Wacey Schalla Looking To Take Advantage of Unfortunate Injury to Stetson Wright

The all-around race cook tighten up in the next couple weeks with Wright sidelined.

Wacey Schalla rides during in the Tuff Hedeman Tour bull riding competition in El Paso, Texas at the El Paso County Coliseum on Feb. 4, 2023. Tuff Hedeman0159 | Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

This year is one of the toughest all-around races that the PRCA has seen in a very, very long time. Stetson Wright hasn't had much competition in the gold buckle race for the all-around when he has been healthy, until this year.

Now, Wright has been forced to the side after taking a foot to the gut from a bronc horse at the Playoff Finale in Puyallup, Washington. He broke several ribs and punctured a lung, which will sideline him for an extended amount of time and the regular season clock is winding down.

Now, the injury to the world champion is incredibly unfortunate but the entire rodeo community has breathed a sigh of relief that he will be okay. Injuries happen in any professional sport and this one comes with only three weeks left on the year before NFR qualifiers announced.

Wright was not only unable to finish competing at Puyallup, but missed the Xtreme Bulls finale in Pendleton, Oregon, two huge opportunities to gain more distance on Schalla. Schalla could make the most of this situation, which in the end is going to come down to him focusing on himself and doing the job at hand.

Wacey Schalla this Year

The 19-year-old is coming off of his first qualification to the NFR and has kept the momentum rolling since then. He has won over $330,000 on the year and finds himself almost exactly $60k behind Wright in the all-around race.

Now Schalla competes in the bareback riding where he now finds himself as the No.11 cowboy in the world after a reserve finish at the Playoff Finale where he won over $12,000.

The bareback riding, where he has won a near $124,000 this year, isn't his best event. The bull riding world title could come down to a duel between Wright and Schalla as well as the pair have swapped between No.1 and No.2 for a good chunk of the year.

Right now, the Utah native has the edge over Schalla, but only by around 10k after the Oklahoma cowboy took home around $15,000 between Puyallup, the Xtreme Bulls Finale, and Lewiston, Idaho.

If both of these cowboys find their way to the NFR in both of their events, it will be an incredible showdown. Right now, the two are safely inside the top 15 ready to battle it out inside the Thomas and Mack.

There is no telling if Wright will return in the regular season, as he will prioritize being healthy in Las Vegas. If Schalla utilizes this time, the two could be near even in earnings as the year comes to a close.