The 2021 ProRodeo season officially ended on Saturday after 10 days of rodeo action in the Thomas & Mack Center.
BAREBACK RIDING CHAMPION: Kaycee Feild
Kaycee Feild had an incredible run at the 2021 NFR where he won his record sixth Bareback World Title. Kaycee went 10 for 10 at the and placed second in the average behind Jess Pope. Feild was 872.5 on 10 head. Feild got things going in the early stages of the NFR, winning rounds 3 through 5 and taking a lead in the World Standings. Feild’s top ride of the rodeo came in Round 5 where he went 91 points for the round win. In total, Feild won $231,563.85 at the rodeo and on the season he earned $357,419.52. Jess Pope, the Average winner, finished second in the world.
STEER WRESTLING CHAMPION: Tyler Waguespack
Tyler Waguespack leaves Las Vegas a three-time World Champion after winning over $213,000 at the NFR. Waguespack placed second in the average with an impressive 48.10 time on ten head. Will Lummus is the 2021 Average champion and finished in second place in the World Title race. Waguespack’s fastest time of the rodeo came in Round 7 when he went 3.3 seconds for the round win. In total, Waguespack earned $289,790.88.
TEAM ROPING CHAMPIONS: Kaleb Driggers (Header) Junior Nogueira (Heeler)
The duo of Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira collected their first Team Roping World Title after earning $143,896.27 each during the 2021 NFR. That brought Driggers’ season total to $263,226 and Nogueira ended the year at $277,611. The pair had their best showing in Round 4 when they went 4.1 seconds for the round win.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING CHAMPION: Stetson Wright
It looked all week like the World Championship was going to go Ryder Wright or Brody Cress, but it was a different Wright brother who ended up on top. Stetson Wright solidified himself as the No. 1 bronc rider in the world on Saturday with a 93-point ride aboard Vitalix Ricky Bobby. Wright only rode eight, but made three 90-point rides and placed in the Top 2 six times over 10 rounds. Wright finished with $343,524 and edged brother Ryder by just over $1,000.
TIE-DOWN ROPING CHAMPION: Caleb Smidt
Caleb Smidt has now built one of the best resumes of any active tie-down roper. With his World Championship and Average title in 2021, he has now won both three times since 2015. Smidt placed in eight of 10 rounds, winning one of them. Smidt had seven times of 8.2 seconds or faster. Smidt earned $318,456, beating Haven Meged by more than $20,000.
BARREL RACING CHAMPION: Jordon Briggs
Jordon Briggs was the World Champion, Average champion and only cowgirl to not hit a barrel at the 2021 NFR. Briggs won two Go-Rounds and placed in seven others. Briggs set an NFR record with an aggregate time of 136.1 seconds on 10 and won the Average by more than eight seconds. Briggs and her mother, Kristie Peterson, are the first mother-daughter duo to win WPRA World Championships. This was her first NFR since 2009.
BULL RIDING CHAMPION: Sage Kimzey
After not winning the Gold Buckle for the first time in his professional career in 2020, Kimzey came back with a vengeance to win No. 7 in 2021. He was 6-for-10 at the 2021 NFR to finish third in the Average and placed in every round he made the whistle. Kimzey won a whopping $411,465 for the season and $146,727 at the NFR. Josh Frost, the NFR Average winner, was the next closest bull rider $363,353 on the year.
