Ryder Wright Leads Top Rookie Class
by ProRodeo.com | Oct 03, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright came into the PRCA with high expectations considering the storied history of his family in the sport.
The Milford, Utah, cowboy didn’t disappoint.
Wright earned $69,960 to capture the PRCA/Resistol Saddle Bronc Riding Rookie of the Year award. He also finished 13th in the WEATHER GUARD® PRCA World Standings to qualify for his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER.
“This is awesome,” said Wright, who turned 18 on March 12. “It has been a long, stressful year, especially trying to get to the NFR. When we started the year, we weren’t sure if I was going to get my card this year. After I filled my permit, we thought I had a good shot at Rookie of the Year, so I took off after that.”
Ryder bought his PRCA card March 28.
“Winning Rookie of the Year was something I’ve been working at all year,” Wright said. “I still don’t think it has hit me yet that I qualified for the NFR. That’s a childhood dream, especially to rodeo with my dad (Cody) and brother (Rusty) and uncles.”
Wright’s Rookie of the Year title adds to the family legacy. His uncles, Jesse Wright (2009) and Spencer Wright (2012), brother Rusty Wright (2014) and brother-in-law CoBurn Bradshaw (2015) all have won Rookie of the Year honors as saddle bronc riders.
Other 2016 PRCA/Resistol Rookie of the Year winners are all-around cowboy Taylor Santos of Creston, Calif., bareback rider Clayton Biglow of Clements, Calif., steer wrestler Stephen Culling of Fort St. John, British, Columbia, team roping header Dustin Egusquiza of Mariana, Fla., team roping heeler Dalton Pearce of San Luis Obispo, Calif., tie-down roper Westyn Hughes of Caldwell, Texas, and steer roper Matthew Garrett of Barnsdall, Okla.
The bull riding rookie of the year winner will be determined after the WNFR Dec. 1-10 in Las Vegas because Roscoe Jarboe of New Plymouth, Idaho, and Garrett Tribble of Bristow, Okla., both punched their tickets to Vegas by finishing sixth and 12th in the final regular season standings, respectively.
Courtesy of PRCA