Athletes to Watch in Bracket 6 of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo
Athletes to Watch in Bracket 6 of the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo

Screenshot via Youtube/PRCA Pro Rodeo
Bracket 6 comes courtesy of a Wednesday doubleheader in Denver. It’s all on The Cowboy Channel and Cowboy Channel+.
BAREBACK RIDING
Jacob Lees – Lees made his first NFR in 2023 and has had back-to-back 11th place finishes in the PRCA World Standings. His last four rides this season have been 82 points or better and this will be his first rodeo of the calendar year 2025.
Cooper Cooke – Cooke made his NFR debut in 2024 and finished No. 12 in the World to build on a 21st place finish in 2023 and 37th place finish in 2022. At his last rodeo, he was 86 and 85 points at the New Years Eve Buck & Ball.
Dean Thompson – This will be Thompson’s second PRCA since he won his first World Championship in December. He was 85 points on I Fly Plane at the Buck & Ball.
STEER WRESTLING
Will Lummus – Lummus finished as the Reserve World Champion for the third time in his career a season ago. He made the Finals here last season, and stopped the clock at 4.1 seconds.
Dalton Massey – Each of the last two seasons, Massey has set the PRCA regular season earnings record.
Rowdy Parrott – Parrott impressed in his return to the NFR in December and finished No. 5 in the World. He’s turned right around to be No. 10 in 2025.
TEAM ROPING
Rhen Richard/Jeremy Buhler – We saw this pair at the NFR last in 2023. In 2025, however, they had to make it to Denver through a qualifier, which they did with two times of 4.9 seconds in December.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING
Ryder Sanford – Sanford made his first NFR as a rookie in 2023 and finished in the dreaded No. 16 spot in 2024.
TIE-DOWN ROPING
Cory Solomon – The always electric Solomon has been to 10 NFRs since 2011. He has four qualified times in 2025 and three of them are 8.2 or faster.
BARREL RACING
Andrea Busby – Known for her horse training prior to last year, she made her first run at the NFR in 2024, and went on to win the Average in Las Vegas in record-setting fashion.
Jackie Ganter – Ganter’s main form of competition in the 2025 season so far has been qualifiers and it’s paid off so far, she got into both Denver and San Antonio already.
BULL RIDING
Rawley Johnson – Thanks to consistent riding dating back to October, Johnson is the No. 1 bull rider in the World as he gets set to compete in Denver.