Leighton Berry was sidelined much of the 2025 season but returned to action the end of September. As the 2026
ProRodeo campaign kicked off at the Waller County Fair and Rodeo, Berry had proven he was ready for action with the win.
(PHOTO BY PEGGY GANDER)

 

HEMPSTEAD, Texas – Broken bones sometimes lead to broken dreams for competitors.

Bareback rider Leighton Berry didn’t let it affect him much the initial shock of a broken riding hand. He actually took advantage of his time out of the arena. Two weeks after the injury, he and wife Kodi welcomed their son, Ledger, on April 28, 2025.

That wasn’t all.

“I had my hip fixed on June 4,” said Berry, a four-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Weatherford, Texas. “I’d been pushing off hip surgery for the last year. I was supposed to have it done after the NFR in ’24, and I thought God was telling me something different. Sure enough, he has a funny way of showing that you probably should do what you’re going to say.

“When I realized I was going to be out six to eight weeks with my hand injury and already and hadn’t had a great winter (portion of the season), I went ahead and had my hip fixed. Ever since I came out of the waiting room after my surgery, I’ve just been thinking about coming back a stronger bareback rider.”

He returned to action during the last couple weeks of the 2025 regular season, which concluded Sept. 30. He placed in Pasadena, Texas, and shared the victory in Stephenville, Texas, which was the perfect precursor to his 2026 campaign. He just added to it Saturday night with a 90.5-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Secret’s Out for 90.5 points.

“This is pretty much how I pictured starting off my new year,” he said. “I had in my mind that I wanted it to start off with a 90. Back in 2020 before my first NFR, I was 90 points on (Carr’s) Fancy Free at this same rodeo, and it just set up my whole year.

“I had a great horse from Pete Carr Pro Rodeo, one that’s probably going to be seen in the TV pen at this year’s National Finals. I made sure to get down here on time, and it sure paid off.”

It’ll buy a lot of diapers for that 5-month-old baby boy.

“Having a family now really fuels my fire, and I’ve been just thinking about going back to the basics, getting my mental game back where I was craving every bucking horse I got on no matter what rodeo I was at, what (money) as added and what kind of caliber horse is underneath me,” said Berry, who earned $1,951 for winning the Hempstead title. “I just really wanted to focus on going back to being Leighton Berry and enjoy riding bareback horses, because that’s what it’s all about.

“Whenever Ledger got here, and I know a lot people say this, but it really does open your eyes and gives you a whole new perspective. I’ve always thought to be a better person with a lot of drive and passion for what I do, but knowing that I’ve got him to raise, give something to look up to and obviously provide for, It really did just light a whole new fire in me.”

That passion is continuing to build. His bonding time with Kodi and Ledger was amazing, but he’s been craving the chance to spur bucking horses again. He was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, working for The Cowboy Channel and watched his younger brother, Kade, win the title. A few weeks later, Kade was sidelined on his own with an injury, so both second-generation cowboys are eager for action.

“We were supposed to travel together this year, but we’re planning on both being 100 percent healthy by January,” he said. “You’re going to see a lot of the Berry Boys in the same rig in 2026. As humble as we try to be, we sure practice what we preach. We try to work hard and push each other, and nobody wants to win more than me and nobody wants to win more than me. We feed off each other and push ourselves and, at the end of the day, just have fun riding barebacks.”

That’s not all Leighton Berry can do, though. He grew up also roping calves and steers, so he and saddle bronc rider Parker Fleet entered the team roping together. While they didn’t have any luck in that event, they were part of the all-around race.

“Some of these Texas Circuit rodeos have always given need all-around prizes,” Berry said. “They give an AR-15 rifle for the all-around here, so why not go for it.

“I love the way it feels when you win the all-around. To me, it means you’re somewhat the kinf of the rodeo, at least for the moment.”

Waller County Fair and Rodeo
Oct. 2-4
Hempstead, Texas
All-around cowboy: Parker Fleet, $2,267 in saddle bronc riding and team roping.

