About: Ted

Cinch tie-down roper Shane Hanchey snuck into the field of 15 to make his 16th straight appearance at the National Finals Rodeo. He is the 2013 world champion and a two-time NFR average titlist. (PRCA PHOTO BY HAILEY RAE)   Cinch tie-down roper secures 16th straight trip to grand finale Shane Hanchey utilizes a simple approach to his job. As one of the elite tie-down ropers in professional rodeo, the Cinch cowboy has thrived in the spotlight over the years. The 2013 world champion, Hanchey will make his 16th straight appearance at the National Finals Rodeo, set for Dec. 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. “I literally treat each year as my first one and try to make the finals each year,” said Hanchey, 36, of Sulphur, Louisiana. “This year was a little more difficult than years past. “I’ve only been on the bubble (to make the NFR) a handful of times, thankfully. I’ve always told myself it’s a lot funner watching the bubble than participating in it.” With only 15 spots open for the NFR, Hanchey snuck into the final position with $127,000 earned through the regular season. The $4,000 he earned on the final weekend at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shot him into the finale by just $1,600 over the No. 16 man, Texan Quade Hiatt. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to make it, because it would’ve been foreign to me had I not made it,” he said, noting that he would still be in Nevada next week because he is the tie-down roping director for the PRCA. “I think this one is more rewarding; 16 in a row is a major accomplishment, but I try not to think about it. “When people ask about it, it’s hard not to go back all those years. There were a lot of all-night drives and a lot of sleepless nights getting to the next rodeo to make the NFR 16 years in a row.” Of the field, 11 calf ropers are part of the Cinch team, including two-time reigning world champion Riley Webb of Denton, Texas; Kincade Henry of Mt. Pleasant, Texas; John Douch of Huntsville, Texas; Riley Pruitt of Gering, Nebraska; Marty Yates of Stephenville, Texas; Brushton Minton of Witter Springs, California; Joel Harris and Ty Harris of San Angelo, Texas; Zach Jongbloed of Iowa, Louisiana; and 2019 titlist Haven Meged of Miles City, Montana. “Cinch is the only way to go,” said Hanchey, the 2009 Tie-Down Roping Rookie of the Year. “That company’s backed me since my rookie year, and I haven’t looked back. That company is all about values and all about the top competitors. “Now, we’ve got all these young up-and-comers that are wearing Cinch on their sleeves just goes to show what kind of company we represent. They look out for the right guys. It’s sort of like Derek Jeter being with the Yankees his whole playing career; I plan on being with Cinch my whole career, too.” This field of tie-down ropers features four world champions: Hanchey, Meged, Webb and New Mexican Shad Mayfield, who has one in tie-down roping and one in the all-around. The foursome accounts for six Montana Silversmiths gold buckles, and the Cinch men own three-fourths of them. They’ll battle for the top prize in 2025 over the 10-day championship, which features a purse of $13.5 million with go-round winners securing nearly $37,000 per night. When Hanchey won the world title in 2013, he also won the NFR aggregate title, which paid just shy of $48,000. This year’s average winner will walk away with a bonus of $94,036, almost double. It’s a big-time opportunity for Sin City cash, but it’s also where champions will be crowned the final Saturday night. In rodeo, money not only covers expenses that come with the job, but also dollars equal championship points. The contestants in each event with the most money won during the campaign will win rodeo’s gold. Webb leads the charge, just as he did the past two seasons. He’s earned more than $305,000 through the regular season, which concluded Sept. 30. He owns a lead of nearly $50,000 over the field. “I’m looking forward to just letting loose,” said Hanchey, who lives near Carmine, Texas, with his wife, Taylor (a two-time NFR qualifier in barrel racing and a two-time qualifier to the National Finals Breakaway Roping), and their 18-month-old son, Stran; the couple is expecting a little girl in June. “I’ve had the mindset of preparing, working out and practicing, but I have nothing to lose going in 15th. “I wouldn’t even say I have a long shot to win the world title. I don’t think it’s possible for the 14 guys besides Riley Webb, because he’s on a different planet right now. There’s so much money to be won that I want to let loose and win some of those $37,000 rounds, have some fun and show them that I’ve still got it.”

