Bareback Tanner Aus is one of the elder statesmen at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He is 36 and competing at the NFR for the ninth time in his storied career.
(PRCA PHOTO BY HAILEY HURST)
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. – When Tanner Aus was crowned the Minnesota High School Rodeo Association champion, he was just a kid with big dreams.
In the 18 years since, those visions have become his reality. He is one of the most accomplished bareback riders in ProRodeo. At 36, he has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the ninth time in his career.
In rodeo’s most physically demanding event, Aus has proven he can handle the test of time.
“Routine’s pretty important, and the older you get the more you stick to your routine,” said Aus of Granite Falls. “Consistency is everything. You can show up every day and try to talk yourself into the fact that you’re the best there ever was, and that just creates a little bit of tension in your psyche. I don’t do that.
“I just know I’m prepared, and I’ve done this damn near 2,000 times.
A second-generation bareback rider, this has been a natural fit. He was 18 when he won the Minnesota championship, and four years later while at Missouri Valley College, he was the intercollegiate national titlist. The biggest things were yet to come.
In 2015, his sixth year in the highest levels of rodeo, he won the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days title, and that, along with several other key victories, secured his first bid to the NFR, the sport’s grand finale that takes place over 10 days in Las Vegas.
For a decade, he was a fixture in Sin City, with eight qualifications in nine years – the only year he missed out on all the fun and big money Vegas has to offer, he finished the 2018 season 18th on the money list – only the top 15 advance to the sport’s Super Bowl.
In that time, he married Lonissa a decade ago, and they’ve added three children to the mix: daughters Bristol (8) and Ember (4) and son Rowan (6). His family has become a shining light to guide him through the rigors of the rodeo trail, which feature some all-night drives, meals at gas stations and some quick connections.
“The NFR is cowboys’ Black Friday,” he said of the purse, which will feature nearly a nearly $130,000 payout each night in each event from Dec. 3-12 at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus. “We’re blessed to be able to say we’re making a living, because we used to not really be able to do that; if you weren’t in the top 15, you had nothing to show for it by the end of the season.”
Aus last played on the sport’s biggest stage three Decembers ago, but he’s finished among the top 25 in the world standings each of the past two seasons. His business was still profitable without the opportunity to cash in the most at the finale. Last year, he pocketed just shy of $100,000 and finished 23rd; the year before, he made $129,000 and finished 16th – just a few dollars more and he would have been at the NFR.
This season, he heads to the City of Lights 12th in the world standings with $153,428. To show how much money has changed since his first NFR 11 seasons ago, Aus’ 2026 earnings are nearly double what he earned in 2015, when he finished sixth on the money list with $83,756.
“The NFR is the chance to get paid and showcase your talent,” said Aus, who credits some of his success to his sponsors, Unbeetable Feeds, Salty Dog Sister Boutique, Granite Falls Dairy Queen, Platform Marketing, John Galt Mortgage Co., Bakko Industries, Carroll Spur Co., Phoenix Performance Products and Wrangler. “The NFR is the only place to give away a world title. Getting to go with all that on the line means the world to me still. That part never changes.
“That’s the dream. That’s the goal.”
In rodeo, dollars equal championship points: Contestants with the most money earned at the end of the year in each event are crowned world titlists. With go-round winners earning nearly $34,000 per night, Las Vegas is where every contestant wants to be. Though he still has the drive and passion of a 20-year-old, life has added some changes to how he goes about the business of riding 1,200-pound bucking horses.
Since his wedding day in October 2016, rodeo has been Aus’ way of caring for his family. The last time he made the NFR, his youngest child was just a year old. She’ll likely remember this experience a lot more than the last.
“That’s always been a goal of mine, to do it long enough for my kids to remember it,” he said. “I remember my parents nodding their heads and doing the deal, and that speaks to me.”
Rodeo has been a way of life all his life. John and Rae Ann Aus raised their kids around it, and Tanner Aus and his sisters, Dani and Braelee, followed suit. That legacy has guided him to the best regular season of his career, but it didn’t come without challenges.
“I struggled really hard for about half that money,” he said of his 2026 campaign, which concluded Sept. 30. “Then I had a $50,000 July, and that included the best Fourth of July I’ve ever had. It just continued on and on.
“It was just rolling, and that made everything a lot of fun.”
Athletes understand that finding joy in their craft leads to more success. Even as one of the elder statesmen in the game, Aus battles for entertainment as much as that coveted world championship gold buckle. Some of the fun comes in the form of Nick Pelke, Aus’ traveling partner from Mondovi, Wis., who finished the year 19th in the world standings.
“I couldn’t have done this without him this year,” Aus said. “Probably the most important thing is morale; you have to travel with somebody who has a good attitude, stays positive and has a good mind. The way it goes in a rig, if it’s going good for one guy, then he’s probably drawing good. If that’s the case, the other guy might not be drawing so good.
“It’s about evening out the highs and lows, keeping a good attitude and staying focused. Nick does a great job at it. He’s had a couple of great years, and he’s right on the verge of being a national finalist. Having a traveling partner is about splitting the windshield time and all the cost, but it’s also about being around somebody who has a good attitude and somebody who is like-minded.
Of course, this is his business, so every dollar is important.
“Rodeo has changed a lot since I first started,” Aus said. “The right people have their eyes on the sport, and I think it has to do with cowboy culture and the way we approach all things in life. The cowboy code is American to the core, and I think that’s what a lot of people want to invest in.”