Dean Thompson, who missed a good portion of the 2026 regular season, is off to a hot start in 2027 after winning the bareback riding title at the Waller County Fair and Rodeo. With the win, he also recieved an automatic bid into RodeoHouston next March.
(PHOTO BY PEGGY GANDER)
HEMPSTEAD, Texas – Dean Thompson will likely never forget 2026, but he’s glad the ProRodeo calendar has moved on to next year.
Coming off his third straight qualification to the National Finals Rodeo, Thompson had big expectations for the season that concluded Wednesday. He was building the momentum necessary to return to Las Vegas for the fourth consecutive December, then his world came out from under him.
In April, he was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a rare and fast-growing cancer. Thompson immediately sought treatment, which lasted three months. By the time he was cancer-free, he had already entered his first ProRodeo in Oregon. Within a month, Thompson was winning again.
It’s time to move on, which is just what he’s doing in southeast Texas. During Saturday’s final performance of the Waller County Fair and Rodeo, Thompson rode Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Dunn It for 86.5 points to win the bareback riding championship. With it came a payday worth $1,997, but there was another reward that might just be bigger.
“That was big for my confidence,” said Thompson, the 2024 world champion who also advanced into the field at RodeoHouston next March since the Hempstead rodeo served as a qualifier to one of the highest-paying regular-season events in the PRCA. “I’m excited. I felt like those first couple of jumps, I was a little reserved because I thought there’s a story to this horse.
“When I saw that I’d drawn that horse, the first thing I did was look up the 90-point ride from this summer. What I saw was a horse that was popping, just a rank, freaking awesome horse.”
He watched other videos and noticed something else. On his way to Waller County, Thompson noticed that the horse had moments where it was more of an “eliminator,” the kind of horse that can get a cowboy down in a hurry. He prepared his mind and body for that moment.
“Those first couple of jumps, I was really expecting this horse to go out there and be the eliminator that I’d seen, and she kind of turned out to the right,” he said. “Finally at about six seconds in, I realized she was going to stay right here, and then she started swooping and ducking and mad. It was just a good test for me.”
He’s been tested a lot this year, from chemotherapy to exhaustion to getting back to the game he has craved. He scored 92.5 points in late August to win in Tremonton, Utah, and realized that his body just wasn’t quite ready to handle the riggers of riding bucking horses. He needed to build his muscles and his stamina to handle 1,200 pounds of bucking dynamite on a regular basis.
He’s getting back to his world championship form, and he’s excited to continue to gain strength by the time he rolls into Houston in five months. He finished the 2026 regular season 41st on the money list, and only a handful of the top finishers will earn the bids to compete at Reliant Stadium. Thompson needed to fast-track his opportunity.
“That’s why I’m down here,” he said of the opening event of the 2027 regular season. “You had to be top five in the world or win a Houston qualifier, and you can never count on being top five with these guys that are rodeoing that hard. You have to give yourself every chance. I’m down here to qualify for these winter rodeos and set myself up to make it to Houston.”
RodeoHouston’s top prize of $65,000 per event is plenty of incentive for the sport’s biggest stars to find their way to the Bayou City. In a sport where dollars equal championship points, every penny is valuable.
“If you can win Houston, then you’re well on your way to making the finals,” Thompson said. “It’s a huge head start.”
Waller County Fair and Rodeo
Oct. 2-4
Hempstead, Texas
Bareback riding: 1. Dean Thompson, 86.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Scarlet Dunn It, $1,997; 2. (tie) Kade Berry and Lane McGehee, 84, $1,331 each; 4. Brayze Schill, 82.5, $732; 5. Colt Eck, 81, $466; 6. Toby Deudney, 80.5, $333; 7. Matt McLanahan, 79, $266; 8. (tie) Bodee Lammers and Kash Loyd, 78, $100 each.
Steer wrestling: 1. (tie) Cody Harmon and Cameron Haumea, 3.8 seconds, $2,256 each; 3. (tie) Austin Hurlburt and Tristan Martin, 4.0, $1,692 each; 5. (tie) Emmett Edler, Logan Mullin and Justin Shaffer, 4.2, $1,269 each; 8. (tie) Jacob Daniell, Colin Fox and Rhett Witt, 4.3, $799 each.
Tie-down roping: 1. (tie) Kincade Henry, Lane Livingston and Clint Singleton, 8.0 seconds, $2,693 each; 4. Lane Webb, 8.2, $1,975; 5. (tie) James Collins Jr., Cash Enderli and Shad Mayfield, 8.5, $1,616 each; 8. Shane Hanchey, 8.6, $1,257; 9. Landyn Duncan, 8.7, $1,077; 10. (tie) Jarvis Demery and Austin Hurlburt, 8.9, $359 each.
Breakaway roping: 1. Kirby Rawlinson, 1.8 seconds, $4,719; 2. (tie) Jordi Edens-Mitchell, Rylee A George and Aspen Miller, 2.1, $3,067 each; 5. (tie) Jade Mitchell, Tiffany Schieck and Loni Kay Yates, 2.2, $1,494 each; 8. Hadley Thompson, 2.3, $1,062; 9. Macy Hancock, 2.4, $944; 10. (tie) Bailey Gubert, Taylor Jones and Amy Ohrt, 2.5, $708 each; 13. (tie) Rylie Edens and Samantha Kingsbury, 2.6, $413 each; 15. (tie) Stephanie Braman, Amber Crawford and Rainey Skelton, 2.7, $79 each.
Saddle bronc riding: 1. (tie) Ethan Cart, on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Full Moon, Ira Dickinson, on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Downtown, and Wyatt Lavergne, on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Secret Agent, 84.5 points, $1,711 each; 4. (tie) Carson Bingham and Thayne Elshere, 83, $660 each; 6. Cole Futrell, 82.5, $367; 7. Ryder Sanford, 82, $293; 8. Tucker Bourdet, 81, $220.
Team roping: 1. Colton Clayton/Justin Delagarza, 4.2 seconds, $3,657 each; 2. (tie) Brenten Hall/Jake Clay and Tanner Tomlinson/Wesley Thorp, 4.4, $3,012 each; 4. Treyden Larmon/Tyler Hutchins, 4.9, $2,367; 5. (tie) Wyatt Bray/Sid Sporer and Joshua Torres/Jake South, 5.0, $2,044 each; 7. Denton Parish/Brock Borkman, 5.1, $1,721; 8. (tie) Jeff Kanady/Caden Beatty and Cole Thomas/Boogie Ray, 5.2, $1,398 each; 10. Kody Harrell/Kinney Harrell, 5.3, $861.
Barrel racing: 1. Morgan Addison, 15.25 seconds, $3,516; 2. Emma Parr, 15.33, $2,812; 3. Abby Fields, 15.37, $2,285; 4. Ceily Simpton, 15.40, $1,758; 5. (tie) Gracen Harman and London Lyne, 15.44, $1,230 each; 7. Brittany Fellows, 15.46, $879; 8. Tiany Schuster, 15.48, $791; 9. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 15.50, $703; 10. Kaycee Killingsworth, 15.56, $615; 11. Taylor Baize, 15.58, $527; 12. (tie) Morgann Crawford and Carlee Otero, 15.61, $396 each; 14. (tie) Shelley Morgan and Sherri Reagan, 15.62, $220 each.
Bull riding: 1. Jax Mills, 86 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Big Foot, $3,071; 2. (tie) Sam Southern and Colton Young, 84, $2,086 each; 4. (tie) Kristopher Baker and Jate Frost, 81, $1,002 each; 6. Johny De Souza Ribeiro, 76, $608; no other qualified rides.