Big Scores and Fast Times Light Up the Leaderboard in Bracket 4 at FWSSR

Things continue to heat up in Fort Worth, as the bracket portion of the tournament nears it's end. The top two in each bracket in each event punch their ticket to the semi-finals. For a full breakdown of how the qualification process works, check out this article from Bracket 1.

For the athletes placing 3rd-8th in each bracket, it is not over yet. The third place contestant in each bracket qualifies back to the Wild Card round, one final chance to make the semi-finals. The 4th-8th place contestants also have a chance to earn a seat in the Wild Card.

Bareback Riding

National Finals Rodeo qualifier and electric young bareback rider, Jayco Roper, earned checks in both rounds to take the top spot coming back to Saturday's semi-finals. Roper made the highest scoring ride of the 2025 FWSSR thus far winning Round 1, scoring 90.5 points aboard Championship Pro Rodeo’s The Crow. Jacob Lees won Round 2 and also advances.

First round: 1. Jayco Roper, 90.5 points on Championship Pro Rodeo’s The Crow, $2,318; 2. Mason Stuller, 84, $1,818; 3. Jacob Lees, 83.5, $1,418; 4. Nick Pelke, 81, $1,018; 5. Bryce Eck, 80.5, $143; 6. Tucker Zingg, 74, $143; 7. Tim Murphy, 73, $143; no other qualified rides

Second round: 1. Jacob Lees, 88.5 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Tarnished Silver, $2,318; 2. (tie) Nick Pelke and Jayco Roper, 87, $1,618 each; 4. Tim Murphy, 82.5, $1,018; 5. Bryce Eck, 81, $143; 6. Mason Stuller, 79, $143; 7. Taylor Broussard, 70, $143; no other qualified rides

Advancing:1. Jayco Roper, $3,936; 2. Jacob Lees, $3,736

Wildcard: Nick Pelke, $2,636

Steer Wrestling

Chance Howard dominated in Bracket 4, placing first and second in the two rounds to take a commanding lead and advance on to the semi-finals. He will be joined by multiple-time NFR qualifying cowboy, Jesse Brown.

First round: 1. Chance Howard, 4.1 seconds, $2,318; 2. Landon Beardsworth, 4.2, $1,818; 3. Jesse Brown, 5.4, $1,418; 4. Tristan Martin, 6.3, $1,018; 5. Jake Shelton, 6.5, $143; 6. Rowdy Parrott, 14.3, $143; 7. Grant Peterson, 21.5, $143; no other qualified runs

Second round: 1. Rowdy Parrott, 3.7 seconds, $2,300; 2. Chance Howard, 3.8, $1,800; 3. Jesse Brown, 4.6, $1,400; 4. Grant Peterson, 4.8, $1,000; 5. Tristan Martin, 4.9, $125; 6. Jake Shelton, 7.1, $125; 7. Justin Shaffer, 8.0, $125; 8. Landon Beardsworth, 14.6, $125

Advancing: 1. Chance Howard, $4,118; 2. Jesse Brown, $2,818

Wildcard: Rowdy Parrott, $2,443

Team Roping

Speaking of dominating, there was no shaking Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord. The duo had an outstanding season in 2024 and were so close to a World Championship. Clearly that has only fueled their fire and the pair won both rounds today, to move on to the semi-finals. They will be joined by Tanner Tomlinson and Travis Graves.

First round: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 3.6 seconds, $2,375 each; 2. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, 3.9, $1,875; 3. (tie) Shay Carroll/Logan Moore and Tanner Tomlinson/Travis Graves, 4.4, $1,275 each; 5. Clint Wallace/Jace McDaniel, 20.2, $200; no other qualified runs

Second round: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 4.0, $2,375 each; 2. Jeff Flenniken/Buddy Hawkins II, 4.3, $1,875; 3. Clint Wallace/Jace McDaniel, 4.5, $1,475; 4. Tanner Tomlinson/Travis Graves, 4.9, $1,075; 5. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, 9.6, $200; no other qualified runs

Advancing: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, $4,750 each; 2. Tanner Tomlinson/Travis Graves, $2,350

Wildcard: Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, $2,075

Saddle Bronc Riding

The young Wyoming cowboys took charge in Bracket 4 of the saddle bronc riding. Quentin "Q" Taylor will be coming back to the semi-finals following his great performance, finishing first and second in the rounds. Brody Wells qualified for his first NFR in 2024 and is chasing another one, placing third in Round 1 and winning Round 2 to earn his spot in the semis.

