PRORODEO Sports News - Nov. 7, 2025

Buck Calhoun

Gus Galliard

Haiden Thompson

Makenzie Mayes

Nicky Northcott

James Arviso

ALL-AROUND & STEER ROPING: RILEY O’ROURKE “I’m glad that I won both of them, it’s exciting. Some people I rodeo with like Thomas Smith, he won the Rookie (of the Year). He and his dad (Tom) won (steer roping) back-to-back (2014-15). And for All-Around, one of my good buddies, Slade Wood, won the all-around and steer roping his rookie year (2021). So, it’s pretty cool we were both able to do that.” BAREBACK RIDING: SAGE ALLEN “It’s one of those things you hear them talk about all the time at rodeos, ‘This kid was Rookie of the Year.’ So it goes to show how big of an accomplishment it is. And for me to be able to accomplish that is pretty awesome.” SADDLE BRONC RIDING: GUS GAILLARD “It’s one of those deals you always dream of as a kid. You only get one chance. I tried to set my goals a little higher, but I didn’t quite make it to the NFR. But on the way to that I was trying to win Rookie of the Year. I’m just extremely happy and blessed.” TEAM ROPING HEADING: JAMES ARVISO “You only get one chance at winning Rookie of the Year. So when you’re able to achieve it, it’s a good feeling. That was half my goal this year for the summer. The people around me, everyone who has helped out and helped me along the way is the only reason I was able to do this. I can’t thank the people backstage enough for this.” TEAM ROPING HEELING: NICKY NORTHCOTT “It means a lot. I’ve been wanting to do well in rodeo my whole life and make it far. I just tried to rope and do

my best and try to win. To win Rookie of the Year, it’s a great accomplishment.” TIE-DOWN ROPING: BUCK CALHOUN “I knew throughout the whole year in the back of my head that Rookie of the Year was in the conversations. The start of the year I set a goal to make the NFR. I figured if I made enough for that, Rookie of the Year would take care of itself. It’s such a prestigious award because there’s only one chance to win it. To be able to pull that off, it means so much to me.” STEER WRESTLING: TRAVER JOHNSON “Winning Rookie of the Year means a lot because it was a goal of mine. It means I get to follow in the footsteps of some of the legends of the sport. It’s an award every rodeo cowboy only gets one shot at and I’m just very bless that I had the support from God, my family and friends and we were able to get it done.” BREAKAWAY ROPING: HAIDEN THOMPSON “Super cool. Beginning of the summer that was my main goal was to win the rookie title. I traveled with Martha An gelone from the College Finals on and it was a blast going with her. I learned a lot from her, and she was a huge help to me.” BARREL RACING: MAKENZIE MAYES “It was definitely something different as before this year I had never left home for more than a week so going on the road for four months was pretty hard. It is an award I have always wanted to win, so I waited until the time was right for me and I had the right horses. It is something you only get one shot at so was pretty awesome to win it.”

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