Saddle Bronc Horses to Watch at This Year's NFR

The NFR stock roster is stacked with four-legged athletes ready to rock at the Thomas & Mack

Statler Wright | Nathan Meyer Photography

With less than 50 days until Round 1 of the National Finals Rodeo, rodeo’s top athletes are gearing up to take on Vegas. The battle for the top 15 in the saddle bronc riding this year was hard fought, with the standings shifting up to the last day of the regular season. 

The 2025 NFR Stock Roster is out, and everyone is waiting to see how the heavy hitters will match up with the top cowboys. 

Here are some of the horses to watch this year at the 2025 NFR.

Saddle Bronc Stock on the Way to Vegas

Virgil | Alicia Erickson

The 2025 Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year and legend of the bucking horse world, Virgil, make, will make yet another trip to the NFR this year. Virgil’s consistent power and explosiveness makes the big grey horse every cowboy’s dream. His average stock score of 44.75 produced several 90-point rides, including Zeke Thurston, who spurred him for 92.5 points at the Calgary Stampede. 

Pete Carr Pro Rodeo, a regular in Vegas, will send seven horses in the saddle bronc this year, including Larry Culpepper, who finished second in the Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year standings. The roan freight train carried nine-time NFR Qualifier, Brody Wells, to a 91-point ride at the Lea County PRCA Rodeo in Lovington, New Mexico. 

The 2022 Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year, THE Black Tie of Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics is no stranger to rodeo’s biggest stage. The Sankey bucker took home two round wins at the 2024 NFR, including an 89.5-point ride from Brody Wells, who tied that night with Ryder Wright aboard Kirsten Vold Rodeo Co.’s Captain Hook — another standout heading to Vegas this December.

Cowboys won money on Vold’s electric bay, Captain Hook, in both the saddle bronc and bareback riding this year. Zeke Thurston was 92.5 on Captain Hook to win Castle Rock, Colorado. Then, a few weeks later, Tucker Carricato won second in the bareback riding on him with an 87-point ride in Pueblo, Colorado. 

Captain Hook was voted Rankest in the TV Pen at last year’s NFR, and Vold said she’s looking forward to what the horse has in store for 2025 — the last year Captain Hook will go to the NFR under Vold’s name, as she will retire from rodeo after this year’s finals.

The race to Vegas may be over, but the real showdown is about to begin. All of the four-legged athletes on the roster have earned their spot, and it won’t be long until we watch them light up the Thomas & Mack.

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