The Calgary Stampede is the second-highest paying rodeo in the PRCA and delivers year after year. Big scores, fast times, and NFR caliber fields are on display for 10 days straight in an unrivaled Western Jamboree north of the border.

Seasons are made in Calgary, NFR and World Title dreams are validated. You can win here, you can anywhere. And it may be America’s Independence Day Weekend, but the eyes of the ProRodeo world will be on Canada.

Athletes to Watch

Scott Guenthner has won two of the last three Calgary Stampedes in the steer wrestling. In 2025, he was semi-retired before making back-to-back 3.7-second runs on Championship Sunday. He ended up making the NFR.

John Douch has made the last two tie-down roping Shootouts and made four runs of 7.5 seconds or faster last year, including a 6.6.

Barrel Racers Hailey Kinsel, Kassie Mowry, Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, and Emily Beisel have all made exactly two of the last four Shootouts in Calgary. However, Pozzi Tonozzi and Mowry are the only two of the group who have won Calgary.

Dawson Hay has made the Saddle Bronc Finals in three of the last four years. He finished second twice, in 2025 and 2022, and won in 2023.

Zeke Thurston has been battling with Hay in those Finals each of the last two years, where he finished second in a ride-off in 2024 and first in 2025, marking his fourth Calgary Stampede title.

Stetson Wright will compete in Calgary for just the second time in his career. In 2023, he made the Shootout in both saddle bronc riding and bull riding.

Stats to Know

In each of the last three years, four of the six winners in Calgary were the top qualifier in their pool.

Barrel racer Anita Ellis was the only athlete to sweep a pool in 2025. She went on to win the rodeo.

Since 2021, the average winning score in the bareback riding has been 93 points. Each of the last two years, the winner was 94 points.

Eight of the 11 round-winning runs in last year’s steer wrestling competition were 4.0 or faster. It’s a big jump from 2024, where just five of the 11 total rounds were won with a 4.0 or better.

In the last three years, the tie-down roping winners, excluding the Shootout, have won a collective one round. Haven Meged won the Semifinals on his way to winning the event in 2024. None of them won a Pool Round. Just one roper, Caleb Smidt in 2022, won the event after being the top qualifier in their pool.

In the past three years, there have been just two qualified rides recorded in the Shootout in the bull riding. There was just a single score in 2025 and 2023, and no score in 2024.

The winning saddle bronc ride in Calgary has been 92+ each of the past three years.

Four of the last five barrel racing Semifinal winners did not go on to win the Finals. Only Kassie Mowry, in 2022, won both the Semifinal and the Final Rounds.

In the past three years, just six out of the 27 round-winning scores were less than 87 points in the saddle bronc riding. The average round winning score in 2025 was 89.39 points, with the lowest round-winning score being an 88.

Last Year’s Winners

Bareback Riding – Cooper Cooke: He was the top qualifier in his pool. He was 90.5 to win the Semifinal, and 94 on Calgary Stampede’s Disco Party to win the Finals.

Steer Wrestling – Scott Guenthner: Guenthner won the Second round with a 3.8, led Pool qualifiers. Was 3.7 to win the Semifinals, and 3.7 again to win the Finals.

Saddle Bronc Riding – Zeke Thurston: Despite not winning a pool round, Thurston advanced as his pool’s top qualifier. He won the Semifinals with an 89.5 and won the Finals with 92.5 points on Virgil.

Tie-Down – Shad Mayfield: Mayfield qualified third in his pool, but then was was second in the Semifinals with a 7 flat and won the rodeo with a 6.8.

Barrel Racing – Anita Ellis: Ellis swept her pool with times of 16.88, 16.96, and 16.79. She was second in the Semifinals, but was then 16.956 seconds to win it all.

Bull Riding – Wacey Schalla: Schalla qualified third in his pool, second in the Semifinals, and won the Finals with an 86 on Wayne Vold Rodeo’s Haunted Hotel as the only rider to earn a qualified ride. At the time, it put him No. 1 in the World.