First round: 1. Quinten Taylor, 87 points on Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s Bad Habits, $2,342; 2. Allen Boore, 85.5, $1,842; 3. (tie) Wyatt Casper and Brody Wells, 84.5, $1,242 each; 5. Jake Watson, 81, $167; 6. Jake Clark, 76, $167; no other qualified rides

Second round: 1. Brody Wells, 88 points on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Angel Cat, $2,318; 2. Quinten Taylor, 87, $1,818; 3. (tie) Garrett Long and Wyatt Casper, 84, $1,218 each; 5. (tie) Allen Boore and Jake Watson, 80, $143 each; 7. Jake Clark, 73, $143; no other qualified rides

Advancing: 1. Quinten Taylor, $4,160; 2. Brody Wells, $3,560

Wildcard: Wyatt Casper, $2,460

Tie Down Roping

We have seen it before - when Haven Meged gets on a roll, there is no stopping the Montana cowboy. He earned the Round 1 win by a large margin and tied for the Round 2 win, to handily secure his position in the semi-finals. Joining him will be Chet Weitz, who placed fourth in Round 1 and split the win with Meged in Round 2.

First round: 1. Haven Meged, 8.8 seconds, $2,318; 2. Sterling Smith, 9.5, $1,818; 3. John Douch, 9.7, $1,418; 4. Chet Weitz, 11.0, $1,018; 5. Macon Murphy, 11.4, $143; 6. Tyler Milligan, 12.7, $143; 7. Zack Jongbloed, 21.8, $143; no other qualified runs

Second round: 1. (tie) Haven Meged and Chet Weitz, 8.5 seconds, $2,092 each; 3. John Douch, 8.8, $1,492; 4. Sterling Smith, 11.7, $1,092; 5. Macon Murphy, 11.2, $167; 6. Zack Jongbloed, 20.7, $167; no other qualified runs

Advancing: 1. Haven Meged, $4,410; 2. Chet Weitz, $3,110

Wildcard: John Douch, $2,860

Barrel Racing

You may have noticed a pattern in Bracket 4... contestants sweeping both rounds. The barrel racing belonged to none other than Emily Beisel, who teamed up with Ivory On Fire "Liza" in Dickies Arena. In Round 1, they came within very close striking distance of the arena record, clocking the fastest time of the 2025 FWSSR, so far. They came back with another speedy run to win Round 2. Chelsea Moore was the queen of consistency - earning checks in both rounds to secure her spot in the semis.

First round: 1. Emily Beisel, 16.11 seconds, $2,300; 2. Jordan Driver, 16.34, $1,800; 3. Chelsea Moore, 16.43, $1,400; 4. Stephanie Fryar, 16.47, $1,000; 5. (tie) Kylee Scribner and Hailey Kinsel, 16.61, $125 each; 7. Dona Rule, 16.62, $125; 8. Austyn Tobey, 21.74, $125

Second round: 1. Emily Beisel, 16.26 seconds, $2,300; 2. (tie) Chelsea Moore and Austyn Tobey, 16.43, $1,600 each; 4. Dona Kay Rule, 16.44, $1,000; 5. Jordan Driver, 16.45, $125; 6. (tie) Kylee Scribner and Hailey Kinsel, 16.88, $125 each; 8. Stephanie Fryar, 21.56, $125

Advancing: 1. Emily Beisel, $4,600; 2. Chelsea Moore, $3,000

Wildcard: Jordan Driver, $1,925

Bull Riding

The bull riders banked big, with only two cowboys riding in each round. The winners of the rounds, T. Parker and Jax Mills, each earned their spot in the semi-finals. The two tied at the top spot with $3,750 each.

With two totally different sets of cowboys earning money in the rounds, it came down to the tie breaker in the bull riding. Ultimately, Ernie Courson Jr. won out with an 87-point ride, to move on to the Wild Card.

First round: 1. T. Parker, 88 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Nashvegas, $3,750; 2. Ernie Courson Jr., 87, $3,250; no other qualified rides

Second round: 1. Jax Mills, 87 points on TNT Pro Rodeo's Ozone Baby, $3,750; 2. Hayes Weight, 85, $3,250; no other qualified rides

Advancing: 1. (tie) T. Parker and Jax Mills, $3,750 each

Wildcard: Ernie Courson Jr., $3,250

Breakaway Roping

It was a wicked fast round of breakaway roping, with Aspen Miller roping the fastest time of the rodeo so far in Round 2, with a 1.8-second run. Taylor Munsell and Addie Weill capitalized on consistency, splitting a win and placing in both rounds to earn their seats back to the semi-finals.

First round: 1. (tie) Addie Weill and Taylor Munsell, 2.2 seconds, $2,125 each; 3. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, 2.3, $1,475; 4. Cheyanne McCartney, 3.2, $1,075; 5. Brighton Bauman, 4.0, $200; no other qualified runs.

Second round: 1. Aspen Miller, 1.8 seconds, $2,342; 2. Braylee Shepherd 2.1 seconds, $1,842; 3. Taylor Munsell, 2.4, $1,442; 4. Addie Weill, 11.6, $1,042; 5. Cheyanne McCartney, 11.9, $167; 6. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, 16.1, $167; no other qualified runs.

Advancing: 1. Taylor Munsell, $3,567; 2. Addie Weill, $3,167

Wildcard: Aspen Miller, $2,342