Wacey Schalla Sets PRCA Record While Battling For World Championship

A 19-year-old cowboy smashes record during 2025 NFR.

Wacey Schalla | Nathan Meyer Photography

Wacey Schalla, the young talent from Oklahoma, is already on his second trip to the National Finals Rodeo. The 19-year-old qualified in the bull riding in 2024 and returned this year in both the bull riding and bareback riding.

After adding several checks to his total PRCA earnings at the 2025 NFR, Schalla just became the youngest cowboy ever to cross $1 million in PRCA earnings, and he didn't just break the record, he smashed it.

The record was previously held by tie-down roper, Rilley Webb, who claimed the record at the 2024 NFR. Webb was 21 years old when he took the record from Stetson Wright. Wright took the record over from Tuf Cooper, who claimed it from the "King of the Cowboys," Ty Murray. Clearly, Schalla is in elite company.

An All-Around Cowboy Talent

Wacey Schalla | PRCA File Photo by mallory Beinborn

Perhaps the most impressive part of Schalla's career is that he is already in contention for an all-around title in just his second year at the NFR. He and Stetson Wright came into the finals neck and neck in the all-around standings, but Schalla has climbed to the top of the average in the bareback, which gives him a big edge against the 8x World Champion.

Through Round 6 of the 2025 NFR, Schalla has placed in every round of the bareback riding and two rounds of the bull riding. He has already won almost $190,000 at the 2025 NFR, and he's well on his way to huge checks in the average as well.

According to Schalla, he didn't start getting serious about bareback riding until he started his college rodeo career. Schalla competes for Clarendon College under rodeo coach, Bret Franks. Franks was a major part of kickstarting Schalla's career as a bareback rider, Schalla said.

Very few cowboys attempt both bareback riding and bull riding at the professional level, and even fewer are competitive in both. In fact, only two competitors at the 2025 NFR are competing in multiple events. What's more impressive is Schalla's events are widely considered to be the most physically demanding in rodeo. Despite that. Schalla is six horses and six bulls into the finals and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Schalla’s competitiveness in both roughstock events at the finals has kept him in the all-around conversation and added to a record-breaking week. As the NFR winds down, this year's chapter is coming to a close, but this is far from the last trip Schalla will make to Vegas.

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