Bareback Rider Tanner Aus Is Back In Contention For His Ninth NFR Trip

Every rodeo athlete is at a critical point in the season as time is running out to secure a spot in the top 15 and earn a qualification for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in December. Bareback rider Tanner Aus is no exception as he has fought his way out of the bubble and into the No. 12 spot in the world standings.

Best Ride Yet

Fresh off a 91-point ride and the win at the Lewiston Round Up, Aus is making a name for himself right when it counts at this time in the season. He earned $5,456 in Idaho that pushed him in the top 15, putting his season total at $133,492, securing his place by over $18,000.

Aus himself is looking to punch his ticket to his ninth NFR, still looking to clinch that world title for the first time in his career. After failing to qualify in 2025, he came back with something to prove this season at 36 years old, one of the most veteran cowboys in the game.

This won’t be the first time Aus has entered the Thomas & Mack; his eight other qualifications came in 2015-17, 2019-23, and now he is having one of the best seasons of his career to secure another one. He’s secured 10 championship titles this season and isn't slowing down until the final second of the regular season.

Late-Season Wins

The cowboy has had an incredible end-of-season run, pulling in most of his season wins during the late summer. Other than his win at Lewiston, he took home the crown at Pine City PRCA Rodeo (Sept) and the Silver Sage Pro Rodeo (August).

Despite these wins, his biggest check of the season came from a second place finish at the Ogden Pioneer Days. It was here where an 88-point ride earned him over $10,000, one of his biggest cash prizes of the year. Aus has battled his way to this spot in the world standings, as he didn’t earn a ride over 90 points until his win in Idaho.

Right now, he’s riding high with an average score of 86.5 on the season and he isn’t done competing just yet. While he didn’t score any cash at the iconic Puyallup Rodeo over the weekend, it wasn’t all a wash as he left to earn $2,459 at the Stagecoach Days Rodeo in the same weekend.

Although it’s been a few years since Aus took a trip to Las Vegas, it’s clear that this cowboy is hungry to earn a qualification and isn’t ready to step out of the arena just yet. It’s time for this veteran to prove he has what it takes to take down his competition and earn his first world title.

Add us as a preferred source on Google