The National Western Stock Show and Rodeo once again delivered, with Denver serving up big money, big moments, and a Sunday Championship round that lived up to the building’s reputation. Veterans and returning contenders shared the spotlight, while a few long-awaited breakthroughs finally happened under the lights of the Coliseum.

Stetson Wright Finally Breaks Through in Denver

Stetson Wright’s week in Denver didn’t start the way he planned. Bucked off in his first bull riding appearance, Wright could’ve faded quietly. Instead, he flipped the script.

From there, Wright was flawless, going 3-for-3 the rest of the way with three round wins. He answered immediately with an 88.5-point ride to win Round 2, followed by an 83-point effort to claim his Semifinal. When it mattered most, Wright saved his best for last.

Drawing Vitalix Ringling Road, the same bull he rode for 88 points and second place a year ago, Wright was 90 points, the highest score of the event. It marked the fourth time Wright had climbed aboard Ringling Road, a bull he admitted “gets harder every time I get on him.”

Despite being a familiar face in Denver, this was Wright’s first bull riding title at the National Western. Previously, he’d finished second twice and third once. Sunday finally checked the box.

And Wright wasn’t done there.

Earlier in the day, he nearly pulled off a rare double, finishing second in saddle bronc riding after an 89-point ride on Vitalix Womanizer. Parker Fleet edged him by just half a point in the Short Round, keeping Wright from sweeping the weekend.

Even so, Denver was lucrative. Wright earned $29,462 total, $17,334 in bull riding and $12,128 in saddle bronc.

“I probably hold the record for being second here,” Wright joked afterward.

Parker Fleet’s Long Road Back Pays Off

Few wins in Denver felt harder earned than Parker Fleet’s.

The 25-year-old Texan captured his first National Western saddle bronc title in what was, in many ways, a comeback season. Fleet had reached the NWSSR Championship Round before, making it in 2024, but came up short of the money after riding all four of his horses. In 2025, he stepped away entirely following an injury as he worked construction to make ends meet. He returned to competition only last October with a win at the Waller County Fair & Rodeo.

Fleet worked his way through Denver the hard way. A pair of rides at 79 and 79.5 points earned him the third qualifying spot out of his Bracket. An 81.5-point Semifinal ride pushed him into the Finals.

The aforementioned Stetson Wright set the early tone with an 89-point ride, a score Fleet had never posted in his career. But Fleet responded.

Aboard R Watson’s Prairie Fire, Fleet delivered the ride of his life. His 89.5-point score not only topped Wright by half a point, it reset his personal best.

“I nearly bucked,” Fleet said afterward. “Just had to go do my job and fight it out.”

Fleet left Denver with $8,316 and something even harder to measure, momentum.

“It’s nice to hide out for a while and do good when you show back up,” he said.

New Team, Immediate Results

Team roping fans didn’t have to wait long to see fireworks from Tanner Tomlinson and Coleby Payne.

Tomlinson, who partnered with Travis Graves last season and made the NFR, now competes alongside Coleby Payne, formerly paired with two-time world champion Clay Smith. The new duo wasted no time proving they belong together.

They posted an aggregate time of 14.0 seconds on their first two runs to qualify second out of their bracket. In the Semifinals, a 4.6-second run won their heat and punched their ticket to the finals.

Then came the short round.

Tomlinson and Payne stopped the clock in 3.5 seconds, setting a new arena record and bringing the Denver Coliseum to its feet. It wasn’t a fluke either, the pair had already clocked a 3.5 earlier this month at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo.

“I knew he was gonna try to give me a chance at first,” Payne said afterward. Tomlinson added that the two have been “best friends forever” and called the moment “a blessing.”

The win was worth $12,629 and firmly established them as a team to watch moving forward.

Around the PRCA

• Barrel Racing: Heidi Gunderson claimed the title with a 14.91-second run in the finals, the only sub-15-second run of the Short Round. She earned $9,007.

• Steer Wrestling: Mike McGinn stole the win with an event-fastest 3.6 seconds, edging Tristan Martin by one-tenth. McGinn took home $9,302.

• Bareback Riding: Cooper Filipek scraped through his Bracket and Semifinal rounds at the bottom of the standings, then made it count. His 85.5-point ride on Mamo won him the National Western title.

• Tie-Down Roping: Dylan Hancock caught fire late. After surviving the early rounds, he dominated the Semifinals with an 8.1-second run, then sealed the win with a 7.1 in the short round, the fastest of the event. Hancock earned $9,268.