Cowboys to Watch – July 17

Rough Stock Events – Bareback, Saddle Bronc and Bull Riding

With six opportunities to advance to the Semi-Finals in every event except the bull riding, the competition is going to be fierce for all 10 days of the rodeo. We have one former champion in the bareback riding, and that just happens to be Wyoming’s own Cole Reiner, who tied for the win in 2023. He is currently 10th in the world standings and looking for a sixth trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Money won here will certainly help him accomplish that. Keenan Hayes from Hayden, Colorado, made a statement in 2024 while competing as a rookie when he finished as the world champion bareback rider. Injuries kept him away last year, and he is in a prime position to be back in Las Vegas this year, at fifth in the world. And if the Feild name seems familiar, it should. Daxtyn Feild’s grandfather, Lewis Feild, won the all-around title here in 1982. Ironically, his uncle Kacey Feild, the GOAT of bareback riders, never won a title here. Daxtyn tied for the intercollegiate bareback title last June in Casper, so he hopes his success in Wyoming continues.

Today’s saddle bronc riding features three traveling partners who competed together at the 2024 NFR – Wyatt Casper, Kade Bruno and Weston Patterson. Wyatt finished last year’s regular season in 16th, so he missed the yellow bucking chutes. He won’t be denied this year. He is coming off a big win at the Calgary Stampede and is fourth in the world. Kade is one spot ahead of him, and Weston is making up ground at 30th. If any one of these guys wins a title here, it will be their first.

Bull riding is generally a fan favorite, and with today’s roster, those fans are in for a treat. Of the 20 competitors here today, four have already won titles in Frontier Park. Australian Qynn Anderson is the reigning champion; T.J. Gray won it in 2024. Idaho’s Ruger Piva in 2018 and Roscoe Jarboe in 2016. And if that isn’t enough, Tyler Kippes, the comeback story of the year, will be continuing his path to greatness. At Rodeo Austin in 2025, he got hit in the chest by a bull’s horn and had a ruptured heart valve. The 22-year-old who grew up in Eaton, Colorado, made his return to competition last January at the National Western Stock Show Rodeo, where he rode his first bull back. This will be his first time to compete at “the Daddy,” and no one is more excited to be here than him.

Timed Events – Steer Wrestling, Team, Tie-Down, Breakaway Roping and Barrel Racing

One year ago, Anita Ellis took the barrel racing world by storm, winning the Calgary Stampede and then earning about $8,000 here. She qualified for her first NFR, then disaster struck. She was competing in Utah, fell and had a traumatic brain injury that kept her in the hospital for two weeks. That injury kept her from competing at the NFR, and she has been working hard to get back there in December. It was her third time recovering from injuries. She has amazing horses that she has trained that thrive in big arenas like the one in Frontier Park.

The breakaway roping is stacked with past CFD champions and notoriety. Watch for Lari Dee Guy and Jackie Crawford, who have led the breakaway roping charge. Macy Young tied for the win here in 2022, and Shelby Boisjoli-Meged won it in 2024. Meged is the only breakaway roper to have qualified for the WPRA’s championship event since it started in 2020. She has ground to make up to make it again, as she has yet to crack the top 25 in the world standings. Outside of the arena, she and her tie-down roping husband, Haven Meged, welcomed a baby boy in May. Haven is also competing today, so they will take turns with the baby and being in the arena.

Also, in the tie-down roping today is Zach Jongbloed, who had the biggest win of his career last Sunday at the Calgary Stampede. That moved him to eighth in the world standings, and he is hoping the momentum of that legendary rodeo carries over to today. They will be joined by John Douch, who is third in the world and looking for his fifth trip to Las Vegas to compete at the world championships.

Winsten McGraw makes his home in Gill, Colorado, about an hour away from Frontier Park. He has never made the NFR, but his horses have, and he’s done plenty of the hazing in the arena. His horse Off the Fence, “Swamper,” is a standout in the steer wrestling world. Swamper finished as the reserve champion last year. Winsten knows good horses and steer wrestlers depend on him. When Winsten provides horses for other competitors, he earns 25% of the prize money and at a rodeo like Cheyenne’s, that can add up quickly.

The number five and seven men in the steer wrestling standings will be trying to improve their positions today, and both are from Oregon. Dalton Massey has been to the NFR twice and is nearly a shoo-in for a third trip. Mike McGinn is in seventh, and if he stays among the top 15, he will be competing in Las Vegas in December for the first time. Dirk Tavenner has been there three times, but not since 2023, as he has been on the injured list. He has been picking up checks and needs to continue to move up into the world standings to qualify for next winter’s big building rodeos.

Team ropers Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili roped together at last year’s NFR after each of them qualified without their regular-season partners. They had enough success in Las Vegas to earn over $150,000. They started this season with their regular partners, but found their way back to each other this spring. Kaden won the CNFR in Casper two years ago and is 7th in the world. Lightning is fifth.