Elation and Frustration for the Red and White
Nine rounds done. One round to go.
One Canadian cowboy from Barrhead, Alberta who has team roping in his DNA and who represents three generations of a roping family, is one run away from the gold buckle that goes to the world champion.
In round nine, Schmidt and his Florida heeling partner, Jonathan Torres turned in a 4.3 second effort to take home a fourth-place cheque of $15,377 to solidify their positions on the two leaderboards that matter the most—aggregate and world standings.
The cross-border tandem have chalked up three firsts, a second, a third, a fourth and a sixth over the nine rounds and have amassed $164,514 at the Thomas and Mack.
Kolton Schmidt is carrying the hopes of his family and his country. He doesn’t need to win round ten; he may not even have to place. But for the man who started this Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 14th place in the header standings and now leads both the aggregate and the world standings, that gold buckle is within his grasp.
At the other end of the scale, there was disappointment as Canada’s King of the Cowboys, Zeke Thurston, saw his saddle bronc riding championship chase take a devastating hit when a Canadian horse, Ward Macza’s 612 Falkland Playboy bucked off the four-time world titleist ending Thurston’s amazing run of NFR consecutive rides at 56. The man he was battling for the title, Statler Wright, wasted no time is seizing the opportunity and won second in the round with an 88 point ride. That ride gives Wright the lead in the all-important, and ultra-lucrative, aggregate race while Thurston’s uncharacteristic buckoff knocked him off the aggregate board.
Eckville, Alberta bronc rider, Ben Andersen, added to his NFR haul, as he spurred his way to a 4th place 86 point ride, good for $15,377. The four time NFR qualifier sits third in the average with 759.25 points on nine rides.
A couple of Canadian tie-down roping horses continued to shine on Friday night in Las Vegas. Texas cowboy and former Canadian champion, Ty Harris, rode Logan Bird’s stand-out buckskin, Peso, to a second place 7.1 second run for $28,980 while California cowboy Brushton Minton was solid once again on Medicine Hat roper Tyler Popescul’s outstanding gelding, Lincoln. Minton cashed a 5/6 split 8.0 run for $7688. But more important for the 27 year-old at his second WNFR, he sits third in the aggregate which would pay a tidy $60,324 if he can hold that spot for one more run.
Another competitor with an eye on a big aggregate payday is the French-Canadian barrel racer, Julie Plourde. In a ninth round won by Red Deer-born Carlee Otero in 13.20 (her third go-round win of the 2025 Finals), Plourde, the reserve WPRA Rookie of the Year in 2024, was once again
both safe and solid. The Quebec product, who drew in from the 16th spot in the standings when an injury sidelined Anita Ellis prior to the NFR, has placed in only two rounds, cashing one fifth and on sixth place cheque to date. But she stands to cash another–a big one–$76,292 if she can be mistake free one more time and hang on to her place in the aggregate.
And, in bull riding, a couple of buckers from north of 49 were on their game in round dispatching their riders on this night. Macza Pro Rodeo’s Judge and Jury dispatched Luke Mackey while Big Stone Pro Rodeo’s Ace took care of business at the expense of the teenage sensation, Wacey Schalla.
For complete WNFR results, visit www.prorodeo.com
