NFR Qualifiers Top Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo

The Turquoise Circuit Finals concluded November 7, crowning both average and year-end champions and adding to the field of contestants slated for the 2027 NFR Open in Colorado Springs.

Bareback Riding

Matthew Tuni entered Cave Creek looking to defend his 2025 average title. He started the weekend off placing second in the first round, followed by a round win for Round 2. In Round 3, Tuni split second place, bringing his average to 224 points, which earned him the TCF average title.

Tuni will be joined at the NFR Open by the year-end champion Evan Betony.

Steer Wrestling

Consistency was key for Kyler Dick at his first Turquoise Circuit Finals. Two fourth-place finishes in rounds one and two led to first in the average with 16.5 seconds on three head.

Cimarron Thompson won the year-end title and will join Dick at the NFR Open.

Tie-Down Roping

Pecos Tatum's third circuit finals proved to be another phenomenal performance from the young tie-down roper. First-place finishes in the first and third rounds ultimately led to his third Turquoise Circuit Finals average title with 28.1 seconds on three head.

Quinton Ellis secured his spot to the NFR Open alongside Tatum after winning the year-end title.

Breakaway Roping

Macy Young was one of the two cowgirls to catch all three of her calves over the weekend. She placed third in every round, with her fastest time of the weekend being a 2.4. She took home the average title with a time of 7.8 seconds, besting the rest of the field by almost a second and a half.

Danielle Lowman will be headed to another NFR Open with Young.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Leon Fountain may have missed the last two circuit finals due to injury, but he looked right at home at the Cave Creek Memorial Arena. Fountain won the average with 244.5 points across three rounds, secured the year-end title, placed second in Round 1, and won Round 2.

As the Reserve Champion, Zach Dallas will join Fountain at the NFR Open.

Team Roping

In the team roping, Seth Hall and Pace Blanchard roped all three of their steers in 17.2 seconds to win the average and secure their spot at the 2027 NFR Open. The team placed fourth in Round 1 and tied for third in Round 2 to secure their average win.

Along with Hall and Blanchard, Ky Redstrom and Reece Wadhams will rope at the NFR Open.

Barrel Racing

Jana Bean and her equine partner, Flashin Bills aka "Wick", made some stellar runs in Cave Creek, winning the first round with a 15.91, the fastest time of the rodeo. The duo also won Round 2 and placed third in Round 3, bringing their average time to 48.19 seconds, which secured Bean's average title.

Bean will be joined by Katelyn Scott at the NFR Open.

Bull Riding

After getting off to a slow start, Caelan Reynolds made the most of the rest of his circuit finals. Reynolds won Round 2 with 82 points and was the only cowboy to cover his bull in Round 3, springing him to the top of the average with 161 points on two head.

Cade Griego secured the year-end title and will compete alongside Reynolds at the NFR Open.

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