Everything You Missed From Night One of the 2025 NFR

The National Finals Rodeo has finally kicked off and it did not disappoint.

Stetson Wright | PRCA

It always feels like Christmas came early whenever the NFR comes back to the Cowboy Channel, as it is truly the Super Bowl of the western industry. It is 10 nights of action, and this year, fans are seeing record-setting payouts which means no world leader is safe.

The opener has been highly anticipated, and it is safe to say that round one was anything but disappointing.

Highlights of All Seven Events

Bareback Riding- The rough stock riders set the bar high for the opening night of action which started with the lead off man Tilden Hooper who went 85, which by the end wouldn't even win a check.

It wasn't even halfway through the round by the time Cooper Cooke posted an 88.50 point ride in his second trip to the NFR and after only placing in just two rounds last year he took home the win in round one.

Steer Wrestling- The first timed event of the evening was in the bull dogging, and the steers were trying hard tonight as all of them were motoring to the back end. It wasn't the quickest round that will be seen, but Tyler Waguespack came as close to a three-second run as he could have been to take the win when it felt like most were running 3/4 of the way down the arena.

Honorable mention to Dakota Eldridge tonight for getting a steer down, as he is battling a clear issue in his foot. He was seen in a supportive walking boot in the grand entry and will have to push through obvious pain to stay in this average race.

That average battle has already become interesting with two cowboys possibly removing themselves from the race with no times, as both Bridger Anderson and the No.1 cowboy Will Lummus hit the dirt.

Team Roping- The lone partnership in rodeo didn't start off as strong as the first two events as there was a plethora of no times and there was only five qualified times going into the final few of the night. By the end of the performance it was the first cowboys out who took the win as Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili were one of three to crack the five-second barrier.

Stetson Wright | Nathan Meyer Photography

Saddle Bronc Riding-It was refreshing to see Stetson Wright embrace his time back on the big stage as he spurred a beautiful gray horse to a 90-point ride, an NFR Round 1 record, as the second man to nod his head. Weston Patterson followed suit right after Wright, as he went 88.5 at his first NFR.

By the time five guys had ridden, an 87.50 was going to be no better than third, which solidified early on that this was one of the best events of the night to watch. Once the final man was scored, it was Wright who took the win with a tie for 87 in the last hole, as no bronc rider scored under 80.

Tie-Down Roping- NFR rookie Tom Crouse broke into the sevens to kick off his debut and take the early lead, but it was quickly taken. Even though Joel Harris came in as the No.10 cowboy, he was one of the last to go, and he stole the lead from Crouse, but he couldn't hold onto the lead as the seven-second barrier was quickly broken by none other than Shad Mayfield.

This was the most emotion that has been seen on Mayfield's face in this building, but a near perfect 6.8 second run to kick off his finals the excitement was more than warranted.

Barrel Racing- It wasn't Jarvis that Kassie Mowry was on, but it didn't matter as her and Will set the pace with a smoking 13.66 which nobody would move despite Hailey Kinsel coming close. Kinsel and Sister could have maybe put a piece of paper between them and first, but couldn't have been any closer without tipping.

There were three hit barrels in the top six alone which could end up heavily impacting the world title race. By the end of the first round the hit barrels tallied up almost guaranteeing that an average check will be won with at least one down.

Bull Riding- This is the lone rough stock event that it isn't often many are able to cover, but night one started off with three of the first four staying on their bulls. However, it turned quickly as the animals were soon taking advantage of the cowboys with consecutive quick buck-offs, but PRCA rookie Hudson Bolton got things back on track.

Bolton had positive momentum back for these athletes, and TJ Gray followed his 85-point ride with an 87 of his own on a nice spinning black bull right in front of the chutes, which would end up being second place behind none other than Stetson Wright, who was .25 shy of 90.

The gold buckle is still a long way off, but some have now taken a big step towards the finish line, while others could be more aggressive at round wins after virtually taking themselves out of the average. Regardless of the event, it is going to be a dog fight until the very end.

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