Bareback riding: 1. Leighton Berry, 90.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Secret’s Out, $1,951; 2. (tie) Matt McLanahan, Andy Gingerich and Bryce Eck, 80.5, $1,106 each; 5. Colton Clemons, 80, $455; 6. (tie) Darien Johnson and Colt Eck, 79, $293 each; 8. Wayne Warneke, 77.5, $195.

Steer wrestling: 1. Joseph Guze, 3.4 seconds, $2,189; 2. Gus Franzen, 3.7, $1,932; 3. Wyatt Fields, 3.9, $1,674; 4. Darcy Kersh, 4.0, $1,417; 5. (tie) Tory Johnson and Bryn Roy, 4.1, $1,223; 7. Dakota Champion, 4.2, $1,030; 8. (tie) Emmett Edler, Tucker Ravenscroft and Tyler Ravenscroft, 4.3, $730 each.

Team roping: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/JC Flake, 3.8 seconds, $4,594; 2. Brayden Fillmore/Cody Lansing, 4.1, $4,054; 3. Cash Duty/Jake Edwards, 4.3, $3,513; 4. Marcus Theriot/Chase Graves, 4.4, $2,973; 5. Peyton Holliday/Gavin Foster, 4.6, $2,432; 6. (tie) Cyle Denison/Lane Mitchell, Chris Francis/Cade Passig, Brenten Hall/Kaden Profili and Tanner Tomlinson/Travis Graves, 4.7, $1,757 each; 10. (tie) Riley Kittle/Cory Petska, Zake Murphy/Tucker Menz and McCray Profili/Boogie Ray, 4.8, $811 each.

Saddle bronc riding: 1. Parker Fleet, 84 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket, $2,267; 2. Colt Gordon, 83.5, $1,738; 3. (tie) Darcy Wockner and Cooper Thatcher, 83, $1,056 each; 5. (tie) Jacobs Crawley and Dylan Young, 82, $453 each; 7. (tie) Rig Smith and Talon Elshere, 81, $265 each.

Tie-down roping: 1. Riley Webb, 6.8 seconds, $3,316; 2. Cutter Carpenter, 7.4, $2,926; 3. Dalton Porch, 8.0, $2,536; 4. Cole Eiguren, 8.6, $2,146; 5. (tie) Bryson Sechrist, Cash Hooper and Kyan Wilhite, 8.7, $1,755 each; 8. Titan Quigg, 8.9, $1,365; 9. (tie) Guy Raasch and Marty Yates, 9.1, $975 each.

Breakaway roping: 1. Jade Mitchell, 1.6 seconds, $3,271; 2. (tie) McKenna Hickson and Hali Williams, 1.7, $2,535; 4. Abby Cox, 1.9, $1,963; 5. Shayla Smith, 2.0, $1,636; 6. (tie) Jacelyn Frost, Jordi Edens Mitchell, Josie Conner and Whitney Profili, 2.1, $797 each; 10. Mattie Hodges, Montana Brown, Hannah Phillips and TiAda Gray, 2.2, $307 each.

Barrel racing: 1. Tiany Schuster, 15.27 seconds, $3,596; 2. Morgan Bagnell, 15.32, $2,877; 3. Cheyenne Wimberley, 15.44, $2,338; 4. Stormie Wisnoski, 15.51, $1,798; 5. (tie) Tara Carr, Jodee Miller and Lanita Peirce, 15.52, $1,139 each; 8. Brooke Krolczyuk, 15.54, $809; 9. Kristin Dunn, 10.55, $719; 10. (tie) Taylor Baize and Dena Kirkpatrick, 15.56, $584 each; 12. Kristi Cole, 15.57, $450; 13. Gracen Harman, 15.59, $360; 14. Jordan Driver, 15.61, $270; 15. (tie) Rainey Skelton and Abbie Crews, 15.65, $90 each.

Bull riding: 1. Bryce Jensen, 85 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Ringo, $2,958; 2. Cooper James, 83, $2,268; 3. Dylan Rice, 77.5, $1,676; no other qualified rides.