Bareback rider Kade Sonnier will compete at his second National Finals Rodeo in three years when the 10-day championship begins later this next week. He is sixth in the world standings and will battle for rodeo’s gold at Las Vegas. (PHOTO BY DAVE JENNINGS)   CARENCRO, La. – Even business trips to Las Vegas are supposed to be enjoyed. Kade Sonnier didn’t feel that way two years ago when he arrived in the Entertainment Capital of the World, home of the National Finals Rodeo. It was his first qualification to the sport’s grand finale, and he had tasks to handle. “I was so narrow-minded, so goal-oriented and so focused on the end-goal that I didn’t enjoy the process to get there,” said Sonnier, 26, a bareback rider from Carencro. “I didn’t enjoy any aspect of it, and it just went by so fast that I didn’t soak it all in.” He missed out on some of the aspects of advancing to the NFR, rodeo’s World Series that takes place Dec. 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. He’s right in that this is a business venture, and he has a job to do. Imagine, though, had Tom Brady not enjoyed every Super Bowl appearance. That’s what happened in Sonnier’s rookie season. He still closed out the 2023 campaign on a big note. He earned $112,000 over 10 days, catapulting him to a third-place finish in the final world standings. His sophomore year didn’t go quite as well. Injuries not only sidelined him but also hampered Sonnier’s performance when he was able to compete. Still, he secured $95,000, a substantial annual salary. Alas, he finished 22nd on the money list in a sport where only the top 15 earn the chance to play for the biggest pay in rodeo. He gained redemption in 2025, collecting $171,507 during the regular season, which ended Sept. 30. He will compete at his second NFR as the sixth-ranked bareback rider in the field “This year I’m going to try to take it day to day,” he said. “I didn’t enjoy myself the last time. I didn’t enjoy the company I had. I didn’t enjoy the locker-room time. “This is what you dream about as a kid. It wasn’t until the fifth round that I finally soaked it all in and had tears in my eyes. You’re supposed to do that the first night.” He’ll have that chance to experience all the feelings that come with playing on such a magnificent stage. This is the world’s richest rodeo, which features a $13.5-million purse. Go-round winners will earn nearly $37,000 per night. By the time the curtain draws to a close on that final Saturday, world champions in every event will be crowned. That’s where Sonnier wants to stand. Of course, none of this is even possible without his first NFR adventure in 2018. That was the year his father, saddle bronc rider Joey Sonnier, earned his only trip to Sin City’s championship. Father and son had driven a bit of a rocky road through their early years and rekindled in time for a spectacular family reunion. “I got to spend 10 days ion Vegas to watch my dad,” Kade Sonnier said. “If it wouldn’t be for that, I wouldn’t be doing this. That’s where the flame for rodeo rekindled. That’s pretty much where God told me right then, ‘This is where you need to be.’ I started craving it. I had never been on a bucking horse in my life. I hadn’t thought about riding bucking horses since I was 8 or 9 years old.” Getting to this point became a blessing of faith. His parents, Joey Sonnier and Jamie Lynn Guidry, split when he was young. Kade Sonnier has a strong relationship with both parents, and there was some outside influence to help direct the young man along his path. “When I went to high school, I was fortunate to have rally good baseball coaches and be part of a really good baseball program – we ended up winning two state championships my junior and senior year,” said Sonnier, who credits his return to the NFR to his sponsors, Boot Barn, Resistol, Ariat, Stace Smith Pro Rodeos, Burgess Brothers Bucking Horses, Waggoner Services Inc., The Handmade Heifer and FCA Rodeo. “Those coaches were great role models and did a lot to really help me.” Sonnier played college baseball and spent a semester on the track team at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, but that bronc riding bug was overwhelming. The first track meet in the spring semester of 2020 helped Sonnier build toward his future. “The track meet was at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which happened to be the same weekend as the ProRodeo,” he said, noting that he transferred to McNeese State for rodeo. “My dad had already called Jake Brown, who had just made his fourth or fifth NFR, to see if he had any old spare bareback riding riggin’s, and he said he was coming to Lake Charles for the rodeo and could drop them off. “I don’t think God could have designed it any better. Somebody had already given me spurs, but he gave me everything else.” With equipment in hand, a new career was born. He got with people to teach him the ropes, men like fellow Louisiana cowboy Waylon Bourgeois, who is going to his first NFR this December, and veterans like Kaycee Feild and Tilden Hooper. Feild owns the record for the most bareback riding world championships with six. Sonnier built on natural athleticism. Instead throwing darts to second base or speeding around first en route to another double, he took to spurring 1,200 pounds of equine dynamite. He makes a good living doing it and will have a chance to increase his earnings even more when he arrives in the Nevada desert. The goal isn’t just to be the greatest bareback rider for 2025; it’s also to care for  Continue Reading »

