Nick Pelke had no easy task ahead as he settled into the chutes aboard Straight Stick of J Bar J in the Finals of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.

The Wisconsin cowboy had already stared down adversity days earlier, needing a Wildcard win to stay in the game. He delivered with an 87.5-point ride, then punched his ticket to the Finals with an 87 in the Semifinals. But nothing could match the intensity of the Short Round inside Dickies Arena.

Five riders had already put up scores of 87.5 or higher. Then, the pressure spiked. NFR standouts Cole Franks and Mason Clements laid down back-to-back rides of 89.5 and 90.5.

Yet, as Pelke nodded his head, the weight of it all never touched him.

“I think this is the first time in my career where I didn’t let the pressure get to me,” the 24-year-old said. “I was confident in my equipment and myself and just allowed myself to go at every horse without guessing.”

Knowing he had to best Clements, Pelke waited anxiously after his get-off. He admitted that based on the way the announcers were talking, he wasn’t sure he had done enough.

When he heard the score was 91.5, he was shocked and overjoyed.

It the highest marked of his career, besting his 89.5 points in Pine City, Minnesota in September of 2024. The ride in the Land of 10,000 Lakes paid him $1,800, this one in Dickies came with a $20,000 check, bringing his total for the rodeo over $27,000, and a boatload of confidence.

“(I was) finally (able to) see all of the years of work come together and prove to myself that I can go and competed with the best in the business,” he said. “That round of bareback riding was absolutely awesome.”

Pelke now sits No. 3 in the World, the highest ranking he has climbed to in his first three years in ProRodeo. His first two seasons were exactly the type you see before a cowboy breaks through to their first NFR, he finished No. 24 as a rookie in 2023 and then No. 19 in 2024. In those two seasons, he has made about $167,000 combined and won 23 rodeos, however, none of those were nearly as impactful as Fort Worth, which isn’t just a PRCA Playoff Rodeo, but a Top 10 rodeo.

“It’s a dream come true for a kid from Buffalo County, Wisconsin.”