Wright Brothers Add Another Historic Chapter to Their Saddle Bronc Legacy

The NFR has officially come to a close and the Wright's made history once again.

Stetson Wright tipping his hat the crowd as he takes a victory lap at the NFR | Nathan Meyer Photography

The NFR has officially come to a close, and the world champions have been crowned. This one was full of twists, turns, heartbreak, and triumphs, including the saddle bronc riding.

It isn't surprising that a Wright brother ended up taking home a gold buckle; however, for the three who qualified to finish as No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 in the world is not something anyone could have predicted, especially since two of them sat well outside the top five heading into the finals.

This was a record-setting year in terms of payouts, making anything possible in terms of who was going to finish where in the world. However, after Ryder finished September as the lone cowboy to amass over $300,000, he was the clear frontrunner, but his little brother Statler gave him a run for his money.

Statler's First Gold Buckle

Nathan Meyer Photography

Statler stepped into the Thomas & Mack for just the second time in his early career, just inside the top 10 and over $112,000 behind his older brother, Ryder. But to say he had an exceptional finals would be the understatement of the year.

The 22-year-old not only had the best finals of anyone in the saddle bronc as he took home the average title, but also nearly everyone competing at the NFR as the reserve Top Gun athlete with over $274,000 earned.

Seven of the 10 times he nodded his head, he took home a check, including three round wins in the third, sixth and seventh rounds.

Stetson's Return to the Thomas & Mack

Nathan Meyer Photography

The now 10x world champion had not stepped into the arena since 2023 when he was forced to the sideline with an injury to his hamstring. He sat out the final seven rounds of the NFR and missed 2024 completely, but when he came back, he was more than ready.

Stetson was in the running for a triple crown as he was on track to take home possibly three world titles in 2025. A questionable missed mark-out call in the sixth round made that impossible, as it took him out of an extensive average check.

Instead, he jumped from the No. 12 spot, which is where he went into the opener, to well inside the top five as he finished the year No. 3 with almost $395,000 won on the year, 60% of which was won during the NFR.

Ryder's Reserve World Championship

Amongst the three boys, Ryder is definitely the veteran as he has already earned three gold buckles in his 10 trips to the NFR, but a no score in the fifth round virtually made his quest for another world title impossible. Even with the misstep, he wasn't going to slip further down into the standings.

Ryder won money on seven of the nine horses that he earned scores on, bringing his Vegas total to $151,600 as he snuck into the bottom hole of the average.

Something like this might not ever happen again in this sport but with a family like the Wright's, never say never.

---