BY BRETT NIERENGARTEN @PRORODEOBRETT
When Tyler Waguespack won his fourth Gold Buckle in 2022, he didn’t think he had any chance to snag the title from his good friend Will Lummus, but he did.
In 2023, which was almost equally improbable, he knew exactly what he had to do upend Dalton Massey - win the round and hope Massey didn’t place.
With a 3.8-second run and Massey breaking the barrier, that’s exactly what happened. As it finished, Waguespack won the World Championship by about $20,000 after entering Round 10 third in the Projected World Standings. He ended the year with $303,576 - the most he’s ever won in a single season in his career.
“Not every day you get a chance to win a Gold Buckle, I had a steer that was going to be hell of a gamble,” he said. “The adrenaline rush that I just had in that arena right there is unmatched. I mean, all of the other ones I won, two of them I just had to throw the steers down, last two of ‘em I had to fight for a little bit, but I had to sit back and watch. That one right there, the ball was in my court and I had to put the gas on it.”
At the NFR, the Louisiana bulldogger placed in six rounds and his final five times were all 4.2 seconds or faster, that included a win in Round 7 in addition to Round 10. All told, he won $156,929 after entering the NFR No. 3 in the PRCA World Standings and about $47,000 behind Massey.
Waguespack has now won three straight Gold Buckles, becoming the first bulldogger to do so since Homer Pettigrew in 1945. He accumulated a total of $862,248 over the last three years. With Waguespack World Titles overall, he matches Luke Branquinho for the second most in PRCA history behind Pettigrew’s six.
“A lot of people like to put pressure on themselves throughout the day, this was the most fun day I’ve had,” Waguespack said. “The entire time, I knew no matter what happens I gotta win first or second in the round to have a chance to win the Gold Buckle. It was fun to let your hair down, that was probably my most memorable NFR run right there.”
