls for the year.

7. Hayes Weight – $170,987.77

A win in Ponoka took him from No. 15 to No. 4 to start July and he never looked back to make it three straight trips to the NFR.

Weight used a big payday in Round 10 of the 2024 NFR to finish as the Reserve World Champion.

8. JR Stratford – $165,490.31

Stratford had a much better year than his No. 8 ranking entering the NFR would indicate.

He rode 58.6% of his bulls in 2025 which ranked second in the PRCA and he was even better during the Summer Run, covering close to 70 percent. In August alone, he won $68,000 by riding 12-of-15 bulls. That included three 90+ Point Rides.

His Average Score of 84.86 also ranks fourth among NFR qualifiers.

9. Qynn Andersen – $161,986.91

Another rookie who rides on both the PBR and PRCA, the Aussie was one of only five bull riders to cover more than 50 percent in the 2025 regular season, averaging 83.88 points as he did so.

He had two very noteworthy wins during the Summer Run, Greeley and Cheyenne.

10. Jordan Spears – $160,712.64

Spears had seven wins on the season and five of them came when the lights were the brightest at PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos. He was the champion in Pendleton, Spanish Fork, Salinas, Cody and Tucson.

This makes it two NFRs in a row after a five-year drought for the California native.

11. Brycen Jensen – $157,042.55

Jensen ranked second in the PRCA in total qualified rides with 60 and he got on 152 bulls to do it, more than anyone this season. He has a chance to be Resistol Rookie of the Year.

12. Mason Moody – $156,060.15

After finishing 23rd last season, this will be the 22-year-old’s first NFR appearance.

He notched a Texas Swing win early in the year in San Angelo and down the stretch of the regular season, he took second at the Ellensburg Xtreme Bulls and the Omaha River City Rodeo.

13. Rawley Johnson – $148,778.06

Johnson spent much of the season in the Top 10 and will make his first trip to the NFR after finishing 28th as a rookie.

He was the champion of the Cinch Chute Out and the Farm-City Pro Rodeo.

14. Jesse Petri – $144,080.38

The three-time PBR World Finalist has moved over to the PRCA to make his first NFR.

Petri outperformed his World Ranking in several metrics in 2025. He was third in the PRCA Playoff Series Standings, 10th in Riding Percentage, and 11th in 85+ Point Rides.

15. Luke Mackey – $138,917.94

Mackey made qualified rides than any cowboy in the PRCA in 2025 with 64 and also rode 45% of his bulls, which ranked ninth in the PRCA.

This will be the 19-year-old’s NFR debut.

 

There have been exactly 46 bulls covered at each of the last two NFRs.

Since 2021, there have been seven total Go-Rounds where not every cowboy who rode got paid. Four of them have come in Round 1.

The average winning score in 2024 was 87.95 points, including four rounds where 87.5 points was winning score.

In two of the last three seasons, a cowboy who rode just two bulls in Vegas collected an NFR Average check.

Hayes Weight is the only bull rider in the 2025 field who also a won a round at the 2024 NFR.

 

TOTAL QUALIFIED RIDES

1. Luke Mackey – 64
2. Bryce Jensen – 60
3. Wacey Schalla – 55
4. Stetson Wright – 55
5. Ky Hamilton – 54
6. Tristen Hutchings – 54
7. Jesse Petri – 53
8. Qynn Andersen – 49
9. Mason Moody – 48
10. TJ Gray – 46
11. Hudson Bolton – 46
12. JR Stratford – 44
13. Hayes Weight – 41
14. Rawley Johnson – 38
15. Jordan Spears – 35

RIDING PERCENTAGE

1. Stetson Wright – 63.9% (55/86)
2. JR Stratford – 58.6% (44/75)
3. Ky Hamilton – 57.4% (54/94)
4. Hudson Bolton – 54.1% (46/85)
5. Qynn Andersen – 52.1% (49/94)
6. TJ Gray – 48.9% (46/94)
7. Tristen Hutchings – 48.6% (54/111)
8. Wacey Schalla – 45.8% (55/120)
9. Luke Mackey – 45.0% (64/142)
10. Jesse Petri – 41.4% (53/128)
11. Mason Moody – 41.0% (48/117)
12. Bryce Jensen – 39.4% (60/152)
13. Hayes Weight – 38.6% (41/106)
14. Jordan Spears – 36.4% (35/96)
15. Rawley Johnson – 34.5% (38/110)

