Rodeo’s classic event has been about dominance over the last half-decade or so. Since 2019, there have only been three different World Champions – Zeke Thurston, Ryder Wright and Stetson Wright.

Even as new and worthy challengers – Dawson Hay, Damian Brennan, Kade Bruno, and Sage Newman to name a few – have bubbled up in that time, it has always been Thurston or a Wright shutting the door.

In 2025, it could very much be more of the same. While Stetson Wright sits all the way down at No. 12, his brother Ryder, the reigning World Champion is No. 1. Thurston sits about $50,000 back at No. 4 and has erased similar leads in the past. Between them, upstart Aussie Damian Brennan, who entered the NFR No. 1 a year ago and Dawson Hay, the PRCA’s leader in Average Score.

While there’s no guarantee the PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Champion will come from that Top 4, it will take quite an effort from the rest of the field to overcome them.

 

1. Ryder Wright – $293,994.02

The reigning World Champion rode 94.6% of his broncs for an average of 84.94 points in 2025, both of which are Top 6 among NFR saddle bronc riders.

If he has last year’s NFR form, he will likely win his fourth Gold Buckle. He placed in the last eight rounds and won four of them.

As for his 2025 regular season, he started the season by finishing second in Denver, third in San Antonio, and first Houston. Then during the Summer Run, he brought in at more than $45,000 in both July and August.

2. Damian Brennan – $278,153.12

Brennan was the star of the Summer Run, shooting from No. 14 to No. 2 in 2.5 months, earning more than $225,000 in the process.

His 15 wins were the most among PRCA bronc riders during the 2025 regular season and that included Reno, Spanish Fork, Sheridan, Salinas, and Ellensburg.

Brennan also led the PRCA with 26 rides of at least 87.5 points after finishing second in that stat a year ago.

3. Dawson Hay – $268,621.07

Hay led the PRCA in Average Score coming in at 85.80 and almost 40 percent of his Qualified Rides were 87.5 points or better.

He made strong statements to start and finish the year. During the Texas Swing, he was the champion in San Antonio and San Angelo after winning over $30,000 Brad Gjermundson Xtreme Broncs in October of 2025.

In September, he was the champion in both legs of the Cinch Playoffs – Puyallup and the Governor’s Cup.

4. Zeke Thurston – $244,268.49

Thurston has finished in the Top 5 four straight years and won two Gold Buckles in that timeframe.

This regular season was another terrific one for him. He won his fourth Calgary Stampede as well as two other PRCA Playoff Series rodeos and averaged over 85 points for the second time in three seasons.

In his last three NFRs, Thurston has placed in 22 rounds.

5. Kade Bruno – $215,065.42

Bruno has finished No. 3 and No. 9 and made at least $267,000 each of the last two seasons and he’s back in the Top 5 entering the 2025 NFR.

Bruno was Top 5 in the PRCA in Riding Percentage, 85+ Point Rides, and 90+ Point Rides.

He was a finalist at three Texas Swing rodeos, winning Fort Worth, and started his year with a bang with a 92.5-point ride in the Finals of the Brad Gjermundson Xtreme Broncs, where he won about $30,000.

6. Brody Wells – $214,707.37

Wells placed in five rounds and won two of them at his first NFR a year ago and followed it up with the best regular season of his career.

His most notable payday of the season was when he went toe-to-toe with rodeo’s best at the Xtreme Broncs Finale and swept it with rides of 92 and 91 points to win $37,901. Earlier in August, he won the Farm City Pro Rodeo and Lea County PRCA Rodeo the same weekend with a pair of 90s and banked over $20,000 between the two.

7. Zac Dallas – $198,403.28

Dallas made his first NFR in 2024 and has already made $50,000+ more in 2025.

He started the year off with big wins at the Turquoise Circuit Finals and the National Western and ranked in the Top 5 in the PRCA in 85+ Point Rides. He also shined at the Xtreme Broncs Finale, finishing second to Wells in both rounds and earning $28,899.

8. Sage Newman – $196,495.28

Newman is the only bronc rider other than Ryder Wright to make at least 40 85+ Point Rides in each of the last three seasons and has become an NFR stalwart in that time, finishing in the Top 5 twice in that span and making over $219,000 every year.

Overall, this marks Newman’s fifth straight trip to the National Finals and after placing in two rounds in his debut, has cashed a check in at least four rounds in every year since.

9. Statler Wright – $181,871.98

It was always a when not if Statler Wright would make the National Finals Rodeo and after a pair of Top 20 finishes to begin his career, he finally did so in 2024 and ended up No. 8 in the World.

In the last two seasons, alone he has placed in 15 rounds at the NFR.

In 2025, he was one of four cowboys with over 100 qualified rides on the season, the second year in a row he has done so, and he won seven rodeos in total.

10. Brody Cress – $180,091.95

This season marks nine straight NFRs for Brody Cress and seven of the prior years, he has finished in the Top 6, including a pair of finishes at both No. 2 and No. 3 in the World.

After leading the PRCA in wins in 2024, Cress ranked second in 2025. He was also second in 85+ Point Rides with 50.

11. Weston Patterson – $173,735.41

Patterson hustled to make his first NFR as he made the whistle a PRCA-best 112 times in 2025. Over that high volume, he maintained an Average Score of 83.44 points and a Riding Percentage of 95.7%, which also led the PRCA.

He is one of two first-time qualifiers n the bronc riding at the 2025 NFR. He finished No. 40 as a rookie in 2024.

12. Stetson Wright – $165,336.46

Wright may be No. 12 in the World, but keep in mind he got off to a slow start to the year while nursing his hamstring injury and missed the final month.

When healthy, he was elite. He was tied for second with 14 wins and was third in Average Score, coming in at 85.24. The last two regular seasons he has been healthy, he has averaged over 85 points.

Last time we saw him all 10 rounds in the bronc riding, he placed in seven of them.

13. Q Taylor – $157,561.67

Taylor was on fire to close the season, winning Pendleton and taking second at the Governor’s Cup to make a dramatic jump into the Top 15 to make his first NFR.

In total, he won over $67,000 in September and he has every reason to believe he can compete with the best as he was No. 5 in the Playoff Series Standings.

14. Ben Andersen – $149,661.35

Andersen enters his fourth NFR with the best Riding Percentage  and Average Score of his career.

He was aided in making the Finals in 2025 by a hot start to his Summer Run when he finished third in the Average at the Snake River Stampede and second in Reno. Prior to that, he banked over $8,000 in both San Antonio and Houston during the Texas Swing.

15. Lefty Holman – $144,872.18

Holman’s $4,192 at the Duel at the Dunes on Sept. 30 was enough to get him to Vegas for the fourth straight season. He notched six wins in California in 2025 and added big September wins in Albuquerque and Lewiston.

He has plenty of NFR momentum as well. He won Rounds 9 and 10 in 2024 and finished third in the Average in 2023.

 

Ryder and Statler Wright are the only two saddle bronc riders to have over 100 qualified rides in each of the last two seasons.

Zeke Thurston and Stetson Wright have both averaged more than 85 points twice in the last three seasons. They are the only bronc riders to do so multiple times in that span.

In 2024, the average round winning score was 88.6 points while the average score to get a check was 84.7.

Ten of the 15 saddle bronc riders in this year’s field have been to at least three NFRs.

Ryder Wright and Zeke Thurston are both looking to win their World Title this decade, something that was not done in the 2010s or 2000s.

 

Total Qualified Rides

1. Weston Patterson – 112
2. Ryder Wright – 105
3. Kade Bruno – 103
4. Statler Wright – 102
5. Zac Dallas – 94
6. Brody Cress – 91
7. Damian Brennan – 89
8. Lefty Holman – 88
9. Q Taylor – 87
10. Sage Newman – 85
11. Ben Andersen – 81
12. Brody Wells – 78
13. Stetson Wright – 71
14. Zeke Thurston – 63
15. Dawson Hay – 58

Riding Percentage

1. Weston Patterson – 95.7% (112/117)
2. Damian Brennan – 95.6% (89/93)
3. Q Taylor – 95.6% (88/92)
4. Kade Bruno – 95.3% (103/108)
5. Ben Andersen – 95.2% (81/85)
6. Ryder Wright – 94.5% (105/111)
7. Sage Newman – 94.4% (85/90)
8. Zeke Thurston – 94.0% (63/67)
9. Lefty Holman – 92.6% (88/95)
10. Brody Cress – 90.9% (91/101)
11. Dawson Hay – 89.2% (58/65)
12. Statler Wright – 87.1% (102/117)
13. Stetson Wright – 86.5% (71/82)
14. Zac Dallas – 86.2% (94/109)
15. Brody Wells – 82.1% (78/95)

Average Score

1. Dawson Hay – 85.80
2. Zeke Thurston – 85.35
3. Stetson Wright – 85.24
4. Ryder Wright – 84.94
5. Brody Wells – 84.79
6. Damian Brennan – 84.52
7. Sage Newman – 84.34
8. Brody Cress – 83.87
9. Kade Bruno – 83.77
10. Ben Andersen – 83.77
11. Statler Wright – 83.68
12. Zac Dallas – 83.67
13. Weston Patterson – 83.44
14. Lefty Holman – 83.05
15. Q Taylor – 82.58

