Eight Cinch cowboys are among the saddle bronc riding qualifiers to this year’s National Finals Rodeo, led by four-time world champion Zeke Thurston, who won the third round of the 2024 NFR on Powder River Rodeo’s Miss Valley.
(PRCA PHOTO BY ROSEANNA SALES)

 

Four-time world champion one of eight Cinch bronc riders ready for NFR

Zeke Thurston has set a high standard among professional saddle bronc riders.

The Big Valley, Alberta, cowboy has won four world championships and six Canadian Professional Rodeo Association titles. He’s claimed the National Finals Rodeo average title three times (2016, 2022-23) and has been to ProRodeo’s grand finale 11 straight years.

Las Vegas is his playground, but it’s also the best place to do business. Thurston is the elder statesman in a group of the very best bronc busters in this exclusive field. Oh, and he’s just 31.

More than half the 15 cowboys competing in Las Vegas partner with Cinch, and Thurston is not only older than all, but his credentials speak for themselves. He’s a four-time Calgary Stampede titlist and has been among the top five in the world standings in seven of his previous 10 seasons. He’ll arrive in Las Vegas fourth on the money list with $244,268.

On the other end of the experience spectrum is 24-year-old Weston Patterson of Waverly, Kansas, a small community in the Flint Hills best known as the home of world champion bareback rider Jess Pope. This is Patterson’s first NFR bid. He launched himself to Sin City with a winning third season in ProRodeo worth nearly $174,000; a year ago, he finished 40th with $44,000.

Damian Brennan leads the Cinch contingent as the No. 2 man in the standings with $278,153. He will have just returned from his home in Injune, Queensland, Australia, where he was married recently. Brennan, a four-time NFR qualifier, carries a heavy dose of momentum with him. He had significant wins over the season that catapulted him into a race for the top spot.

While Thurston may be the most celebrated Canadian in the field, Dawson Hay of Wildwood, Alberta, isn’t far behind. This is his sixth trip to Las Vegas, but he still has a way to go before he catches his father, Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Rod Hay, who earned 20 NFR qualifications. Dawson Hay is third in the world standings, less than $10,000 behind Brennan.

Ben Andersen of Eckville is the third Cinch cowboy from Alberta; he is 14th on the money list with $150,000. This marks the fourth time in his career that Andersen has played on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, having qualified in 2021 and repeating each of the past two years.

Kade Bruno sits fifth on the money list, thanks to the $215,000 he pocketed during the rodeo season. Bruno, 25, of Challis, Idaho, had a big win to kick off the season in Fort Worth, Texas, then just held steady for the next seven months.

A couple of Wyoming bronc busters round out the field of Cinch cowboys. Brody Wells, 24, of Powell, gained his first NFR bid a year ago and found some success, and that momentum rolled into the 2025 campaign. He is the No. 6 man in the standings, just $360 behind Bruno. His biggest victory came in August, when he cleared more than $37,000 by winning both rounds and the aggregate at the Xtreme Broncs Finals.

Brody Cress is only second behind Thurston when it comes to credentials, with nine NFR qualifications and three average championships (2017, ’19 and ’21). Cress is 29 years old and originally from Hillsdale, Wyoming, just outside Cheyenne. He’s been a fixture at the NFR and heads back to Las Vegas 10th with $180,000.