T.J. Gray returns for his second straight qualification to the National Finals Rodeo. His first venture to Las Vegas last December offered a dose of reality, but it also served as a valuable lesson he will have with him when he returns next week. (PRCA PHOTO BY HAILEY RAE)   Cinch cowboy one of six bull riders ready to show off at NFR Only three men in ProRodeo history have ridden all 10 bulls at the National Finals Rodeo. Jim Sharp was the first to do so in 1988, when the Texan won his first world championship. Norman Curry did it two years later. The last time it happened was 31 years ago, when Brazilian Adriano Moraes pulled off the incredible feat in 1994. Bull riding is the most difficult event in rodeo in which to muster a qualified ride. World titlist Josh Frost only managed scores on seven nights, but he won the NFR average title hands down. Cinch cowboy T.J. Gray finished sixth in the aggregate race with three qualified rides. “I think this year we’re going to see a lot more competitive bull riding,” said Gray, 24, of Dairy, Oregon. “I know nobody’s ridden all 10 bulls at the NFR in a long time, but I think I can do it.” It’s mind over matter, and positive thinking can go a long way. He realized a great deal about the Las Vegas experience during his inaugural venture a year ago, and he’s ready to put all those lessons to the test again for this year’s championship, set for Dec. 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center, which is celebrating its 40th year as the NFR’s host. “In a negative sense, I learned everything can change at the NFR,” he said. “I came in No. 1, and everything got turned around. There were guys that were way down in the standings that blew past me pretty fast. “This year I’m coming in No. 5, and I learned things can change pretty fast. It doesn’t have to take very long, and I can be back up where I want to be.” ProRodeo’s grand finale features the largest payday in the game with a $13.5 million purse. Go-round winners will pocket nearly $37,000 per night, and the bull rider with the best 10-round cumulative score will add a $94,000 bonus when the curtain closes on that final Saturday night. Gray is one of six Cinch cowboys battling the baddest bovines in the game. Four-time qualifier Tristen Hutchings of Monteview, Idaho, leads the contingent in fourth place with just shy of $300,000 in season earnings. Hayes Weight, a three-time qualifier from Goshen, Utah, is seventh; Jordan Spears of Redding, California, is heading to his sixth finale; and Mason Moody of Letcher, South Dakota, and Jesse Petri of Dublin, Texas, have earned their first bids. A lot happens over a week and a half in the Nevada desert. The stakes are high, which adds to the pressure. The game can be a lot simpler with a strong mindset, and that’s the biggest lesson Gray took from 2024. “Myron Duarte told me last year before I went to the NFR to not change a thing,” Gray said of the retired eight-time NFR qualifier from Hawaii. “He told me to do exactly what I’d been doing all year. Well, I went and changed everything. It took until about the fifth round when I started staying on and when I realized I did not listen to him. “I was thinking I had to do something special instead of just having fun and not caring about the outcome. I’ve kept that in mind this year, and I haven’t been putting pressure on myself or thinking I have to do something special. I’m not trying to be perfect. My riding is good enough.” That change in mentality can go a long way. “I’m going to be happy to show up, not be overwhelmed with the opportunity, be able to live in the moment and enjoy it,” he said. “I think even though I told everyone last year that I wasn’t nervous, in the back of my head, I was definitely nervous.” The best attribute for competitors is to let their natural talent take over. Muscle memory is real, and fundamentals come into play for the greatest in their given game. Million-dollar wide receivers can drop a football if they think about it too much, but they’ll make a spectacular catch without batting an eye. “I’m not really too worried about it all,” Gray said. “It’s going to end up how it ends up, but I’m not counting myself out of a world title at all. “Anything can happen at the NFR.”