AVERAGE SCORE

1. Stetson Wright – 86.74
2. Ky Hamilton – 86.23
3. Wacey Schalla – 85.39
4. JR Stratford – 84.86
5. Tristen Hutchings – 84.83
6. Hayes Weight – 84.62
7. Jordan Spears – 84.45
8. Hudson Bolton – 84.10
9. TJ Gray – 84.00
10. Qynn Andersen – 83.88
11. Rawley Johnson – 83.77
12. Jesse Petri – 82.87
13. Luke Mackey – 82.33
14. Bryce Jensen – 81.82
15. Mason Moody – 81.47

85+ POINT RIDES

1. Stetson Wright – 40
2. Wacey Schalla – 38
3. Ky Hamilton – 37
4. Tristen Hutchings – 31
5. JR Stratford – 28
6. Hudson Bolton – 25
7. TJ Gray – 24
8. Hayes Weight – 23
9. Qynn Andersen – 22
10. Bryce Jensen – 22
11. Jesse Petri – 22
12. Luke Mackey – 22
13. Rawley Johnson – 20
14. Jordan Spears – 19
15. Mason Moody – 13

87.5+ POINT RIDES

1. Stetson Wright – 29
2. Ky Hamilton – 27
3. Wacey Schalla – 22
4. Tristen Hutchings – 16
5. Hudson Bolton – 16
6. TJ Gray – 11
7. Bryce Jensen – 10
8. Hayes Weight – 9
9. JR Stratford – 9
10. Qynn Andersen – 9
11. Jordan Spears – 9
12. Rawley Johnson – 8
13. Jesse Petri – 8
14. Luke Mackey – 8
15. Mason Moody – 4

90+ POINT RIDES

1. Stetson Wright – 13
2. Wacey Schalla – 11
3. Ky Hamilton – 9
4. Tristen Hutchings – 5
5. JR Stratford – 4
6. TJ Gray – 3
7. Hudson Bolton – 3
8. Hayes Weight – 3
9. Jesse Petri – 2
10. Qynn Andersen – 1
11. Bryce Jensen – 1
12. Mason Moody – 1
13. Rawley Johnson – 1
14. Luke Mackey – 1
15. Jordan Spears – 0

RODEO WINS

1. Wacey Schalla – 16
2. Stetson Wright – 16
3. JR Stratford – 13
4. Ky Hamilton – 12
5. TJ Gray – 7
6. Hayes Weight – 7
7. Jordan Spears – 7
8. Jesse Petri – 7
9. Tristen Hutchings – 6
10. Qynn Andersen – 6
11. Luke Mackey – 6
12. Hudson Bolton – 4
13. Rawley Johnson – 4
14. Mason Moody – 3
15. Bryce Jensen – 2

 

The first episode of Inside Rodeo on the US Cowboy YouTube channel sets the stage for the 2025 National Finals Rodeo, diving into the bull riding field and the six riders most likely to battle for the Average title in Las Vegas.

The episode breaks down the strengths, momentum, and storylines around Stetson Wright, Ky Hamilton, Hudson Bolton, Tristen Hutchings, J.R. Stratford, and Wacey Schalla.

We explain what makes each contender dangerous, from Wright’s dominant stats to Hamilton’s late-season surge.

 

Bull riding at the NFR is a completely different animal, and if you’re building a fantasy roster for 2025, regular season stats only tell part of the story. The bulls are tougher, the pressure is higher, and ten straight nights of rides separate contenders from pretenders.

In fantasy, it’s not about who rides the flashiest bull once, it’s about who can make the whistle five, six or seven times over.

Bull riding is an event to focus on the top part of the Standings – Stetson Wright, Ky Hamilton, and Tristen Hutchings.

Stetson leads the PRCA in riding percentage and 90-point rides. Ky is right there with him in Average Score and Riding Percentage. And Hutchings has proven he can stack qualified rides at the NFR.

Looking for value? Hudson Bolton, J.R. Stratford, and Qynn Andersen all bring serious upside.

If you want a sleeper, keep your eye on No. 14 Jesse Petri and No. 15 Luke Mackey.

When picking a bull rider, prioritize riding percentage, experience on elite bulls, and the ability to stay consistent all 10 rounds.