Champs Crowned at Rooftop

Young bronc rider rides into money on the final night of Estes Park rodeo

ESTES PARK, Colo. – As the curtain dropped on the 2023 edition of Rooftop Rodeo on Monday, the biggest name in the sport stood above all the rest.

Stetson Wright has been the winningest cowboy in ProRodeo the last four seasons, and he doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. He owns seven world titles: Four all-around, two bull riding and one in saddle bronc riding.

At just 23 years old, he added another couple of jewels to an already-full crown by winning the bull riding and all-around titles in Estes Park. He competed Friday at Rooftop Rodeo and learned about his newest championships while competing in at the Calgary Stampede in Alberta.

He also finished second in saddle bronc riding, just a half point behind his uncle, Stu Wright. In all, Stetson Wright earned just shy of $8,600 in Estes Park. The horse he rode Friday night was out again Monday, and Sage Miller of Laramie, Wyoming, was the fortunate cowboy to draw Cervi Brothers’ Vegas Vacation.

Miller scored 84 points to finish in a tie for fourth place. It was an important step for the Nebraska-born cowboy.

“I didn’t know much about that horse,” said Miller, who had visited with the stock contractor to get some information. “Binion (Cervi) said she’d been really good. Until I got here, I didn’t know Stetson was 87 on her. When I figured that out, I was pretty excited.”

By placing where he did, Miller pocketed $1,667, which is important to the cowboy. He competes in the Mountain States Circuit, which is made up of rodeos and contestants primarily in Colorado and Wyoming. He is 16th on the regional money list and needs every dollar he can get if he is to return to the Mountain States Circuit Finals Rodeo.

Last fall at the regional finale in Loveland, Colorado, Miller finished second in the aggregate and fourth in the final circuit standings. It’s all a building process for the 21-year-old cowboy. He got his start in high school riding broncs, and it just carried over from there. He spent two years competing at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and has studied some of the top bronc riders.

“I remember watching Cort Scheer when I was little and he was riding at the finals,” Miller said of his fellow-Nebraska bronc rider, a seven-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier. “Growing up in Nebraska as a bronc rider, that’s the guy you look up to.”

He’d like to be that guy some day, the one young bronc busters will admire. For now, though, he’ll take all the lessons he can get one bronc at a time. Competing in Estes Park is just a bonus to being a ProRodeo cowboy.

“I think it’s awesome here,” he said. “The crowd’s awesome. The scenery’s awesome. There aren’t too many places where you can be in the middle of the mountains with packed stands. It’s fun.”

---

Results
Rooftop Rodeo
July 5-10

All-around cowboy: Stetson Wright, $8,594, saddle bronc riding and bull riding.

Bareback riding: 1. (tie) Waylon Bourgeois, on The Cervi Brothers’ Bazinga, and Richmond Champion, on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Hitman, 85.5 points, $4,770 each; 3. Jacob Raine, 85, $3,060; 4. Lane McGehee, 83, $1,980; 5. Taylor Broussard, 82.5, $1,260; 6. Donny Proffit, 80, $900; 7. (tie) Kade Berry, Keenan Hayes and Jacob Lees, 79, $420 each.

Steer wrestling: First round: 1. Aaron Vosler, 3.6 seconds, $1,721; 2. Riley Duvall, 3.7, $1,425; 3. Bridger Anderson, 4.1, $1,128; 4. (tie) Rowdy Parrott and Cash Robb, 4.3, $683 each; 6. (tie) Jace Joos and Tristan Martin, 4.5, $148 each. Second round: 1. Brandon Harrison, 3.6 seconds, $1,721; 2. Clayton Hass, 3.7, $1,425; 3. Stephen Culling, 3.9, $1,128; 4. Kyler Dick, 4.2, $831; 5. Dakota Eldridge, 4.5, $534; 6. Walt Arnold, 4.6, $297. Average: 1. (tie) Aaron Vosler and Dakota Eldridge, 9.1 seconds on two head, $2,359 each; 3. Rowdy Parrott, 9.2, $1,692; 4. Bridger Anderson, 9.3, $1,246; 5. Tyler Pearson, 9.9, $801; 6. Kyler Dick, 10.8, $445.