Cinch header Kolton Schmidt roped with eight partners through the 2025 regular season; Cinch heeler Jonathan Torres will be his ninth when the two compete next week at the National Finals Rodeo. They are two of 18 Cinch cowboys competing in team roping. (PHOTO BY RIC ANDERSEN)   18 Cinch cowboys will rope for rodeo’s gold while in Las Vegas As the only true partner-related event in rodeo, team ropers rely on their counterparts to have success. They travel together, eat together and compete together. One’s fortune is shared by the other. So is one’s defeat. The goal, of course, is to win world championships, and to do that, headers and heelers have to play on ProRodeo’s biggest stage, the National Finals Rodeo, set for Dec. 4-13 at Las Vegas. Most of the 15 teams in the field have roped together all or most of the season. That’s not the case for Cinch team ropers Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres. They were matched after the regular season came to a close Sept. 30, when both men made the NFR without partners. “Jonathan’s going to be the ninth partner this year,” said Schmidt, 31, a three-time heading qualifier from Barrhead, Alberta. It’s true. The Canadian won the San Angelo (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo in April with Will Woodfin. He won the Ponoka (Alberta) Stampede in July with Sid Sporer, then closed out the season with the September victory in Bakersfield, California, with Chase Tryan. Through every rodeo – and every partner change – Schmidt kept winning. He finished the year with just shy of $120,000 and will compete in the City of Entertainment as the 14th-ranked header on the money list. Torres, a four-time qualifier from Ocala, Florida, is No. 15 in the heeling standings. They are two of 18 Cinch team ropers who will compete at the 10-day championship, and they are also joined by two other teams that will be new pairings for the NFR: two-time world champion Clay Smith of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, and Coleby Payne of Stephenville, Texas, will rope together, while Dustin Egusquiza of Marianna, Florida, will reunite with Levi Lord of Sturgis, South Dakota. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to go back to the NFR,” said Schmidt, who first qualified nine seasons ago, then returned in 2020. “There has been a lot of time and effort going toward this, but we’re happy to be back. I’m really excited to be part of this group of guys.” Other Cinch headers are standings leader Kaleb Driggers, a two-time world champion from Hoboken, Georgia; Cyle Denison, a two-time qualifier from Iowa, Louisiana; Dawson Graham, a Wainwright, Alberta, cowboy competing at his first NFR; Jake Smith of Broken Bow, now at NFR No. 2; and 12-time qualifier Riley Minor of Ellensburg, Washington. The Cinch heelers include three-time world champion Jade Corkill of Fallon, Nevada; Travis Graves, a 16-time qualifier from Jay, Oklahoma; Lane Mitchell, a first-timer from Bolivar, Tennessee; Brady Minor, a 14-time qualifier from Ellensburg; Try Yates, a four-time finalist from Pueblo, Colorado; Douglas Rich, a three-time qualifier from Herrick, Illinois; and Kaden Profili, who is making his second straight trip to Las Vegas and is from Jacksonville, Texas. Each man understands what it takes to make it to the grand finale, which features a $13.5 million purse. Go-round winners will collect nearly $37,000 per night and per side, so this is a big part of their business strategies. For Schmidt, much has changed since his inaugural adventure to the NFR. “Life is completely different than it was in 2016,” he said. “I’ve got a wife and two boys now, and there’s just a lot that’s changed for me.” He was one of the 119 contestants to compete on a baseball field five Decembers ago, when the pandemic shortened the season and forced a one-year change of venue to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. “I lost my good horse two years after that, so I’ve just been trying to grow my herd,” Schmidt said. “I feel like that’s been the hardest part.” Oftentimes, life is about overcoming challenges. He’s done that over a career that began 13 seasons ago. He’ll do it again with another new partner, this time surrounded by the legendary yellow chutes and panels inside the Thomas & Mack Center. Schmidt and Torres have been practicing their runs to get ready for the most magical 10 rodeo days of the year. “I’m just going to focus on my job and try to provide him with the best opportunity I can,” Schmidt said. “I’ve just got to handle the cow now. If I do my job, he’ll do his.”

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.