The Reno Rodeo concluded Saturday after a week of action that bolstered many NFR qualification campaigns at an opportune time at the beginning of the Summer Run.

Every athlete that won in Reno is now ranked in the Top 15 in the World Standings thanks to over $600,000 paid out in total.

Kade Sonnier was 260.5 on three head to win the bareback riding Average in Reno. He finished second in all three rounds, posting an 86, 87.5, and 87, and collecting a massive $20,304 payday.

With that prize money, Sonnier jumped into 13th in the PRCA World Bareback Riding World Standings, eyeing a third trip to the NFR.

“Days like today are what we dream of,” Sonnier said. “This sport is very humbling; it can get overwhelming pretty quick. You’ve got to have a great support system behind you… and I’m pretty blessed to have that.”

No. 19 Jayco Roper had the best score of the event, winning the Second Round with an 88.5 on Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Camisole.

In the steer wrestling, Tristan Martin and Dalton Massey shared the Average win at 13.2 seconds on three head. They led a group of four bulldoggers who were all 13.6 or faster in the average at Reno.

Martin and Massey both placed in two rounds with Martin’s best time being a clutch 4.1-second run in the Short Round and Massey’s a 3.9 to win Round 1. They are ranked No. 8 and No. 4 in the World respectively following the victory.

“What a great rodeo, and what a great way to start the summer,” said Massey.

James Arviso and Levi Lord won the Average in the team roping, going 15.0 on three head and beating the competition by nearly a full second. Despite not winning a single round and only cashing checks in two, Arviso and Lord strung together the three most consistent runs of the event.

The 22-year-old Arviso took in the moment, thanking Lord for “taking a chance on roping with me this year,” and adding, “It’s been a dream to win this rodeo my entire life.”

The veteran Lord highlighted the importance of composure.

“We kinda knew it was gonna be tough, just tried to stick to our run, and he did a great job, steer was good, and it worked out for us,” he said.

Arviso and Lord took home $15,705 each and are ranked fifth and fourth in the World Header and Heeler Standings.

Ryder Wright took home his second Reno Rodeo Average win in three years. The three-time World Champion tallied 259.5 points in his 2024 Reno victory, this year he was 264.5 on three head, highlighted by a 91.5 Short Round win on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Irv’s Legacy.

“As soon as I got the draw last night, I knew I had the best shot to win this deal,” Wright said. That’s an awesome horse.”

Wright earned $12,821 and is heating up as he also won the Snake River Stampede the weekend the prior. He now sits sixth in the PRCA World Standings.

No one benefitted more from their victory in Reno than tie-down roper Bryce Derrer, who jumped from No. 18 to No. 10 in the World Standings as he looks for his first NFR qualification.

After missing the money in Round 1, Derrer was 7.7 to finish second in the Second Round and 9.3 for fourth in the Short Round.

World No. 2 Kincade Henry took second with an aggregate time of 27.1 seconds compared to Derrer’s 26.5. Shad Mayfield finished third in the Average in his first rodeo since recovering from dual hip surgeries that kept him out for the past six months. He went 9.2, 9.1, and 9.2 seconds and earned $8,274. He shared third place with Max Mathis.

It was an emotional win for barrel racer Emily Beisel in Reno after she won the Average with a total time of 50.74 seconds.

She won the First Round with a 16.97 and was faster with each run. She finished fourth in the Second Round with a 16.94 and second in the Final Round with a 16.83.

Twice, Beisel had previously been reserve champion at Reno alongside her partner, Chewy.

“This is for Chewy. I couldn’t do it without her, and we’ve been so close two years in a row, and I was on a mission to get this win for her,” she said of her outstanding horse.

Beisel will jump to No. 2 in the World Standings.

Every run counted in the breakaway roping as Madison Outhier edged Brady Good by one-tenth of a second, 8.2 to 8.3.

They were the top two ropers in the Short Round as well with Good winning at 2.5 and Outhier coming in behind her with a 2.8.

Outhier was the lone breakaway roper to make three straight runs in the 2s.

World No. 4 Bull Rider Hayden Welsh had a career weekend in Reno, winning the Average and $21,015. Welsh was 87.5 in the First Round, placing 2nd, before following it with a Short Round-winning 90 on Rosser Rodeo’s Commissioner.

“Every time you’re in a Short Round, you gotta be a fighting mighty warrior of God to step out here with your armor ready to put up whatever fight you have to,” he said.

The rookie was 177.5 on two head, beating Hudson Bolton’s 176.

Fellow rookie John Crimber had the best out of the event, scoring 90.5 on Western Rodeos’ Black Jack to win the First Round.

Welsh and Crimber sit second and third in the Resistol Rookie Bull Riding Standings. Welsh, with $133,110, now trails Resistol Rookie leader and World No. 3 Lee by less than $5,000.