Rodeo Recap: May 20 - 26

Unique Challenges Highlight Professional Rodeo’s Latest Week of Competition

Author

Sydney Butler
May 28, 2024

We’re on the brink of a professional rodeo contestant’s summer run!

Summer runs are characterized by hitting as many rodeos as one can each week, sometimes traveling 10, 15, 20 hours to and from each. It’s grueling, and on the eve of the summer rodeo run, this week’s professional rodeos offered their own challenges.

Oklahoma’s Will Rogers Stampede took place amidst the height of tornado season and an Xtreme Bulls competition took place in the Northernmost location of any Xtreme Bulls: Palmer, Alaska.

Thankfully, contestants and personnel are safe and hopefully getting some much-needed rest after a busy Memorial Day Weekend. For those who took to the road, big payouts made the travels well worth the try.

This Week: Great Country Music!

Will Rogers Stampede Crowns Oklahoman’s Champions Despite Cancelled Third Round

The 78th annual Will Rogers Stampede will be one for the books. For what may be the first time in the rodeo’s long history in the Claremore, Oklahoma community, the third and final performance was cancelled when EF-2 and EF-3 tornadoes hit the city on Saturday night, causing extensive damage to some portions of town.

Fun Fact

The Will Rogers Stampede is a 6x PRCA Small Rodeo of the Year!

Luckily, the rodeo grounds remain intact, and no contestants, rodeo personnel or livestock were injured. However, to help the town recover and rebuild, the Will Rogers Stampede directors decided to call off the Memorial Day weekend performance.

Regardless, more than 4,500 fans who attended the rodeo were treated to two days of top-notch rodeo action, of which many Oklahoma natives were crowned champions.

All-Around - Jake Clay in Team Roping and Steer Roping

Jake Clay is an Oklahoma cowboy and this past weekend roped and won the All-Around in front of an Oklahoma crowd.

Clay qualified for his first NFR last year in the Team Roping and finished the year 14th in the world as a Header and 6th in the All-Around.

At this year’s Will Rogers Stampede in Claremore, OK, Clay won the Team Roping - more on that later. After three rounds of competition that took place before the rest of the PRCA rodeo events, Clay finished fifth in the Steer Roping, earning roughly $2,000 in the event and clinching the All-Around title.

Clay is currently 3rd in the 2024 All-Around World Standings!

Team Roping - Jake Clay/Tanner Braden – 3.9 seconds

Both Jake Clay and heeler Tanner Braden call Oklahoma home, making a win in front of a close-to-home audience that much sweeter.

For the past few years, Braden has roped with Paul Davis Tierney, son of Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame cowboy and World Champion, Paul Tierney.

This year, Braden has teamed up with Clay, and the two made a stellar run in Claremore, winning the rodeo’s two nights of competition in 3.9 seconds and a check for $2,500 each.

Clay is currently 12th in the 2024 Team Roping Header World Standings, Braden 14th in the Heeler World Standings!

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Barrel Racing - Leslie Smalygo – 17.16 seconds

Oklahoma cowgirl Leslie Smalygo and her gelding “Gus,” have been on fire this year.

Out of the 25 rodeos they’ve entered this year, the two have won a solid number of them, and the Will Rogers Stampede was no different.

Smalygo and Gus raced in slack, so although an Oklahoma crowd didn’t get to cheer on the Oklahoma duo, the two won the rodeo with a 17.16 second run, good for a $2,800 check.

Smalygo is unofficially 2nd in the 2024 Barrel Racing World Standings!

Breakaway - Taylor Munsell – 1.8 seconds

Oklahoma’s Taylor Munsell has qualified for all National Finals Breakway competitions but one since the inception of the event in 2020.

She’s appeared consecutively since 2021 and is well on her way to adding a fourth this year.

Breakaway roping is notoriously fast, however this weekend at the Will Rogers Stampede, Munsell put forth an impressive 1.8 second run to win the rodeo, another win for an Oklahoma contestant.

Munsell is unofficially 3rd in the 2024 Breakaway World Standings!

Colorado Stampede

Saddle Bronc - Coleman Shallbetter and Brody Wells – tie with 87 points, both on Kirsten Vold Rodeo Company’s, Risky Mistress

Coleman Shallbetter is a 19-year-old Colorado cowboy in his second year of PRCA membership and only a few minor wins to his name.

Brody Wells hails from neighboring Wyoming, and although only 23 years old himself, has finished inside the top 35 and has multiple major wins under his belt including a Mountain States Circuit Championship.

This weekend, the rookie Shallbetter proved he has a bright future in rodeo, tying Wells on the exact same mount, Kirsten Vold’s Risky Mistress for 87 points.

Wells is 15th in the 2024 Saddle Bronc World Standings, Shallbetter is currently unranked!

Barrel Racing - Fallon Taylor – 15.77 seconds

Perhaps now best known for her eye-catching fashion style and successful clothing brand, Ranch Dress’n, let us not forget Fallon Taylor is also a World Champion Barrel Racer.

This weekend in Grand Junction, Taylor and her infamous equine mount, “Babyflo,” reminded us what they’re made of with a flaming-like-Fallon’s-helmets-fast run of 15.77 seconds.

Bull Riding - Josh Frost – 89 points on Kirsten Vold Rodeo Company’s, Eyes Wide Open

4x NFR qualifier and 2021 NFR Bull Riding Average Champion, Josh Frost is hungry for a World Title.

Frost finished second in the World last year, nearly $200,000 behind 2023’s World Champion, Ky Hamilton who dominated the 2023 NFR.

Frost started strong this season with a Championship win at the Wilderness Circuit Finals, multiple Xtreme Bulls wins and now, another rodeo win in Colorado.

Frost solidified his place in the top five bull riders in the latest standings after an impressive 89-point ride atop Kirsten Vold’s Eyes Wide Open.

Frost is currently 5th in the 2024 Bull Riding World Standings!

Northern Most Xtreme Bull Riding in America Awards Big Money to Contestants Who Make The Trip

Now in its second year, the Northern Most Xtreme Bull Riding in America takes place in Palmer, Alaska.

The Xtreme Bulls contest is so far North, it’s classified as a Maple Leaf Circuit event, Canada’s designated circuit rather than a circuit of the lower 48. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Anchorage, Alaska to Palmer, however for a Bull Rider on the edge of the summer run, that’s still quite the trip. If a contestant was willing to fly to the Northern Most Xtreme Bulls event, almost $26,000 in total payout money awaited, offering the potential for a sizeable check that would more than pay for the airfare, gas money and entry fees to compete. 

Oklahoma’s Wacey Schalla is tough. He’s currently ranked inside the top 40 in both Bareback Riding and Bull Riding. He’s 18 years old, so his body is built for not only the physical endurance both events require, but also long journeys to Alaska and back with the energy and stamina to get on another bull the next day.

So far in 2024, he’s won the All-Around at major rodeos including the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo and the Southeastern Circuit Finals, not to mention wins in both Bareback and Bull Riding at other large rodeos. It’s no wonder Schalla turned up in Palmer and won on Big Stone Rodeo Inc’s, Watermelon Sugar with an 84.5-point ride.

Schalla is currently 22nd in the 2024 Bull Riding World Standings!

Check back next week for all the highlights on your favorite contestants as they work their way down the 2024 rodeo road! And be sure to share this with friends and family who love rodeo!

- Richard S.

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