NFR Day 10: Champions crowned; all-around decided by $676
Four bareback riders were alive for the world championship entering the final night of the National Finals Rodeo on Saturday.
Dean Thompson was fourth in the overall standings but first in the aggregate, an average of all riders’ scores at NFR, and had a chance to make a big leap and win the title.
Thompson made the most of his final run. He finished second in the go-round with a score of 88.5 points, won the aggregate and claimed the bareback riding world title.
“It is humbling. It just reaffirms I’m on the right path,” Thompson said. “Everything I’ve been doing, my training, my attitude, I guess it’s all been working out.”
Thompson was one of eight world champions crowned in a wild finale Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. For the all-around title, Shad Mayfield added $40,750 by finishing fourth in the aggregate in tie-down roping, which gave him the title by $676 over Coleman Proctor.
In bareback riding, by winning the aggregate, Thompson added $86,391 in earnings. Thompson finished with $412,120 in the overall standings and won the title by $17,934 over Rocker Steiner.
The battle between Thompson, Steiner, defending champion Keenan Hayes and NFR rookie Bradlee Miller was tight, but the margin of victory was more than Thompson thought it would be as he celebrated winning the title with his shiny gold buckle and sweat still dripping from underneath his brown cowboy hat.
“I placed just high enough to get me in the average spot,” he said. “It was such a thin margin there. They said four guys could have won it. … What just an insane 10 days.”
Thompson, from Altamont, Utah, won just one go-round at NFR, but his consistency helped him emerge as the champion from the rest of his young and talented competition.
“I’ve just been so consistent that I think it paid off,” the 22-year-old said. “When I left NFR last year, I honestly didn’t know if they were beatable, guys like Keenan. For me to be standing here, it’s pretty humbling.”
J.D. Struxness also benefited from the aggregate to win the steer wrestling world title. He finished second in his go-round with a time of 3.6 seconds and ended up eighth in the aggregate to claim the world title.
Struxness added an extra $8,150 by winning the aggregate. The six-time NFR qualifier from Milan, Minnesota, won the world title by $1,508 over Will Lummus.
“We kind of knew the scenarios,” Struxness said. “We didn’t have them all calculated, but we knew there needed to be a little bit of movement in the average to give me a shot.”
The 30-year-old said this morning while having coffee with his wife that he was confident heading into Saturday once he knew the steer he had drawn.
“There was just something else to that run,” Struxness said. “I wouldn’t want to say extra effort because I think I put lots of effort, but it was one of those things I knew what I needed to do. I just really opened up and let it hang out on the line. I took some risk so I could maximize the steer and be faster.”
In other title battles, Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp won their second consecutive team roping title. Ryder Wright won his third saddle bronc riding title.
The 2024 NFR champions:
Bareback riding
Dean Thompson
Altamont, Utah
Age: 22
World championships: 1
Season earnings: $412,120
2024 NFR earnings: $239,924
2024 NFR go-round wins: 1
Steer wrestling
J.D. Struxness
Milan, Minnesota
Age: 30
World championships: 1
Season earnings: $309,220
2024 NFR earnings: $161,954
2024 NFR go-round wins: 1
Team roping (header)
Tyler Wade
Terrell, Texas
Age: 32
World championships: 2
Season earnings: $316,480
2024 NFR earnings: $169,742
2024 NFR go-round wins: 3
Team roping (heeler)
Wesley Thorp
Throckmorton, Texas
Age: 29
World championships: 3
Season earnings: $316,480
2024 NFR earnings: $169,742
2024 NFR go-round wins: 3
Saddle bronc riding
Ryder Wright
Beaver, Utah
Age: 26
World championships: 3
Season earnings: $479,957
2024 NFR earnings: $228,649
2024 NFR go-round wins: 2
Tie-down roping
Riley Webb
Denton, Texas
Age: 21
World championships: 2
Season earnings: $475,213
2024 NFR earnings: $258,306
2024 NFR go-round wins: 3
Barrel racing
Kassie Mowry
Dublin, Texas
Age: 42
World championships: 1
Season earnings: $457,808
2024 NFR earnings: $117,038
2024 NFR go-round wins: 5
Bull riding
Josh Frost
Randlett, Utah
Age: 29
World championships: 1
Season earnings: $476,886
2024 NFR earnings: $265,823
2024 NFR go-round wins: 2
All-around
Shad Mayfield
Clovis, New Mexico
Age: 24
World championships: 2
Season earnings: $335,474
2024 NFR earnings: $111,061
2024 NFR go-round wins: 0
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.