PSN_Dec3 2028

SADDLE BRONC

FAMILIAR TERRITORY RYDER WRIGHT EAGER TO DEFEND HIS TITLE IN TOP SPOT By Alex Dodd R yder Wright has been here before. In 2018, Wright entered the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo leading the world in saddle bronc ings record. “It’s awesome to have a season better than anyone has ever had before,” Wright said. “I didn’t even feel like I did as well as I should have. But it’s pretty special to have my name at the top of that list, and hopefully I can just keep breaking it every year.”

riding, but things didn’t go his way in Las Vegas. He only placed in four rounds, finished 13th in the NFR average and fifth in the world standings. This season, the three-time PRCA World Champion defended his latest title with a record-breaking regular season, setting a new event pre-NFR earnings record with $293,994. But he knows more than most how quickly momentum can shift at the Thomas & Mack Center. “Any lead isn’t really a lead in Las Vegas,” Wright said. “I was behind by $40,000 last year and won the world. I’ve gone into the Finals No. 1 before, and I’ve not even come close to winning the world. So that lead doesn’t really mean anything to me.” Wright enters his tenth NFR with a $15,841 lead over Damian Brennan, the No. 2 saddle bronc rider in the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings. Wright bested Brennan’s $280,035 regular-season total from last season to claim the regular-season earn

Wright defended his latest title by picking up right where he left off by winning RodeoHouston. He earned big-time wins at the Livingston (Mont.) Roundup Rodeo and Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo early in the season. Then he kept the ball rolling in the summer, winning the Strawberry Days Rodeo, Vernal Dinosaur Roundup and Rodeo de Santa Fe. Wright secured his spot as a season leader with wins at the Laramie Jubilee Days, Red Desert Rodeo and Evanston Cowboy Days in Wyoming down the stretch. “I’ve felt good all year,” Wright said. “I didn’t ever feel like I got in a slump. There were drawing slumps, but you have that with rodeo. I felt like I rode most of the horses that I drew as well as I could. I just tried to keep the ball rolling all year.”

PRCA photo by Click Thompson

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DECEMBER 3, 2025