RodeoHouston marks an inflection point in many athletes’ seasons, which rang true for Ryder Wright. Wright took home the $65,000 prize as the Saddle Bronc Riding Champion and increased his earnings to over $130,000, the most of any athlete.
Now, for Wright, the regular season earnings record is in sight. He is about $150,000 short of Damian Brennan’s record from a year ago.
Here is a look at the top 15 after the highest-paying rodeo of the season.
No. 1 Ryder Wright, $132,651
Wright earned over half of his money at RodeoHouston where he was crowned champion after a ride-off with Kolby Wanchuk. Wright was 87.5 points in the ride-off to get the win. It was his third ride of 85 points or more at RodeoHouston.
Wright has had several other nice paydays, including a third-place finish in San Antonio and a second-place finish at the National Western.
No. 2 Kade Bruno, $77,807
Kade Bruno got off to a great start, earning over $70,000 entering RodeoHouston. Unfortunately, Houston did not go as planned for Bruno, but his early season still has him at No. 2 in the Saddle Bronc World Standings.
Bruno won the Brad Gjermundson Xtreme Broncs for over $30,000 to start the year. He followed that up with a win at the Frot Worth Stock Show and Rodeo thanks to a 92-point ride in the Finals. Those two wins alone had Bruno over $55,000.
Most recently, Bruno placed second at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo in South Carolina, where he was 87 points to earn over $4,300.
No. 3 Dawson Hay, $71,603
Hay has had a similar start to the season as Bruno. He entered RodeoHouston with over $60,000 earned on the year, but was unable to cash in big.
Hay has only been to four rodeos this year, which shows how dominant he has been. To start the year he has had 13 of his 18 rides go for 85 points or more. Hay placed first in the average at the Brad Gjermundson Xtreme Broncs and second in the Finals to earn over $30,000 at the rodeo.
In Fort Worth, he made the Finals, but failed to earn a paycheck. Prior to the Finals, he made over $6,000.
Hay was crowned champion at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo thanks to a 90-point ride in the Finals. In San Antonio, he was 85.5 points or better on all five rides.
No. 4 Statler Wright, $63,246
The second member of the Wright family in the top 5 is Statler Wright, who is coming off a breakout season in 2024. Wright is already up to $63,000 earned this year, thanks to his biggest win at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, where he placed second with a 91.5-point ride in the Finals. In total, Statler made over $16,000 in Fort Worth.
No. 5 Weston Patterson, $61,610
Patterson ended last year, No. 40 with $43,000 earned on the season. Through the Texas Swing, he has already passed that mark from a year ago. Patterson had a fourth-place finish at RodeoHouston over the weekend after going 84 points in the Shootout. The finish added $10,000 to his earnings in Houston, bringing his total to $23,000 in Houston alone.
No. 6 Sage Newman, $56,312
Newman had a rough RodeoHouston, failing to advance out of his Super Series, but he did earn $2,000 in the third round to ensure he didn’t leave empty-handed. Newman has a few nice-sized wins, the most recent coming at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo in Ohio, where he placed first for over $5,000.
No. 7 Kolby Wanchuk, $48,206
Wanchuk made a big jump in the standings at RodeoHouston after finishing second and winning over $35,000 in total. Wanchuk and Ryder Wright competed in a ride-off for the title after the two tied in the Shootout round.
No. 8 Chase Brooks, $45,815
Like Wanchuk, Brooks didn’t have much to show for the start of his season, but a nice payday in Houston changed all of that. He placed third at RodeoHouston and made over $23,000 in total.
No. 9 Zach Dallas, $44,280
Dallas made $6,000 at RodeoHouston and made it all the way to Championship Sunday, where he failed to earn a big payday. His biggest payday came at the National Western, where he earned over $10,000 and was first in the Final Round.
No. 10 Ryder Sanford, $39,675
Sanford’s most recent paydays came at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo, where he placed fifth, and the Arcadia All-Florida Championship Rodeo, where he was third. The two wins earned him over $3,000.
No. 11 Brody Cress, $38,690
Cress earned a nice payday at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show & Rodeo, where he took home the win after an 87.5-point ride. The win added over $4,300 to his season’s earnings and bumped him to No. 11 in the World Standings.
No. 12 Wyatt Casper, $29,330
Casoer has had three paydays over $2,000 in the last three weeks. The first came in Arcadia, Florida, where he placed third to earn $2,277. He then went to South Carolina for the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo and took first with an 88-point ride. That win added another $5,600 to his earnings. His most recent check came at Rodeo Austin, where he earned over $3,500.
No. 13 Ben Andersen, $29,239
Andersen made a move inside the top 15 after a solid start to RodeoHouston. In his Super Series, he took home $5,500. He would advance to Championship Sunday, but had a disappointing showing, earning $5,500 and not making the shootout.
No. 14 Brody Wells, $28,962
Wells earned $3,000 at RodeoHouston after winning his Super Series opening round with an 85-point ride.
No. 15 Damian Brennan, $27,992
A year ago, Brennan set the regular-season earnings record with over $280,000 earned. At this point in the 2024 season, he was already at $116,000 earned. This year has been a much slower start but he did have a strong showing in Houston. He ade the Finals and earned over $8,000 to creep inside the top 15.
