Stetson Wright returns, wins bull riding and all-around at Boot Barn Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo
Not only is Stetson Wright back in action, but he seems to be in top form.
The Beaver, Utah, cowboy certainly left his mark on the Boot Barn Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo that took place Nov. 7-8, at the Wasatch Event Center in Heber City, Utah. Wright won the bull riding and also picked up a paycheck in the saddle bronc riding in the first round, easily winning the all-around with $11,699.
“It means the world to me. I couldn’t have spit if someone had asked me to. I was so nervous to get on,” Wright told Wilderness Circuit Finals’ Morgan Perkins.
The Heber City rodeo left a sour taste in Wright’s mouth the last time he competed in the arena. He suffered an injury that kept him out the entire 2024 season. But after his performance, that is well behind him.
“The last time I was in this arena it put me out 14 months so there were a lot of nerves coming into it but after a bronc ride then a 90-point bull ride it’s safe to say this is my favorite rodeo again,” he said.
Wright, who returned from injury he suffered in early September in Puyallup, Wash., is a five-time PRCA All-Around world champion and has eight gold buckles to his name overall. He will head to Las Vegas next month for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo atop the PRCA I Bill Fick Ford World Standings in the all-around. He is ahead of fellow rough stock rider Wacey Schalla by $32,684.91, setting up a battle between cowboys competing in two roughstock events for the first time since 2001.
The 26-year-old Utah cowboy, who has eight total world titles to his name, was stepped on by a saddle bronc horse after being bucked off at the Puyallup Rodeo. He suffered three broken ribs, a collapsed lung and some other injuries to his midsection.
Wright returned for the two-day Boot Barn Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo and immediately made his presence known. In the first round on Nov. 7, he won the bull riding with a 90-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Big Shasta. Earlier in the evening, Wright was second in the saddle bronc riding with an 84.5-point ride on Legacy Pro Rodeo’s Pinto Pass, a point-and-a-half behind his brother Ryder Wright.
In the second around on Nov. 8, Wright covered Western Rodeo’s Jiggy for 86 points to win the round in bull riding. In the third round that evening, he didn’t make it to the buzzer on Legacy Pro Rodeo’s Les’s Train Stat. In fact, no one made the eight-second ride in the third round. Wright’s 176 points on two head gave him the average win as no one else made two qualified rides.
In the saddle bronc riding, Wright had an 81-point ride on Powder River Rodeo’s Miss Marvelous, placing him sixth and out of the money in the second round. He did score in the third round and finished ninth in the average.
“Any time you get a round win it boosts your confidence,” Wright said. “Staying on does that, too, but I had that nice bull Joggy of Westerns. I think it’s like my fifth time on him now. I rode him four times and he bucked me off once. It’s always good to get the whistle.”
Wright heads to Las Vegas next month in second place in the PRCA I Bill Fick Ford World Standings in bull riding, trailing Schalla by $2,421.45. In the saddle bronc riding standings, Wright is 12th.
Other winners from the Boot Barn Wilderness Circuit Finals included bareback rider Cooper Cooke (260.5 points on three head); steer wrestler Stetson Jorgensen (14.1 seconds on three head); team ropers Travis Whitlow/Tyler Whitlow (19.9 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright (256.5 points on three head); tie-down roper Chase Webster (32.6 seconds on three head); and barrel racer Caitlyn White (46.78 seconds on three rides).
