With one final shot remaining, the winner of each event during Wild Card 1 secured a place in the Championship round.
Tuf Cooper won tie-down roping with a time of 8.4 seconds. “All of the competitors here today and tomorrow are just thankful that there’s a Wild Card, and that we still have a chance,” Cooper said. “Now I get to get a little rest, reset and comeback.”
Mason Stuller, a first-time Championship qualifier, secured the bareback riding win with a score of 86.5 on Nite Faded of Pete Carr Rodeo Co. “My traveling partner had been on [Nite Faded] a bunch of times, and I knew it was going to be hard,” Stuller said. “I just had to try my best.”
Lightning Aguilera and Patrick Smith earned the fastest run of the night in team roping with a time of 4.9 seconds. Although they grew up together, Aguilera and Smith have only been roping as a team since this past winter. “It’s been good,” Aguilera said. “I’ve roped with [Smith] on and off in jackpots—we’ve been doing a good job.”
Weston Patterson secured his spot in saddle bronc with a score of 84. “I feel a weight off my shoulders,” Patterson said. “There was a great set of guys and a tough pen of horses.”
Tucker Allen advanced to the Championship in steer wrestling with a time of 5.2 seconds. “Keep it simple,” Allen said. “Don’t think about it and treat it like any other rodeo.”
On RODEOHOUSTON Aggie Night, Haley Kinsel, a former Texas A&M University student, qualified for the Championship in barrel racing abroad her horse “Sister,” a $3 million earner. “This is mine and Sissy’s fifth or sixth Houston final,” Kinsel said. “We’ve been second and third but never got the win. I want to give a big thanks to Houston for allowing us to come back.”
Shayla Hall took the win in breakaway roping with a time of 2.9 seconds. “I’m so excited and so blessed,” Hall said. “I think I’m going to give my horse a little rest. We’ve been driving back and forth a lot and I think I’m going to take tomorrow off.”
Jackson Ward, returning from Semifinals 1, advanced in bull riding with a redemption ride abroad “Pickle” of Cervi Championship Rodeo Co. “I feel really good, much better than last night,” Ward said. “[Pickle] stomped on [my traveling partner], so I wanted to get him back. “
The RODEOHOUSTON Finals begins at 2:45 p.m. Sunday in NRG Stadium.
Contestants advancing to the Finals from Wild Card 1:
Tie-Down Roping:
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- Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas
Bareback Riding:
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- Mason Stuller, Veneta, Oregon
Team Roping:
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- Lightning Aguilera, Athens, Texas: Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas
Saddle Bronc:
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- Weston Patterson, Waverly, Kansas
Steer Wrestling:
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- Tucker Allen, Ventura, California
Barrel Racing:
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- Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas
Breakaway Roping:
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- Shayla Hall, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Bull Riding:
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- Jackson Ward, Goddard, Kansas
Click here for more information on the 2025 athletes.