Top NFR Stars Cash In With Major Wins at Tucson Rodeo

The Tucson Rodeo in Tucson, Ariz., just wrapped up with fast times and big winners. With a $220,000 purse, Tucson is one of the largest winter rodeos outside of the Texas Swing.

The rodeo is set up in a more traditional format, where tie-down contestants get two head of livestock, while the steer wrestlers and team ropers have one long round and then compete in the short round. The rough stock and the barrel race have one long round and then move on to the short round.

Bareback Riding

In the bareback riding, Evan Betony and Toby Deudney split the win in the first round with a pair of 85.5-point rides. 2022 World Champion bareback rider, Jess Pope, finished just behind them with 84.5 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Sucking Wind.

The World Champ went on to dominate in the finals with an 89.5-point ride aboard Andrews Rodeo's Rylee's Raisin' Cain to seal the round win and take the Tucson Rodeo title.

Pope’s year has been off to a strong start, with major checks from the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. He currently sits at No. 19 in the world standings.

Steer Wrestling

In the big man’s event of steer wrestling, Eli Lord and Harley Cole set the pace in the first round with times of 4.4 seconds. Lord was fresh off a round win in San Antonio and has been holding to a steady pace so far this year.

After finishing fourth in Round 1, Stetson Jorgenson came back swinging in the finals with a 4.2-second run to seal the finals and average win. Jorgenson, a 6x NFR qualifier, left Tucson $10,000 richer for his efforts.

Team Roping

Brye Crites and Ross Ashford split the finals win in the team roping with Tee McLeod and Trey Yates, but they ran away with the average win with a time of 9.9 seconds on two steers. Both Crites and Ashford have qualified for the NFR, but neither has done so since 2022. This win in Tucson may be just what the pair needs to get an NFR-bound season rolling.

Saddle Bronc Riding

Mitchell Story celebrating his ride. — Mitchell Story | Fernando Sam-Sin

The Colorado native, 21-year-old Mitchell Story, took the Round 1 win in the saddle bronc riding with an 88.5-point ride on Beutler & Son Rodeo's Blood Bond.

Story, who won more than $40,000 last year on a PRCA permit, set the record at the Greeley Stampede last summer with a 92-point ride on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Green Bay.

In the finals, 4x NFR qualifier, Kade Bruno, spurred Beutler & Son Rodeo's Hammerstone for 87 points and the finals win. However, Logan Hay and Tanner Butner split the average victory, with 171.5 points on two horses.

Tie-Down Roping

Shane Hanchey tying a calf. — Tie-down roper Shane Hanchey | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The tie-down roping is the only three-header event at the Tucson Rodeo, and NFR regular, Shane Hanchey, placed in two out of three rounds to land at the top of the average. After barely missing a check in Round 1, Hanchey split sixth place in Round 2, then went on to win the final round with a 10.1-second run.

The 2016 World Champion tie-down roper looks to be making a comeback after not being on the rodeo trail full-time for several years. The last time he made the trip to the National Finals Rodeo was in 2020 when the NFR was held in Texas.

Be on the lookout for Hanchey as he continues to win on the trail and move up the World Standings.

Barrel Racing

Emily Beisel also had a dominant showing as she claimed the average win in the barrel racing. Beisel finished second in Round 1 with a 17.26-second run, just one hundredth of a second off the round winner, Austyn Tobey.

Beisel then crushed in the finals, beating out the next fastest time by more than two tenths of a second.

Bull Riding

Dawson Branton, who rides for the PBR’s Texas Rattlers, hadn’t made as many waves in the PRCA. In Tucson, though, he swept both rounds and the average victory with a combined 173.5 points on two bulls. Branton was one of only three cowboys to cover both bulls.