Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Wild Card Recap: See Who Took Advantage of their Last Chance
Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo Wild Card Recap: See Who Took Advantage of their Last Chance
The first post-bracket action got started in Fort Worth on Wildcard Wednesday, where seven athletes in each event had their last gasp at getting into the Semifinals and Finals of the season’s first Texas Swing rodeo.
In bareback riding, nine-time NFR qualifier Orin Larsen and reigning Fort Worth champion Nick Pelke booked their tickets to the Semis with rides of 87 and 85 points. Pelke split with RC Landingham but moved on via tiebreaker. Larsen won the round on the Calgary Stampede’s Forgetful Nelly and has made $5,900 so far in Fort Worth after narrowly missing the NFR a year ago.
Stetson Jorgensen emerged atop the steer wrestling Wildcard with a 4.1-second run. With the Semifinal bid, Jorgensen will get a shot to return to a second straight FWSSR Finals. He’s earned $4,500 so far and will look to earn more on his way to a potential third straight NFR appearance. In second was Boyd Sawyer with a 4.3-second run. Sawyer also made a 3.9-second run to win Bracket 5, Round 1.
Three-time World Champion Clay Tryan and partner Whip Peterson connected for a 4.0-second flat run to win the team roping Wildcard. Tryan hasn’t been to the NFR since 2022, the year before Peterson became a PRCA member. Tryan and Peterson are chasing their 21st and first trips to Vegas, respectively. Jr. Dees and Landon Glenn were 4.8, the only other run in the 4s on Wednesday night, to claim the final Semifinal spot.
It was a family affair in the bronc riding Wildcard, with Ben Andersen and Logan Hay coming away with Semifinal spots. Andersen scored 87 points on the Calgary Stampede’s Yesterday’s Delivery, while Hay was 85.5 points. Andersen has never been to the Finals in Fort Worth, but Hay did so in 2024.
In tie-down roping, Marty Yates qualified for the Semifinals with a 7.5 and was 1.3 seconds faster than the next closest competitor, Blane Cox. It was the fastest run of the rodeo so far. Yates won Fort Worth in 2019 and has made the Finals twice since then.
Katelyn Scott notched her fastest run in Fort Worth on Wednesday, winning the barrel racing Wildcard with a 16.22. Scott had her best season to date last year, making her first NFR and finishing 10th overall with $214,691. With a 16.34, Acey Pinkston beat out a pair of NFR Average winners, Shelley Morgan and Andrea Busby, for the last spot.
The bull riding was easy to determine, as there were only two qualified rides in the Wildcard. Colton Coffman was 85 on Rafter G’s James Brown, edging out Riley Shippy and his 84.5-point score. Coffman added $2,900 to his already wealthy season purse of $28,845. He currently sits as the fifth-ranked bull rider in the World and has a chance to make the Short Round in his very first FWSSR. Shippy, who backfilled a spot in the Wildcard after finishing fourth in Bracket 3, took advantage of the opportunity to move on as well.
In breakaway roping, Rylee George bested the rest of the field with a blistering 1.8-second run, and Jill Tanner will join her in the Semifinals after a 2.3. George picked up her first career Texas Swing win in Austin last year en route to finishing fourth in the World.
The Semifinals begin Thursday night on The Cowboy Channel.