California Circuit Finals Win Gives Saddle Bronc Rider Bailey Small Early 2027 Boost

Bailey Small watched the California Circuit Finals Rodeo from his couch last winter.

Late in the 2025 campaign, the McArthur, Calif., saddle bronc rider made an awkward dismount during an August ride at the Colorado State Fair & Rodeo. A few days later, he was under the knife to repair significant damage in his knee.

Small’s recovery kept him out of the arena until late-March 2026. It’s a moment that is still driving him forward.

“I watched it on TV last year and I thought, ‘I’m going to win that sucker next year,’” Small recounted with a laugh. “Dreams come true, I suppose. Hours and hours of physical therapy and reminding yourself what your goals are and that you’re trying to get to them. It’s crazy what things can happen when you keep striving for something like that.”

The comeback journey continued into the 2027 season for Small as he captured the average title at the California Circuit Finals Rodeo last weekend, finishing at 244 points on three head, a full 10 points better than runner-up Q McWhorter. The outcome netted Small $8,862 towards next season’s ledger.

A Mountain States Circuit average champion in 2023, Small has battled ups and downs since starting his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association journey.

That injury in 2025 cut his best season as a professional short by more than a month. He finished the year with a little more than $48,600 in earnings, putting him 40th in the final 2025 PRCA World Standings.

While he got a late start on 2026, he ended up just inside the top 50 with more than $40,700 earned last year.

Ironically, his comeback journey got its first spark in Oakdale, Calif., against a horse from Four Star Rodeo named Toodaloo back in April. Small’s 85-point effort against the animal led to his first check and win since the 2025 season, giving him something to build on.

After a third-place finish in the first go of the circuit finals, the horse and cowboy were matched up in round two. This time, Small went for 82.5 points to tie for second in the round.

Despite a lower score than their first meeting, Small said he felt better about the rematch ride, which provided confidence going into the final round. That’s when he drew another Four Star horse named Stella.

“That horse has been really good for years. She’s been getting better and better. I was stoked,” Small said. “I went over and talked to Jeff Davis (owner of Four Star Rodeo) and said, ‘Hey I’ve got old Stella. He said, ‘Well, you’re going to win the round,’ and I said, ‘That’s right.’ We came up with a little game plan of how to get in and get out on her and it just worked out.”

That 85.5-point effort was best of the round and vaulted Small to the top spot in the aggregate. More importantly, it’s a victory that carries big implications for the upcoming season.

Along with more than $8,800 in earnings, Small has locked up a spot at the NFR Open next July, giving him a shot at a significant payday during the heart of the summer run.

It’s another item on a list he hopes will carry him to his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo appearance next December.

He’s still got some work to do to qualify for some of the biggest winter rodeos, but each outcome is a smaller goal he can cross off – with bigger ones on the horizon.

“It dang sure builds up your confidence. Now you get a chance to go to Pikes Peak. I’m set up to go to that now and that’s a huge rodeo. Knowing that you’ve already got your name in the hat for a rodeo that pays as well as that, it just keeps building you,” Small said.

“You just keep driving yourself forward because you think the big ones are coming. It’s opening doors. It just keeps you a little bit more hungry.”

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