Dual-Event Roughstock Cowboy Aims for All-Around World Championship

Wacey Schalla may not be old enough to gamble at the casinos in Las Vegas, but he’s already on his second trip to the National Finals Rodeo. This time, in two events.

Schalla sits atop the Bull Riding World Standings, with over $350,000 won. He also qualified in the bareback riding this year, which makes him a force in the All-Around race. Stetson Wright still leads the All-Around, but Schalla will be snapping at his heels come December.

Schalla got his start in rodeo at a young age. His father, Luke Schalla, and world champion bull rider, Cody Custer, were some of the most influential figures in Schalla’s foundation.

“We’re both out in western Oklahoma, and I’ve grown up around Cody my whole life,” Schalla said. “I’ve known him since I was a little kid.”

Schalla has been working on his bareback riding with Bret Franks, the head rodeo coach at Clarendon College, since he was 14 years old. It wasn’t until he started college at Clarendon, though, that he started to get serious about riding bucking horses, Schalla said.

“Whenever I turned 18, I entered a little bit in the bareback riding,” Schalla said. “Bret was one of the main guys who got me into pursuing it seriously.”

Apparently, it didn’t take long for things to click for Schalla. He took home bareback titles at several rodeos this year, including Salt Lake City, Utah, Vernal, Utah, and Sisters, Ore. He’ll come into Vegas this year as the No. 13 bareback rider in the World Standings, with more than $130,000 won.

Balancing two events during the year is no small feat, but the NFR is sure to pose an even greater challenge for the all-around cowboy. Climbing aboard top-level stock twice a night for 10 nights would be enough to make anyone nervous.

But Schalla isn’t worried, he said. “I got that out of the way last year.”

Schalla’s eyes are set on gold buckles this year, but a giant could stand in his path. Veteran cowboy and eight-time World Champion, Stetson Wright, currently leads the all-around and is less than $3,000 behind Schalla in the bull riding, a small gap to close at the highest-paying rodeo of the season.

“I’ll just be as consistent as I possibly can,” Schalla said. “Do what I know I can do, which is ride almost all the bulls I get on, stay consistent in the bareback riding, get in the average race and try to come out on top.”

In just a few years in the PRCA, Schalla is already a force to be reckoned with. The 2025 NFR will be the next step in a career that’s only getting started.

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