World Standings No. 1 Bull Rider, Wacey Schalla Out With Injury for at Least 10 Days

Over the course of the 2025 campaign to the National Finals Rodeo(NFR), one bull rider has consistently cashed checks at nearly every rodeo he attends. His name is Wacey Schalla.

Wacey Schalla | Click Thompson/For PRCA

Over the course of the 2025 campaign to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), one bull rider has consistently cashed checks at nearly every rodeo he attends. His name is Wacey Schalla. In 2024, fans saw him win iconic rodeos, battle for his chance to be named Resistol Rookie of the Year, and leave the yellow bucking chutes on the biggest stage rodeo knows.

Not only has this young cowboy earned $125,940.74, which puts him at the top of the leaderboard in the world standings, but he’s also sitting number two in the all-around race, less than $15,000 behind eight-time world champion Stetson Wright. 

After winning Rodeo Austin Schalla told Hayley Novack in an interview with The Cowboy Channel, “Stetson’s been my idol for so many years. To be able to ride against guys like that in places like this is amazing.”

This young bull rider is winning against some of rodeo's most iconic names, but he's also paving his way in professional rodeo and becoming a household name himself. 

Every athlete goes through trials, injuries, and setbacks to achieve their goals, especially when goals involve a gold buckle. 

Schalla isn’t without his injuries; many surfaced during the last several weeks.

In the final round of RODEOHOUSTON, Schalla got knocked out but came back to win Rodeo Austin just days later with three straight 90+ point rides to prove he’s got the grit of a true cowboy. 

At the D&H Cattle Company’s Extreme Bulls and Sale in Ardmore, Okla., March 30-31, 2025, Schalla not only earned $17,061 to add to season earnings, but in the journey to do so, an injury occurred that would leave him with no choice but to take a 10-day doctor release in the bull riding and a 30-day doctor release in bareback riding. After the bull riding ended, Schalla was hospitalized, and it was determined he separated his AC joint in his riding shoulder. 

While this setback seems significant to the public eye, Schalla feels confident he’ll be back in the chutes for the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding April 25-26. 

With his eyes set on Las Vegas come December, Schalla has made it evident that while his finals in 2024 didn’t turn out the way many expected, he’s doing everything in his power to make it back to the Thomas and Mack and leave with something he’s working for every day: a gold buckle to symbolize that he’s one of the best.