Chet Herren's 20th Trip to National Circuit Finals Ended Way It Was Always Meant To

The 20-time NFSR qualifier showed why he's one of the best.

Photo by Larry Costales on Unsplash

It takes a special kind of cowboy to become one of the top 15 in the world in any event. Chet Herren, a steer roper from Pawhuska, Okla., has qualified for the National Steer Roping Finals 20 times.

The veteran cowboy has continued to prove his dominance at major steer roping events throughout the year, most recently, at the National Circuit Finals Steer Roping in Torrington, Wyo.

At the National Circuit Finals Steer Roping, 32 cowboys compete in six preliminary rounds Saturday, then advance to a semi-final and final round on Sunday. From the first six rounds, only eight of the 32 ropers advance to the semi-finals. Then, the four fastest times advance to the finals.

After a tough miss in Round 4, Herren came back strong and placed in Round 6 with a 10.2-second run, which was enough to land him inside the top eight in the average and advance to the semi-final round.

Reo Lohse built himself a strong case for the win across the first six rounds. He led the pack with an aggregate time of 77.6 seconds on six runs. However, he was flagged out and received a no-time in the semi-finals for an illegal head catch. Unlike the team roping, where a half-head or neck catch are acceptable, steer ropers must rope their steer slick around the horns for it to be considered a legal catch.

In the semi-finals, Herren made the cut by placing 3rd with an 11.5-second run. All that stood between him and a win at the NCFSR was one more run.

In the final round, Herren pulled off the fastest run of the entire event. He clocked a lightning fast, 8.7-second run, beating out 2nd place by more than a second.

While Herrin's miss kept him out of the average payout, he still walked away with a sizeable cut of the $60,000 in added money. He wrapped up the finals with $7,396 in winnings.

This win will help Herren in his quest for yet another qualification to the NFSR. He has already had a very successful 2026 season. He placed 2nd in a round at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Steer Roping, winning nearly $5,000. Then, picked up several checks on his way to win the average at the Prairie Circuit Finals.

Herren has put together more than $24,000 this season, and should be well on his way to another trip to the NFSR.