Tucker Allen returns to his second straight National Finals Rodeo as the No. 5 man in the steer wrestling world standings. The California cowboy will battle for the most cherished prize in rodeo, the world champion’s gold buckle, during 10 days in Las Vegas.
(PRCA PHOTO BY HAILEY RAE)

 

VENTURA, Calif. – The boundary between confident and cocky can be razor thin, but it’s a necessary balancing act for athletes to become champions.

It’s a line Tucker Allen walks, but he’s humble enough to give credit elsewhere. It’s part of the territory he rides as a ProRodeo steer wrestler. He concluded the 2025 regular season with $150,867 and will compete at his second straight National Finals Rodeo as the No. 5 man in the world standings.

“I just expect to win when I show up,” said Allen, 26, of Ventura. “I’m not saying you’re going to win every time, but you’ve proven to yourself that you can, and you know the work that it takes to be able to put yourself in those winning situations.”

He’s had some help along the way, namely Justin Shaffer, also a two-time NFR qualifier and one of Allen’s traveling partners. Shaffer owns a few excellent horses, and those equine partners were a big part of why three cowboys will be back at ProRodeo’s grand championship, set for Dec. 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“Horsepower is the reason, along with the work we put in all year,” said Allen, who will be joined not only by Shaffer but also another member of their posse, Jesse Brown, a six-time qualifier. “I pretty much rode Justin’s horses all year.”

The big name is Banker, the 2025 PRCA/AQHA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year, but there was also MGH, a gray horse that helped Allen to the biggest win of his career: the 2025 RodeoHouston victory, valued at $72,000. Almost half his season earnings came in the fourth largest city in the United States.

“The horses Justin has and having him haze for me was big,” said Allen, who credits part of his success to his sponsors, Resistol, Cinch, Best Ever Pads, Roan & Co. and Cedar Gap Wealth Management. “The whole crew – him, Jesse, Holden Myers and Jace Melvin – we’re all good together. It was a cool thing when we showed up, because I can’t tell you one spot that we showed up that one of us didn’t win a check.

“When you’re around those guys, it’s hard not to do good.”

All but Myers have qualified for the NFR, but he’s a third-generation bulldogger whose father, Rope, and grandfather, Butch, earned world championships. Both Myers and Melvin were among the top 25. In total, the five cowboys pocketed nearly $650,000 during the regular season; Allen, Shaffer and Brown are among the top five on the money list heading to Sin City.

“Going last year pretty much helped me take the shock out of competing at the NFR,” said Allen, who earned $92,000 over 10 nights last December and finished 11th in the standings. “Every guy has first-year jitters. It wasn’t a bad finals, but I expect more out of myself this year. I’m more comfortable in that situation. It’s not as mentally taxing because you know what to expect and how to prepare for each day.

“There’s a lot that happens at the NFR. You have autograph signings and other obligations. It’s not that I don’t like doing it, but it’s actually more taxing than actually competing. Running a steer is easy.”

It’s comfortable. It’s where he can zone in and use a lifetime of lessons provided to him by some of the greatest steer wrestlers in rodeo history: Luke Branquinho and John W. Jones, both world champions with California roots. Fundamentals were a big part of those clinics, which comes in rather handy for Allen, listed at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds. Technique and horsepower make all the difference.

“When Luke taught me how to bulldog, I was 140 pounds, and he never had any kid steers,” Allen said with a laugh. “All of his steers were cattle he kept over from the previous year’s NFR, and they were big and strong. That’s what I had to learn on. There would be times where I’d hook up out of the chute, and I would slide them all the way to the end of the arena.”

Having experts on his side was like having Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali in the corner. He also had another great trainer at the house

“The guy who raised me, Ted Robinson, is really the reason I’m here,” Allen said. “He showed reined cow horse, and he’s the winningest man in the NRCHA (National Reined Cow Horse Association). I’ve lived with him since I was 13. He and my mom married when I was 13 or 14, and I’ve lived with him up to now. With him, you’re around a winner. He’s mindset wise.

“Between him and Luke, they got me in that winning frame of mine, and living with Ted was just incredible. You can’t help but be a winner when you live with and surround yourself with guys like that. I pretty much owe everything to Teddy, Johnny and Luke, especially Teddy.”

Allen’s dad, Mike, runs a thoroughbred ranch in Kentucky, and his mom, Marjie, trains horses in California. While she and Robinson are no longer together, Allen’s relationship with all three remains strong. All that equine in his bloodline has proven to be beneficial. He was riding horses at a young age, then got away from it for a few years. When Robinson entered his life, he was back in the saddle.

He’s been riding ever since, and much of this year, he was in the saddle on Banker.

“We’ve known that he was that caliber,” he said of the horse-of-the-year moniker. “It’s pretty cool to have a stamp on it and for everyone else to think he’s that good. This whole time, we’ve known he’s that good. It’s cool to see what Justin’s done with him, and Banker has a brother named Teller. Justin’s pieced them together and made both those horses. I had no part of it, but I got to see it happen.

“It’s pretty amazing to see what it takes to make that good of a horse. I’m pretty lucky to be close to Justin and his family to be in the picture and even luckier to be able to ride that horse.”

He will ride into Las Vegas with confidence and the comfort of knowing he’s got rodeo’s best horse and two traveling partners in the building with him. Shaffer will be the hazer for both Allen and Brown, riding alongside to keep the steer running straight. Allen will jump on the hazing horse when it’s Shaffer’s turn to compete.

It’s what has worked all year, so there’s no need to change the formula now. The jackpot Allen earned at RodeoHouston provided him a bit of breathing room for the season. He kept chugging along and has a chance to cash in over 10 nights in the City of Lights, where go-rounds will pay nearly $37,000.

“For the past two years, Houston has been my ticket to ever get to Vegas,” he said. “It’s just a rodeo that’s always been good to me. I’m pretty damn thankful that I was even able to win that rodeo.”

Allen’s athleticism shined. He played many sports growing up, from football to baseball and even wrestling. He learned how to use his body to catch and throw, and what it means to utilize leverage. Riding dirt bikes provided other lessons that he’s capitalizing on now, because wrestling steers isn’t for the faint of heart.

“I come from a physically tough family,” Allen said. “We’re not afraid of contact, so the physicality of bulldogging was never an issue. Riding dirt bikes and just wrecking all the time taught me how to fall, so when I missed a steer, I was never afraid of hitting the ground or wrecking out. I think that body awareness has really helped me.”

Allen is aware of his surroundings and his place in the race for a gold buckle. There are tens of thousands of dollars to be won over a week and a half of competition in Las Vegas, and he’s got his sights set on joining Branquinho and Jones and California world champions.