Veteran Steer Wrestler Uses Shortcoming Last Season as Launch Point for 2026 Success

Mike McGinn was one spot away from making his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in 2025, a shortcoming that motivated him to new heights this season.

Mike McGinn continues to put together an impressive 2026, sitting third in the PRCA Steer Wrestling World Standings. | Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

Standing on the outside looking in. It’s a vantage point Mike McGinn has seen during his ProRodeo career. 

It’s a place he refuses to be relegated to any longer.  

The Haines, Ore., steer wrestler continues to rebound from a disappointing finish in 2025 with a personally historic run to the midway point of the 2026 season. McGinn has already accumulated more than $73,000 in earnings heading into Cowboy Christmas, putting him third in the PRCA World Standings. 

How he got here is largely based on how he finished last September. McGinn put together his best season since turning pro a decade ago, clearing $100,000 in earnings for the first time during a single season. Still, it wasn’t enough – his 16th-place finish left him one spot away from reaching the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time. 

“It sucked. It pretty well sucked,” McGinn joked when reflecting on the moment. “It didn’t take very long until I got back in the practice pen and wanted to come out and make good runs. That’s the thing with rodeo, there’s so many ups and downs. You’ve got to just keep your head down and keep running them.”

It’s that combination of unwavering tenacity, fueled by a bit of frustration, that has lifted McGinn from flirting with the cutline to gold buckle contender. 

Mike McGinn makes a steer wrestling run at the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo earlier this season. | Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

The single biggest boost came in March at RodeoHouston. McGinn had competed at the event previously, even earning round money on occasion, but never advanced beyond his Super Series set. The closest he’s ever come to reaching the short round is serving as a hazer for other cowboys. That changed this spring. 

“Last year, I didn’t make it and I was pretty sour, so I just sat around there for another two weeks hazing for guys,” McGinn said with a laugh. “It was pretty good to actually be running some steers in the short round and semifinals.”

Over the course of the event, McGinn was steady, finishing second in his Super Series Five group before tying for second in the semifinals. His run of 4.4 seconds in the shootout took second, giving him an instant infusion of more than $36,000 in combined earnings from the competition. 

Momentum from that outcome has carried over into the spring and early summer schedule. He won the average at the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo in late April before picking up more than $5,000 between two rodeos back in Oregon in mid-June. In Reno last week, McGinn took fourth in the average, leaving town with more than $7,800. 

It’s all added up to put McGinn in somewhat unfamiliar territory. Prior to his NFR miss last fall, McGinn had finished six straight seasons inside the top 50, but only once had he cracked the top 20. 

Now, he’s behind just Tyler Waguespack and Holden Myers in the latest PRCA World Standings, putting him on the fast track to competing at the Thomas and Mack Arena this December. 

McGinn allows himself to think about the potential destination but acknowledges there is a long way to go between now and the conclusion of the regular season. What happens between now and then has yet to be determined, but if McGinn has any say in the matter, he won’t be thinking about narrow misses and what might have been this winter. 

“Making the NFR has been a goal for a long long time. It’s always in your head, but it really doesn’t change anything (for the rest of the season),” McGinn said. “There’s so much money left and the way rodeo is growing and going, there’s so many opportunities and it’s anybody’s ball game.”