Field set for Championship Sunday

Saddle bronc riders steal the show at Cheyenne Frontier Days

CHEYENNE, Wyo., (July 25, 2026) — Semi-finals Saturday was a warmup for the action to come in the finals at the 130^th edition of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

The dream of winning one of the most legendary rodeos in the world is one step closer for many contestants. Among them is Tory Johnson from Oklahoma City whose dreams of steer wrestling were nearly cut short two years ago.

In May of 2024, his head met the bucking chutes in an accident in Corpus Christi, Texas. The wreck was as dangerous as it sounds. He had four skull fractures and a spinal fluid leak among other injuries. Doctors didn’t know if he would ever be able to ride a horse again.

With his performance in Frontier Park on Saturday, he showed the world that he can not only ride a horse, he can compete with the best steer wrestlers and win. Johnson stopped the clock in 5.8 seconds to win Semi-Finals 3. That got him a check for $3,000 and put him in contention for a championship here. Johnson, who lost the hearing in one ear, competes with a specially made helmet. At 41-years-old, he has learned how to make the best of his situation and is very grateful for the opportunity to compete.

The bareback riding was exciting again with Montana’s Trevar McAllister taking the top spot with a 91-point ride on Smith Pro Rodeos’ Indecent Exposure. While the win was important for him, the men behind him also are excited to be riding for a title on Sunday. Among those is Kash Loyd who qualified in the fourth spot. Loyd, from Cleburne, Texas, had qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo when he got the last minute phone call that he could compete at Cheyenne’s rodeo. He earned the top spot the first time he competed here, advanced to the semifinals and now is riding for a championship at 18 years old.

Kim Squires from Carnegie, Oklahoma, was another replacement at this year’s rodeo. Her opportunity came in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel race. Squires and her great horse Assuredly Epic competed on the first day, July 17, and had the second fastest time at 18.30 seconds. That gave them an opportunity to compete in Semi-Finals 3 where they improved their time dramatically. The clock stopped at 17.37 and she has now run the fastest time of the rodeo so far.

Championship competition begins at 12:45 on Sunday where the highest score or fastest time in the performance will be crowned the 2026 champion.

The following are unofficial results from Semi-Finals 3, the eighth performance of the 130^th Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Saturday, July 25.

Bareback Riding: 1, Trevar McAllister, Ronan, Mont., 91 points on Smith Pro Rodeos’ Indecent Exposure, $3,000. 2, Tilden Hooper, Carthage, Texas, 90.5, $2,000. 3, Ben Kramer, Max, N.D., 90, $1,500. 4, Kash Loyd, Cleburne, Texas, 89.5, $1,000. 6, (tie) Hunter Greenup, Lexington, Ore., and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 87.5, $250 each. Finals Qualifiers: McAllister, Hooper, Kramer and Loyd.

Tie Down Roping: 1, Macon Murphy, Keatchie, La., 11.4 seconds, $3,000. 2, Trenton Smith, Bigfoot, Texas, 11.8, $ 2,500. 3, Jett Barrett, Lipan, Texas, 11.9, 12.2, $2,000. 4, Kincade Henry, Mount Pleasant, Texas, 12.3, $1,500. 5, Tom Simpson, Malad, Idaho, 13.7, $1,000. 6, Mac Street, New Haven, Mo., 13.7, $500.  Finals Qualifiers: Murphy, Smith, Barrett and Henry.

Breakaway Roping: (five times) 1, Kirby Rawlinson, Waller, Texas, 5.0 seconds, $3,109. 2, Taya McAdow, Fort Lupton, Colo., 5.4, $2,591. 3, Sawyer Gilbert, Buffalo, S.D., 6.3, $2,073. 4, Martha Angelone, Stephenville, Texas, 9.6, $1,555. 5, K.L. Collmorgen, Cheyenne, Wyo., 15.5, $1,040. Finals Qualifiers: Rawlinson, McAdow, Gilbert and Angelone.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Shorty Garrett, Eagle Buttle, S.D., 90 points on Brookman Rodeo’s Satisfaction, $3,000. 2, Sage Newman, Melstone, Mont., 89.5, $2,500. 3, Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., 89, $2,000. 4, Mitchie Story, Bayfield, Colo., 88, $1,500. 5, (tie) Eastan West, New Underwood, S.D., and Kaden Horrocks, LaPoint, Utah, 87, $750 each. Finals Qualifiers: Garrett, Newman, Cress and Story.

Team Roping: 1, Kolby Kreiger, Fredricktown, Mo., and Sid Sporer, Cody, Wyo., 8.4 seconds, $3,000 each. 2, Austin Crist, Wiley, Colo., and Dave Tripp, Penrose, Colo., 8.7, $2,500 each. 3, Billy Bob Brown, Carbon, Texas, and Blaine Vick, Breckenridge, Texas, 9.3, $2,000 each. 4, Cameron Irwin, Buffalo, Wyo., and Coley Nicholls, Kinnear, Wyo., 9.3, $1,500 each. 5, Jake Clay, Sapulpa, Okla., and Whip Peterson, San Simon, Ariz., 10.4, $1,000 each. 6, Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 13.9, $500 each. Finals Qualifiers: Kreiger and Sporer; Crist and Tripp; Brown and Vick; and Irwin and Nicholls.

Steer Wrestling: (five times) 1, Tory Johnson, Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.8 seconds, $3,100. 2, Quentin Wheeler, Baker, Mont., 6.0, $2,600. 3, Cole Walker, Springtown, Texas, 6.3, $2,100. 4, Nathan Duvall, Hitchita, Okla., 7.0, $1,600. 5, Dalton Walker, Bertram, Texas, 16.7, $1,100. Finals Qualifiers: Johnson, Wheeler, Walker and Duvall.

Barrel Racing: 1, Kim Squires, Carnegie, Okla., 17.37, $3,057. 2, Kailey Mitton, Mount Sterling, Utah, 17.66, $ 2,530. 3, Taryn Boxleitner, Loveland, Colo., 17.69, $2,003. 4, Tayla Moeykens, Three Forks, Mont., 17.90, $1,476. 5, Molly Otto, Grand Forks, N.D., 18.09, $950. 6, Morgan Addison, Wolfforth, Texas,18.11, $527. Finals Qualifiers: Squires, Mitton, Boxleitner and Moeykens.

Bull Riding: (four rides) 1, Noah Lee, Mineral Wells, Texas, 93 points on Smith Pro Rodeos’ Catfish, $3,375.  2, Hudson Bolton, Milan, Tenn., 90, $2,875. 3, Cooper James, Erda, Utah, 88, $2,375. 4, Hayden Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 87, $1,875.  Finals Qualifiers: Lee, Bolton, James and Welsh.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (finals winners) 1, Colt Bass, Statesville, N.C., 86 points on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Black Powder. 2, Tagg Bond, Edna, Kan., 83. 3, Ethan Cart, Hamshire, Texas, 81. 4, Rylan Cherry, Buna, Texas, 80.5.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Gotta Go, $589. 2, Team Agin, $442. 3, Pierce Trucking, $294. 4, /M Ranch, 147.