3 things to watch at the NFR: New all-around champion will be crowned

The National Finals Rodeo returns to the Thomas & Mack Center with 10 days of competition beginning Thursday and ending Dec. 14.

Champions will be crowned in seven events — bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, barrel racing and bull riding — plus an all-around winner.

There are plenty of interesting storylines to watch during rodeo’s grandest stage. Here are three of them:

1. New world champ

A new all-around champion will be crowned for the first time since 2018.

Stetson Wright has won the past five all-around world titles, but he will not compete at the NFR after missing most of the season with an injury.

Tie-down roper Shad Mayfield sits atop the standing with $224,412.77 in earnings and has held the top spot since June. He’s ahead of team roping heeler Junior Nogueira ($190,401.08) by more than $34,000. Team roping header Coleman Proctor is third with $185,703.12.

Mayfield has two all-around wins this year and won 13 tie-down roping events entering his fifth NFR. He won the 2020 tie-down roping title. The 24-year-old from Clovis, New Mexico, has also competed in team roping and steer roping events this year.

Nogueira won the 2016 all-around title and team roping titles in 2021 and 2022.

In the tie-down roping standings, Mayfield leads Haven Meged by more than $65,000. Meged, Ty Harris (third) and 2023 tie-down roping champion Riley Webb (fourth) are separated by less than $5,000. Webb won $172,446 at last year’s NFR.

2. Tight bull riding fight

Picking a favorite to win the bull riding title would be nearly an impossible task with how tight the standings are.

The top six bull riders are separated by $38,709.88 in earnings.

T.J. Gray ($244,843.59) holds a lead of more than $8,800 over second-place Hayes Weight. Gray is making his first NFR appearance after finishing 22nd in the standings last year and has won 10 events this year.

Jace Trosclair, Josh Frost, Clayton Sellars and Jeter Lawrence are right behind Gray and could win the bull riding title with a strong run in Las Vegas.

All six are seeking their first bull riding title. Last year’s bull riding world champion, Ky Hamilton, missed almost the entire year after he suffered a shoulder injury in January.

3. Hayes eyes second title

Keenan Hayes is looking to win his second straight bareback riding title, but he will have to outduel another young rodeo superstar for the crown.

Hayes is in a tight battle with Rocker Steiner at the top of the standings. Steiner has $233,318.94 in earnings and leads Hayes by more than $14,000.

Steiner, 20, is having a breakout year. He’s won 19 events this year going into his third NFR. Steiner’s father, Sid, and grandfather, Bobby, have won world titles.

Last year, Hayes won the title at age 20 in his first NFR appearance. He secured the title on the final night with his only go-round win in the 10-day event. He has 13 wins this year.

Hayes is more than $46,000 ahead of third-place Leighton Berry. Hayes earned $168,154 at the NFR last year and added an extra $78,747 by winning the average, so the rest of the competition chasing Steiner and Hayes can’t be counted out.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.