Bareback Rider Overcomes Major Obstacle Minutes Before Round Four Win

This NFR rookie is performing like no rookie right now.

Wacey Schalla and the horse Trooper winning a fourth place check in round three of the bareback riding at the 2025 NFR | Nathan Meyer Photograph

The bareback riding at the NFR has been good to watch through four rounds, and thus far, it is an NFR rookie who is clawing his way up the leaderboard, Wacey Schalla. This isn't his first time competing inside the Thomas & Mack, but it is his debut in the bareback riding, and he is performing like a veteran.

His latest display of grit, determination, and mental toughness was in Round 4 when he took home his first-ever round win at the NFR as he spurred a horse named "No Whiskey's Redlicious Meats" owned by Beutler & Son Rodeo for 87.25 points.

Schalla demonstrated more than just his physical talents for the win. If an athlete wants to win, they have to overcome whatever is thrown at them.

What Came About Before He Left the Bucking Chutes?

Fernando Sam-Sin

While what happened after he nodded his head was more than impressive, it was the moments leading up to it that is truly hard to grasp. Schalla was initially supposed to be the second man out, but his horse flipped over in the chute, breaking his bareback rigging.

They ended up rolling him towards the bottom of the pack, so he had time to get the broken piece of equipment off and figure out his next move. Unfortunately, he didn't have a spare that he knew fit his hand and ended up borrowing another cowboy's.

Picture this, right as you are about to get on a bucking horse on the biggest stage in rodeo in the thick of an all-around world title race, your horse flips over and breaks the gear that is custom to you.

Now you have a few minutes to regroup. How would you handle it?

It clearly didn't faze Schalla. "I didn't come here to win second. I am just here to do the best I can, no matter the circumstance, and perform to the best of my abilities," he said during his interview immediately following his ride.

What Is a Rigging? Why Is This So Significant?

The rigging is the piece of leather that looks like a handle and is strapped down right behind the horse's shoulders. The cowboys then jam their glove into it. To state the obvious, one would want this to snugly fit their own hand.

Four-time NFR qualifier and $1.1 million cowboy Leighton Berry gave Rodeo On SI some insight as to what this kind of situation is like:

"It is absolutely a big deal to have your own rigging break right before getting on and sometimes there is no choice, but to use someone else's. He (Schalla) would have been looking for someone who had a similar hand size to him and would have been asking his fellow competitors about their glove size to find the closest fit. Sometimes you have to just hope you'll stay in and roll with it," said Berry.

Apparently, a broken rigging might be good luck, as the last time Berry won RODEOHOUSTON, the same thing happened to him. He was forced to borrow Kennan Hayes's on the spot. But "at the end of the day you just have to grip it and rip it," per Berry.

For all of those that aren't competing, remember that there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that can't be seen from the couch, the bar stool, the stands, or even right on the arena floor. These athletes do so much more than what is seen in the arena, and Schalla put his ability to adapt in a stressful situation on full display in his round four victory.

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