ProRodeo Sports News - Dec. 20, 2024

WRANGLER NFR RECAP

Memorable NFR

BY PRCA STAFF C heck another career box off for ultra-talented roper Shad Mayfield. The Clovis, N.M., cowboy won his inaugural PRCA All-Around World Championship in dramatic form Dec. 14 before 17,227 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center. Mayfield finished atop the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $335,474. He edged second-place Coleman Proctor by a mere $675. Mayfield claimed the all-around title by competing in tie-down roping, steer roping and as a team roping header. “There was a lot going on before the tie-down roping started,” said Mayfield, 24. “I believe I needed to place at least fourth in the round and stay where I was in the average (to win). After Quade Hiatt went, I had a chance to move past him in the average by tying a calf in 10 (seconds) flat. That became the game plan pretty quickly.” Mayfield clocked a 9.6-second run in Round 10, which allowed Mayfield nabs coveted PRCA All-Around title

Shad Mayfield makes his run during Round 3 of the tie down roping at the NFR. The 7.7-second run earned him a share of sixth in the go-round and put him one step closer to the PRCA All-Around World Championship. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Roseanna Sales

FROST SNARES LONG-AWAITED PRCA BULL RIDING TITLE Josh Frost officially got it done on Dec. 14 during Round 10 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge. After three straight runner-up finishes, Frost held serve throughout the Finals and won his first PRCA Bull Riding World Championship. “It’s pretty cool to come here, win the average and get that gold buckle. After three straight years of finishing second, it feels really good to come out on top,” he said. Frost finished the season with $476,887 to end the grueling stretch at the Thomas & Mack Center atop the PRCA | RAM World Standings. WADE/THORP CAPTURE TEAM ROPING CHAMPIONSHIP Perhaps no event had as many scenarios, projections and question marks as team roping entering Round 10 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge. The door stayed wide open for a host of teams to walk through and earn a PRCA | RAM World Championship. After another roller-coaster round, header Tyler Wade and heeler Wesley Thorp stood above the rest to earn gold buckles for the second straight year. “I can’t believe it. It’s crazy. I never thought we’d win one, so to win two is beyond belief,” Wade said. “I’ve been stressed all week going back and forth. I’ve been fast on nights and missed the next… The good Lord has blessed us

him to finish fourth in the average with a 94.6-second time on 10 head. That $40,751 fourth-place average check vaulted Mayfield to the crown since Proctor and his team roping heeler Logan Medlin received a no time earlier in the evening. That dropped Proctor/Medlin to eighth in the average with 28.5 seconds on seven head and gave them a $8,150 average check. This is Mayfield’s second career gold buckle – he was the 2020 PRCA Tie-Down Roping World Champion. TIE-DOWN ROPER RILEY WEBB CLAIMS SECOND-CONSECUTIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Riley Webb entered the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge as a man on a mission and left as a champion. The 21-year-old tie-down roper finished his trip to Las Vegas with a second-straight PRCA World Championship, the NFR average championship and a new event-best season earnings record. “It’s just so wild,” Webb said. “I’m so blessed to be here with any gold buckle or average title. Whatever it is, it just makes me want to work harder to get a chance to be here next year.” Webb finished the season with $475,215 – besting the standard of $452,852, he set in tie-down roping in 2023 – and outgained runner-up Shad Mayfield by $77,806.

ProRodeo Sports News 12/20/2024

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