Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings Proves Battle of Brothers

Everyone in the rodeo world knows and understands just how important RodeoHouston is to the world standings. Almost every single event sees significant changes starting at the top and going down after the tallies are in from Houston.

The saddle bronc riding certainly saw big changes, but the names are still very familiar.

Battle of the Brothers

Statler Wright | Nathan Meyer Photography

The saddle bronc riding for the 2026 season is going to be an interesting story yet again. For several years now the last name of Wright has been included in almost every conversation regarding the event. That’s not going to change.

The 2025 year ended with a historic battle of the Wrights. It came down to the last ride at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo where the younger brother bested the more veteran.

At just 22 years old, Statler Wright earned his first World Championship after earning a staggering $455,940 in the season. This was just his second NFR qualification and he made the best of it. He didn’t just leave as the champion, but he also won the average title.

Literally just behind him with $455,594 in winnings (a difference of a mere $346) was brother Ryder Wright. The 28-year-old had much more experience under his belt with 10 NFR qualifications and three world titles.

The list didn’t stop there. “Superman” as he is known in the rodeo world, Stetson Wright, earned the third place position in the final standings with $394,457.

Fast-forward now to the 2026 season and what do we see? Well, the fourth brother, Rusty, is making a serious comeback and it looks Iike the battle will be apparent all year long.

2026 Shaping Up the Wright Way

Rusty Wright celebrating his win. | FWSSR photo by James Phifer

Houston was a huge shot in the arm for 10-time World Champion Stetson. In the final round, Stetson was matched up with Womanizer of the Cervi Championship Rodeo, and the duo danced to the tune of 89 points for the win and a check worth $65,000.

All total, Stetson earned $71,250 in just the saddle bronc at Houston. Over the course of the winter, the Utah man has deposited $134,118 into his saddle bronc account.

Interestingly enough, that is just about $20,000 short of what it took to make the 2025 NFR in the saddle bronc. With the summer run ahead, Stetson now has a near lock on making another Las Vegas appearance.

It has been a great winter so far for the champion, as he also picked up the win at San Antonio with a 90-point ride worth $16,512 on R Watson’s Prairie Fire, also owned by Cervi Championship Rodeo.

Just behind Stetson in the 2026 standings is now Rusty Wright. The oldest of the Wright brother crew, 30-year-old Rusty is having an incredible start to his season. The reports show $125,154 so far in the standings and it has been consistent, not just a few big wins.

Going all the way back to the first part of October, Rusty has chipped away, winning checks on 31 of the 41 horses he has attempted.

His biggest win this year so far has been at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, where he tackled Dandy Delight for 91 points and the championship with $16,000.

The two brothers sit more than $40,000 ahead of third-place Kade Bruno, who has a very respectable $84,708 won so far this year.

Ryder can be found at the number 12 spot in the rankings with $41,983, but don’t be fooled. There is plenty of time and loads of money to be won this year before the cutoff for the 2026 NFR occurs.

World Champion Statler is sitting just outside the top 15 at number 16 with $34,108.

Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings

Rank	Rider	Winnings
1	Stetson Wright	$134,118
2	Rusty Wright	$125,154
3	Kade Bruno	$84,708
4	Wyatt Casper	$66,617
5	Chase Brooks	$53,130
6	Damian Brennan	$49,207
7	Shorty Garrett	$45,772
8	Gus Gaillard	$45,451
9	Sage Newman	$44,849
10	Ryder Sanford	$44,407
11	Brody Wells	$43,964
12	Ryder Wright	$41,983
13	Zeke Thurston	$37,112
14	Kolby Wanchuk	$36,798
15	Kole Ashbacher	$34,940