Mayfield Announces Planned Return to Competition After Hip Surgeries

Following two major surgeries within four months, professional tie-down roper Shad Mayfield remains focused on returning to competition by mid-summer. The two-time World Champion has battled hip issues for the past few seasons and, in 2025, made the difficult decision to address them fully.

Mayfield's Reign and Comeback

Shad Mayfeild getting off his horse at the NFR. — Shad Mayfield at the 2025 NFR | Nathan Meyer Photography

Despite battling pain and limitations in recent seasons, Mayfield had continued to excel in professional rodeo. A seven-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier with nearly $2 million in lifetime earnings, the 25-year-old earned his first World Championship in 2020, in tie-down roping. In 2024, he claimed his second gold buckle, the All-Around Cowboy title.

In 2025, he was putting together one of the best NFR trips of his career, until his calf got up prematurely in Round 5, knocking him out of the average midway through the rodeo. He finished the year as the Reserve World Champion Tie-Down Roper, with $388,931 in season earnings, banking $132,621 at the NFR.

Shortly after the 2025 NFR, Mayfield underwent FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement) and macro-fracture surgery on his left hip. On March 26, one of the best surgical teams in the world operated on his right hip.

Mayfield's surgeon, Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tenn., is a team physician for the Tennessee Titans and has served as a physician for the U.S. Olympic Team. Dr. Byrd is a pioneer in his field and has extensive experience with athletes and hip issues.

Opting to maximize the results of his downtime, Mayfield chose to have surgery on both hips early in the 2026 season and focus on the crucial rehab periods. Although the surgery on his left hip was extensive, the Clovis, N.M., native did not want to write off the entire season.

He shared recently with PRORODEO:

"The plan is to be back at Calgary. That's what we're working on. I go to PT (physical therapy) five days a week. I have one of the best physical therapists out there. The only time I take off is weekends. We alternate hips. I work on one hip one day and the other hip the next day. If I stay in PT and stay true to all that and just stay healthy, then I told him, let's plan on me being back at Calgary. That's the goal. I feel like if I can get back at Calgary and have success there and then roll on, I have a big chance of making the NFR."

The 2026 Calgary Stampede is July 3-12, and as the 2025 victor, it feels only right that it would be the choice location for Mayfield's big comeback.