2023 PRCA Media Guide - All Chapters

ALL-AROUND

Wright Collects Fourth All-Around Title

One night last December, thousands of fans crammed into the Thomas & Mack Center, Stetson Wright sat aboard a dark colored bull named Belly Dump who was in a bad mood. Wright held onto the gate with his right hand and waited with poise. The bull darted out and began spinning right like some crazed carnival teacup. Wright never wavered, his body contouring to the jumps as if the chaos was choreographed. When it was all it over, the end told us what we knew before it all began: there is no cowboy better than Stetson Wright right now. That 92-point ride marked one of 15 of 20 where he placed in bull riding and saddle broncs. Rodeo is booming with more money and spec tacular performances, and Wright has become the baby-face of the sport. The 23-year-old won his fourth consecutive PRCA All-Around World Championship, setting a single season-record in earnings with $758,829. “I didn’t think it was possible (to reach that figure). I feel like I have shocked myself a lot this year,” Wright said. “It came with patience and

What made Wright’s dominance in the all around even more impressive in 2022 was that it came accompanied with adversity. The Milford, Utah cowboy missed time while he recovered from wrist surgery. It only made what played out in Las Vegas sweeter as he became the first cowboy to win four all-around titles in a row since Trevor Brazile pulled it off from 2012-2015. “This year has been the best and hardest year that I have had in the PRCA,”Wright said. “I had to learn a lot of patience. I had to trust everything my mom and dad were saying when I needed to sit out. I think it paid off because this was my best year yet.” There is nuance in his answer. The word“yet”is intentional. Wright aims to improve on his record breaking season in 2023. “I love breaking my own records because that means I did better than I did the year before,”Wright said.“I am always trying to be better. I feel like I can do even better with a healthy year, where I don’t miss any time due to injuries. I’m up for the chal lenge and can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store.” – Brady Renck

trusting that everything would be all right. That was what this year was about.” Even by his standards, Wright put on a show that was impossible to forget. He won his second bull riding gold buckle, breaking the bull riding season earnings record with $592,144. He won the average by winning three rounds and placing in eight with a score of 684.5 points. He wasn’t far off the pace in saddle bronc, finishing fifth in the average, earning $142,677 with 781.5 points on nine head. He claimed the go-round in the eighth round with a 90.5-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s Hell Boy.

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Hailey Rae

Stetson Wright won a single-season PRCA record $927,940 in 2022.

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2023 WORLD CHAMPIONS