CODY, Wyo., July, 1, 2025 –— A near capacity crowd cheered on the rodeo contestants at the first performance of the Cody Stampede Rodeo on Tuesday, July 1, and the cheering was the loudest for saddle bronc rider Brody Wells.
Wells hales from Powell, Wyoming, just a half hour away from Stampede Park. He won’t be seeing much of home, or his hometown rodeo fans as he is chasing his second qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He made the trip to Las Vegas last December, where he finished ninth in the world standings. He is currently 10th and the top 15 get to compete at rodeo’s championships.
He helped his cause with an outstanding ride here on Frontier Rodeo’s horse named Cowboy Town, scoring 86.5 points. It was an important and pivotal ride for several reasons. Wells has competed here since 2022 and has failed to get a score.
Getting a score was big, hearing the crowd was bigger. He had just watched his traveling partner Sage Newman from Melstone, Montana, get an 86.5 on Frontier Rodeo’s Big Sister, so with the announcement of his score they had tied. Newman has had success here in the past earning the title and over $9,000 in 2023.
They didn’t take much time to celebrate as they are off to more rodeos over this busy “Cowboy Christmas” season, hitting two and even three per day. They will have to wait until July 4th when the Cody Stampede is over to see how they finish here.
With three more performances to go, there is a likelihood of other saddle bronc riders moving ahead of them. But, with the high scores they had during the first performance, Wells and Newman stand a good chance of getting a big paycheck out of the Cody Stampede.
Action continues on Wednesday, July 2 with a performance at 8 p.m. For ticket information, go to www.codystampederodeo.com.
The following are unofficial leaders after the first performance at the Cody Stampede, July 1, 2025.
Bareback Riding: 1, Kashton Ford, Sturgis, S.D., 85 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Mighty High. 2, Colton Clemens, Blackfoot, Idaho, 78. 3, Kade Berry, Weatherford, Texas, 74. 4, Clayton Hibler, Wheeler, Texas, 72.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Bridger, Anderson, Carrington, N.D., 4.2 seconds. 2, Emmett Edler, State Center, Iowa, 4.5. 3, Talon Roseland, Marshalltown, Iowa, 4.6. 4, Trace Harris, Poth, Texas, 5.1.
Team Roping: 1, Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Hunter Koch, Vernon, Texas, 4.3 seconds. 2, Devon Johnson, Red Oak, Texas, and Zane Pratt, Congress, Ariz., 4.4. 3, (tie) Wawa Ben, Jr., and Brandon Ben, Peridot, Ariz.; and Corben Culley, Lawton, Iowa and Trent Vaught, Mena, Ark., 4.9 each.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, (tie) Sage Newman, Melstone, Mont., on Frontier Rodeo’s Big Sister and Brody Wells, Powell, Wyo., on Frontier Rodeo’s Cowboy Town, 86.5 points each. 3, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 85. 4, Ryder Sanford, Sulphur, La., 84.5.
Breakaway Roping: 1, Jackie Crawford, Stephenville, Texas, 3.3 seconds. 2, Erin Johnson, Fowler, Colo., 3.5. 3, Amber Hutto, North Zulch, Texas, 3.7. 4, Brooke Bruner, Parker, Colo., 4.2.
Tie-Down Roping: 1, Blane Cox, Cameron, Texas, 8.4 seconds. 2, Landyn Duncan, Weatherford, Texas, 8.6. 3, Seth Andersen, Shoshoni, Wyo., 8.8. 4, Trevor Hale, Perryton, Texas, 8.9.
Barrel Racing: 1, Summer Kosel, Glenham, S.D., 17.24 seconds. 2, Hadley Tate, Apache, Okla., 17.30. 3, Whitley Sharp, Caldwell, Idaho, 17.52. 4, Hatten Kleeman, Killdeer, N.D., 18.21.
Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 88.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Fair Trade. 2, Jate Frost, Randlett, Utah, 81. 3, T. Parker, Winnie, Texas, 78.
COURTESY OF SUSAN KANODE FOR CODY STAMPEDE TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA
