FWSSR Photo by James Phifer

Colton Byram made biggest ride of his professional rodeo career in the Short Round of Bulls Night Out in Fort Worth, going for 88.5 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Top Gun to win $26,600 as one of two cowboys to make the whistle in the Short Round.

Byram failed to make the whislte in Round 2, but earned his spot in the Finals thanks to an 87-point Round 1 ride.

“I drew a really good bull in the second round, but it got me down and it ticked me off,” Byram told ProRodeo.com. “I kind of let it eat at me for just a second, and I knew I still had one in the Short Round and that’s where the money’s at.”

Overall, he earned $30,000. The most he’d ever brought home from ProRodeo before this was $10,716 for his 2022 win at Bulls in the Ballpark.

Stetson Wright showed no signs of slowing down in his first bull Riding event since being crowned World Champion at the NFR this past December.

He claimed wins in both Round 1 and Round 2. He was an event-high 90 points in Round 1 atop Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s E.TO and Round 2, Wright led with the 87.5 points earned on Frontier Rodeo’s Larry. He took home $12,100 despite being bucked off in the Short Round.

Besides Wright, Hayes Weight and Luke Mackey were the only other riders to go a perfect 2-for-2 on bulls through the second round.

Mason Moody was the only other rider to record a qualified ride in the Short Round. His 88-point score atop Frontier Rodeo’s Straight Edge just narrowly missed the top mark.

Moody failed to make qualified ride in the First Round, but bounced back with an 83.5 in the Second Round, just enough to claim the last spot in the finals.

Moody earned a career-high $24,600 for his Short Round ride for a total of $26,050 in event winnings.

Wednesday’s Short Round featured a flurry of tough bulls, making for an average round bullscore of 44.05 with three Bulls scoring 45+ points. A total of seven bulls scored Higher than 44.

Seven out of the 40 riders posted a qualified ride in Round 1; in Round 2, 10 riders made it eight seconds.

Hayes Weight, Tyler Bingham, and Cooper James were the only others who recorded 87+ point rides. Weight and Bingham were 88 and 87.5 in the First Round, placing second and third. James was 87 in the second round earning second place.

T Parker, Ethan Skogquist, and Trey Benton rounded out the Short Round participants.