Half of the Short Round field was set Thursday night as we brace for our first Texas Swing Final of the 2025 season on Saturday night.

Four advance each night, and as expected the leaderboard was dotted with 2024 NFR qualifiers, bareback rider Jake Lees, steer wrestler Don Payne, saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston, tie-down roper Shad Mayfield and barrel racer Andrea Busby all collected $4,000 first place paydays and moved on.

“All I can do is thank God because I couldn’t do anything without him. I thank the fans; I thank the crowds, and I thank the committees. I thank everyone,” Lees, who is making his first trip to the Finals told ProRodeo.com.  “This is super gratifying. When I made my first NFR, it proved to me that I could do it. Before that I was just going to rodeos. Then, I put all that extra time in and put all my faith in God and let it happen, and it happened.”

QUICK DRAW

Bull rider Bryce Jensen won the First Semifinal after making an 84.5-point ride in the Wildcard on Wednesday night to secure the last spot.

Shad Mayfield is looking to repeat as the tie-down roping champion in Fort Worth and did exactly what he did here in 2024 – win his Semifinal.

At 16.41, Leslie Smalygo had the fastest fourth place time of any round so far in Fort Worth. There were five cowgirls who were 16.5 or faster Wednesday, the most of any round of the rodeo.

Dating back to last year, saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston has made five straight rides of 87 points or better in Fort Worth with three of them coming this year. He won his Semifinal for the second consecutive year.

Seven of the eight bareback riders and six of the eight saddle bronc riders were 83.5 points or better.

RESULTS

Bareback Riding

First Semifinal: 1. Jacob Lees, 88.5 points on J Bar J’s All Pink, $4,000; 2. (tie) Weston Timberman and Mason Clements, 87, $2,500 each; 4. Bradlee Miller, 86.5, $1,000; 5. Dean Thompson, 85; 6. (tie) Tilden Hooper and Sam Petersen, 83.5 each; 8. Cooper Cooke, 80.

Steer Wrestling

First Semifinal: 1. (tie) Don Payne and Mike McGinn, 3.6 seconds $3,500 each; 3. Stetson Jorgensen, 3.7, $2,000; 4. Ty Erickson, 4.5, $1,000; 5. Rowdy Parrott, 4.5; 6. Trisyn Kalawaia, 4.6; 7. Stan Branco, 5.2; 8. Chance Howard, NT.

Team Roping

First Semifinal: 1. Cyle Denison/Lane Mitchell, 4.6 seconds, $4,000 each; 2. Tanner Tomlinson/Travis Graves, 5.7, $3,000; 3. Clint Summers/Paul Eaves, 5.9, $2,000; 4. Cody Carter/Blake Bentley, 6.2, $1,000; 5. Erich Rogers/Kollin VonAhn, 14.4; 6. Bubba Buckaloo/Joseph Harrison, 14.6; 7. (tie) Cody Snow/Hunter Koch and Tyler Tryan/Denton Dunning, NT.

Saddle Bronc Riding

First Semifinal: 1. Zeke Thurston, 88 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics Atomic Blond, $4,000; 2. Kade Bruno, 87, $3,000; 3. Statler Wright, 86, $2,000; 4. Clash Wilson, 84, $1,000; 5. (tie) Brody Cress and Brody Wells, 83.5 each; 7. Wyatt Casper, 82.5; 8. Lucas Macza, 81.

Tie-Down Roping

First Semifinal: 1. Shad Mayfield, 8.4 seconds, $4,000; 2. Brushton Minton, 8.8, $3,000; 3. Ty Harris, 9.6, $2,000; 4. Michael Otero, 9.7, $1,000; 5. Glenn Jackson, 10.5; 6. Chance Oftedahl, 11.0; 7. Dylan Hancock, 12.3; 8. Chet Weitz, NT.

Barrel Racing

First Semifinal: 1. Andrea Busby, 16.20 seconds, $4,000; 2. Carlee Otero, 16.21, $3,000; 3. Toria Madsen, 16.28, $2,000; 4. Leslie Smalygo, 16.41, $1,000; 5. Chelsea Moore, 16.49; 6. Sissy Winn, 16.58; 7. Jordon Briggs, 16.76; 8. Julie Plourde, 16.88.

Bull Riding

First Semifinal: *1. Bryce Jensen, 86.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Swanky, $4,333; 2. Maverick Potter, 86, $3,333; 3. Jestyn Woodward, 80.5, $2,333; Luke Mast, Wade Tuni, Jax Mills, Trey Holston and Tristan Mize, NS.