85+ Point Rides

1. Ryder Wright – 65
2. Brody Cress – 50
3. Damian Brennan – 49
4. Kade Bruno – 49
5. Sage Newman – 48
6. Statler Wright – 48
7. Zac Dallas – 47
8. Stetson Wright – 47
9. Weston Patterson – 43
10. Dawson Hay – 42
11. Brody Wells – 42
12. Zeke Thurston – 40
13. Ben Andersen – 36
14. Lefty Holman – 35
15. Q Taylor – 28

87.5+ Point Rides

1. Damian Brennan – 26
2. Dawson Hay – 25
3. Brody Wells – 23
4. Ryder Wright – 22
5. Stetson Wright – 22
6. Zeke Thurston – 20
7. Zac Dallas – 18
8. Statler Wright – 18
9. Weston Patterson – 18
10. Kade Bruno – 16
11. Sage Newman – 16
12. Brody Cress – 13
13. Q Taylor – 10
14. Ben Andersen – 10
15. Lefty Holman – 7

90+ Point Rides

1. Zeke Thurston – 7
2. Damian Brennan – 6
3. Dawson Hay – 6
4. Kade Bruno – 5
5. Brody Wells – 5
6. Stetson Wright – 4
7. Ryder Wright – 3
8. Brody Cress – 3
9. Weston Patterson – 3
10. Zac Dallas – 2
11. Statler Wright – 2
12. Q Taylor – 2
13. Sage Newman – 1
14. Ben Andersen – 1
15. Lefty Holman – 1

Rodeo Wins

1. Damian Brennan – 15
2. Brody Cress – 14
3. Stetson Wright – 14
4. Dawson Hay – 13
5. Sage Newman – 13
6. Weston Patterson – 10
7. Lefty Holman – 10
8. Ryder Wright – 9
9. Kade Bruno – 9
10. Brody Wells – 8
11. Statler Wright – 7
12. Q Taylor – 6
13. Zeke Thurston – 6
14. Ben Andersen – 5
15. Zac Dallas – 2

 

This episode of No Huddle Rodeo presented by Justin Boots and Runyon’s Fine Furniture breaks down the 2025 NFR saddle bronc riding field and the six cowboys most likely to compete for the Gold Buckle.

Ryder Wright sits at the top for a reason. He’s a three-time world champion and made a PRCA record 65 rides of 85+ points.

If he places in nine rounds in Las Vegas like he did a year ago, he will likely repeat as the World Champion. Damien Brennan is perhaps his most dangerous challenger, the Aussie led the PRCA in 87.5+ Point Rides and made more money than any other bronc rider during the Summer Run. He will enter the NFR No. 3 after entering No. 1 a year ago.

World No. 2 Dawson Hay has his best shot yet at a Gold Buckle in his sixth NFR appearance. He has raised his Riding Percentage in recent years and boasted the highest Average Score in the PRCA in the regular season.

Zeke Thurston still owns the highest ceiling in the sport, leading in 90+ point rides, but he has to stay hot in the final rounds to stay in the hunt for fifth World Title.

Don’t sleep on Kade Bruno and Brody Wells either. Both have taken massive steps forward in consistency and big-ride production.

At the NFR, it’s simple: consistent 87.5+ rides win checks, and checks at the Thomas & Mack are what win World Titles.

 

In the full Saddle Bronc Riding Fantasy Rodeo Preview presented by Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, we tier out for the picks, giving you options from the top, middle and bottom third of the World Standings.

At the top, Ryder Wright is still the gold standard. Nine of ten rounds placed last year and a ridiculous number of 85+ rides. Dawson Hay and Damien Brennan are right there with him on momentum and elite fire power,  they rank No. 1 and 2 in 87.5+ Point Rides with 25 and 26 respectively. Zeke Thurston and his four Gold Buckles also provides great value in that top group. He’s No. 4 in the World and automatic at the NFR.

In the middle, Sage Newman and Statler Wright jump out as steady and consistent bronc riders who could stack checks at the NFR, while Brody Cress gives you experience and a super high floor.

For the real value picks, Stetson Wright at $40K might be the best pick on the board with stats comparable to his brother, and Lefty Holman at $10K gives you someone who can win multiple Go-Rounds at a very low price.

This is the fifth event, and it’s a pivot point. Get this one right and you give yourself serious flexibility for the rest of your roster.