Shad Mayfield Roars Back With Big Week at NFR Open and Rodeo Salinas

Shad Mayfield is back from double hip surgery, with $30,000 week.

Shad Mayfield | Nathan Meyer Photography

The past eight months of Shad Mayfield's life looked a lot different than the past eight years of his professional rodeo career.

With nearly $2 million in career earnings, two gold buckles, and seven National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifications to his name, Mayfield has made a big splash in his young career.

Unexpected Turbulence

Shad Mayfield | Nathan Meyer Photography

Though you would never guess from his impressive resume, Mayfield has struggled significantly for the past few years with hip issues. Following the 2025 NFR, the cowboy who grew up in Clovis, N.M., determined it was time to fully address the root cause.

Mayfield underwent FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement) and macro-fracture surgery with Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tenn., on December 18. At that time, Dr. Byrd only operated on Mayfield's left hip.

For athletes like Mayfield, the repeated stress of competition causes damage to internal structures. The surgical procedure involves shaving areas of bone within the joint to create more room for soft tissue.

Mayfield's Return

After eight grueling months and recovering from the brutal surgery on both hips, Mayfield returned to the arena in June 2026.

He started back strong, banking over $8,000 in Reno, his first professional event since the surgery.

Then he hit a bit of a dry spell. Those happen in rodeo, even when an athlete is feeling their best. Unfortunately, Mayfield strained a muscle in one of his first runs back and had to battle that for the next few weeks.

He decided to turn out of the Canadian rodeos to give the minor injury a rest.

Mayfield did not admit defeat. He placed at St. Paul, Ore., and Eugene, Ore., over Cowboy Christmas, but he knew placing would not be enough to get him back into the top 15.

Rodeo Salinas was where everything began to change. After finishing third in Round 1 and winning the Finals, Mayfield topped the Average and banked $13,576.

During the same week, at the NFR Open, he placed third in Round 1, won Round 2, finished second in the Finals, and banked another $14,500.

When Mayfield returned to the arena in June, he only had $3,649 in season earnings from last fall prior to his surgery.

Now No. 33 in the World, with $44,199 won, Mayfield has his sights set on climbing the ladder. With some of the most lucrative rodeos of the entire season coming up in the next two months, he is only $30,000 outside of the top 15.

Heck, he won that much within a single week between Salinas and the NFR Open.

With his team of A-string mares and his confidence soaring, Mayfield is ready to take on the rest of the season.

And the best part? His Salinas win was particularly sentimental. Like his Calgary Stampede win in 2025, the win came exactly 40 years after his father, Sylvester, won his own title in Salinas.

The hot streak continues, as Mayfield currently leads the way in Deadwood, S.D., at the Days of '76.