Youtube/Shad Mayfield

2020 Tie-Down Roping World Champion and 2024 World Champion All-Around Cowboy Shad Mayfield announced Wednesday that he will return to competition later this month after missing the last six months while recovering from dual hip surgeries.

Mayfield suffered from femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), a condition that occurs when the ball and socket of the hip joint do not fit together correctly.

Mayfield was first injured in 2023 but pushed through anyway, originally planning to have surgery after the 2024 season. Instead, he pushed through another year, making it through the entire 2025 season with the help of various treatments.

Enough was enough, though, and five days after a disappointing showing at the 2025 NFR, Mayfield underwent surgery on his left hip. While the left hip was the bigger issue, after a few months of rehab, Mayfield decided to have surgery on his right hip as well in late March.

His rehab process has been thorough, so much so that he is returning to competition earlier than expected. On June 10, Mayfield announced he would return at a trio of rodeos to begin his summer push for NFR qualification. He will make his return at the Reno Rodeo, which begins June 19, before competing in Pecos, Texas, and Lehi, Utah, later that same week.

Those rodeos will serve as a testing ground for Mayfield.

“Biggest thing is I got to get my confidence back and trust my body again,” Mayfield told Cowboy+. “If I can do that, I feel like I’ll be okay.”

Jumping into the middle of the season while chasing an NFR qualification is no easy task, but Mayfield isn’t concerned.

“Last year in July, unhealthy, I won 90-something thousand,” said Mayfield. “I feel like in just July alone, a guy can make the NFR.”

Mayfield won $108,909 in July of last year, more than half of which came from winning the Calgary Stampede. From August through the 2025 NFR, Mayfield earned $44,808. The 2025 Tie-Down Roping NFR cut line was $129,298.

The door is wide open for Mayfield’s return, but it all comes down to how he feels after Reno, Pecos, and Lehi. He says he will still take it one week at a time.

Mayfield finished the 2025 season second in the PRCA Tie-Down Roping World Standings with $388,931 in earnings, including $132,621 at his seventh consecutive NFR.

He is now chasing his eighth straight NFR qualification. Only Shane Hanchey, with 16 consecutive qualifications, has a longer active NFR streak among tie-down ropers.