Team roping: First round: 1. Korbin Rice/Jake South, 4.4 seconds, $1,721 each; 2. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 4.5, $1,425; 3. (tie) Cam Jensen/Tanner Whetham and Kreece Thompson/Landen Glenn, 4.7, $979 each; 5. Lightning Aguilera/Jared Fillmore, 4.8, $534; 6. (tie) Pedro Egurrola/JC Flake and Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 5.0, $148 each. Second round: 1. (tie) Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith and Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins II, 4.2 seconds, $1,573 each; 3. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 4.3, $1,128; 4. Payden Emmett/Lucas Falconer, 4.5, $831; 5. (tie) Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson and Kreece Thompson/Landen Glenn, 4.7, $415 each. Average: 1. (tie) Andrew Ward/Buddy Hawkins II and Kreece Thompson/Landen Glenn, 9.4 seconds on two head, $2,359 each; 3. Kellan Johnson/Carson Johnson, 9.7, $1,692; 4. Korbin Rice/Jake South, 9.8, $1,246; 5. Lightning Aguilera/Jared Fillmore, 10.3, $801; 6. Garrett Busby/Jay McClain, 13.6, $445.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Stu Wright, 87.5 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Ricky Bobby, $5,555; 2. Stetson Wright, 87, $4,259; 3. Kade Bruno, 86, $3,148; 4. (tie) Sam Martin and Sage Miller, 84, $1,667 each; 6. Cort Scheer, 83, $926; 7. Lefty Marvel Holman, 82.5, $741; 8. Leon Fountain, 82, $556.

Tie-down roping: First round: 1. Tyler Boxleitner, 9.9 seconds, $1,620; 2. Kincade Henry, 10.1, $1,341; 3. Kyle Dickens, 10.2, $1,061; 4. Colton Farquer, 10.7, $782; 5. Ross McAdow, 12.2, $503; 6. Zaine Mikita, 12.9, $279. Second round: 1. Cason Kingsbury, 8.5 seconds, $1,620; 2. Jeremiah Peek, 10.0, $1,341; 3. Kall Mayfield, 10.6, $1,061; 4. Zaine Mikita, 11.4, $782; 5. Kincade Henry, 11.9, $503; 6. Tyler Boxleitner, 12.1, $279. Average: 1. (tie) Kincade Henry and Tyler Boxleitner, 22.0 seconds on two head, $2,221 each; 3. Zaine Mikita, 24.3, $1,592; 4. Seth Peterson, 25.7, $1,173; 5. David Trahan, 28.8, $754; 6. Kall Mayfield, 29.6, $419.

Barrel racing: 1. Shelley Morgan, 15.84 seconds, $4,217; 2. Steely Steiner, 16.01, $3,373; 3. Hayle Gibson, 16.10, $2,741; 4. Kelly Allen, 16.11, $2,108; 5. Kelly Yates, 16.14, $1,687; 6. Liz Pinkston, 16.15, $1,265; 7. Suzanne Brooks, 16.16, $1,054; 8. (tie) Michelle Darling and Makala Pierce, 16.18, $896 each; 10. Sadie Wolaver, 16.19, $738; 11. (tie) Sydney Graham, Rainey Skelton and Heidi Tillard, 16.21, $527 each; 14. Sophie Nolen, 16.23, $316; 15. (tie) Halyn Lide and Michelle Merrick, 16.24, $105 each.

Bull riding: 1. Stetson Wright, 88 points on Cervi Championship Rodeo’s Theodore, $4,334; 2. Tyler Kippes, 87.5, $3,323; 3. Wyatt Phelps, 83, $2,456; 4. Luke Mast, 82, $1,589; 5. Cooper Davis, 81.5, $1,011; 6. Fulton Rutland, 81, $722; 7. Braden Richardson, 80.5, $578; 8. Cody Johansen, 76.5, $433.

Courtesy of twisTEDrodeo.com