Memorial Day is traditionally considered the kickoff to summer, but you wouldn’t have known it watching ProRodeo this past weekend. It was wet and muddy in Claremore, Oklahoma, cold and overcast in Deadwood, South Dakota, and while Alaska looked pleasant, it was still barely 60 degrees.

Two positives for rodeo, though: every event still paid, and paid well, and the athletes are about to spend the next three months competing in sweltering heat anyway.

With that, let’s get into what happened at the Will Rogers Stampede, Back When They Bucked, and the Northernmost Xtreme Bulls doubleheader.

Saddle bronc rider Logan Hay could be off and running after his win at Back When They Bucked. The two-time NFR qualifier got his first win of the season in a big way in Deadwood on Sunday by riding  Busgy of Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo for 91 points, his highest marked ride since his record-breaking 95.5 in August of 2022. For his two rides at Back When They Bucked, he earned a little over $4,500 and moved from No. 27 to No. 23 in the PRCA World Standings. Hay has gotten on just 28 horses so far this season.

Bull rider Scott Wells makes worthwhile trip to Alaska. Wells has been holding steady in the Top 15 for the last few months as the 22-year-old hopes to make his first NFR in December. Against some of the PRCA’s best, he showed he has what it takes in Alaska. In Palmer, he was the champion with 86.5 points on Toxic Masculinity and he also rode Disco Daze for fourth in Fairbanks resulting in an $8,000 weekend on the Last Frontier. He has covered four in a row since May 14.

Bareback rider Nick Pelke gets first win since Fort Worth. Pelke didn’t miss when he drew Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire, riding the legendary horse for 89.5 points at the Will Rogers Stampede in Oklahoma. It was his second best ride of the season coming in behind his 91.5 in Fort Worth. Pelke is No. 5 in the PRCA World Standings after finishing No. 19 and No. 24 his first two full seasons

Allen Boore walks away the highest money earner from Back When They Bucked. Hay stole the show with his 91-pointer, but the 34-year-old Boore was the most consistent in Deadwood. He won Round 1 with 87.5 points and then made an 88.5-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Calico Color for third in the Finals. Those two rides represent his two highest marked of the season and he jumped six spots into the Top 30 in the World Standings.

Bull rider Qynn Andersen continues to rise in World Standings after victory in Fairbanks. The Australian is officially on the ProRodeo radar after winning the second of two X Bulls events in Alaska over the weekend and jumping from No. 31 to No. 20 in the World Standings. Since April 26, he has covered 6-of-7 bulls and won over $25,000.

Bull rider Creek Young wins over $10,000 as only one to make whistle at Will Rogers Stampede. Young, a four-time NFR qualifier, had yet to make a qualified ride through his first six attempts in PRCA competition in 2025, but he looked like his old self in Claremore and it was a great time to do it, too. Instead of winning about $2,500 like the other roguhstock champs, he was paid $11,266 because of ground money.

Bubba Buckaloo/Joseph Harrison make it two in a row in Oklahoma in May. The native Okies are only rodeoing part-time, but proved they’ve definitely still got it by winning the only two Oklahoma rodeos they entered this month. After claiming Guymon in the first weekend of May, they were 4.7 to win the Will Rogers Stampede. They have only entered four rodeos total since the beginning of April.

30-year-old rookie Dalton Rudman goes 90 to win Colorado Stampede. Since the beginning of March, Rudman had just three qualified rides, none of them for better than 84.5 points, before he exploded for 90 to win the Colorado Stampede. Last year, it was reigning World Champion Josh Frost who won the rodeo in Grand Junction with 89 points.