YOUTH, GRIT & GLORY: RISING STARS AND RODEO LEGENDS SHINE IN SEMI FINALS 1 AT CHEYENNE FRONTIER DAYS RODEO

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 25, 2025) — Semi Finals 1 of the 2025 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) ended Friday with half of the roster for Championship Sunday filled.

Wyoming bull rider Hayden Welsh of Gillette made the crowd cheer the loudest when he rode Korkow Rodeos’ bull named Salinas for 90.5 points. The 19-year-old son of seven-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) bull rider Bobby Welsh bested 17 other cowboys to win Semi Finals 1. He has a chance on Sunday to leave Frontier Park with the Welsh family’s first CFD championship.

Welsh wasn’t the only 19-year-old to rack up 90 points on Friday. Oklahoma’s Wacey Schalla dominated the bareback riding with his own 90-point ride on Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s horse named Brazos.

Schalla, who is second in the world in both the all-around and bull riding standings, is 29^th in the bareback riding world rankings. He would love to qualify for his second NFR in both events after debuting in the bull riding last year. He added $3,500 to his earnings Friday and a win on Sunday would give an even bigger boost to that goal.

Jordan Jo Hollabaugh is the “OG” of breakaway roping at Cheyenne Frontier Days since she won the championship the first time the event was held at Frontier Park in 2019. Then she was Jordan Jo Fabrizio and was wearing her now-husband Raymond Hollabaugh’s CFD champion buckle when she won her own. The next-to-last to rope in the semifinals, she took first with a time of 4.9 seconds.

Reigning world champion team ropers Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp were also next-to-last to rope and topped the field with a 9.3-second run. Wade won the championship here in 2019, roping with Dakota Kirchenschlager, but Thorp is trying to rope his first CFD title.

Riley Pruitt of Gering, Nebraska, won more than $5,000 in the qualifying round for CFD last week. While he didn’t match his qualifier time of 9.6 seconds, his 10.7 was the fastest since the rodeo performances started last Saturday and earned him another $5,200.

Pruitt, son of 1990 world champion Troy Pruitt, last qualified for the NFR in 2019. He boosted his chances to make a fourth trip to Las Vegas when he won the NFR Open in Colorado Springs last month and has continued to rope well since.

Three athletes who have had success at Frontier Park, but never broken through to the winners’ circle, won the semifinals in their specialties. Four-time world champion Zeke Thurston rode Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ horse named Kay’s Big Bay for 87.5 points to take the saddle bronc riding.

Justin Shaffer of Hallsville, Texas, qualified for his first NFR last year in steer wrestling and is ranked 17^th now. He won the semifinal with a 5.9-second run. Emily Beisel of Weatherford, Oklahoma, has been to the NFR six times and has a stable of standout horses. This year at CFD she has ridden Vanilla Gorilla, an eight-year-old palomino that she calls Trigger. The horse that she raised is getting his first major rodeo experience at CFD this year. The duo won their quarter final with a 17.24 last Sunday and notched the win today with a 17.27.

Saturday’s Semi Final 2 features quarterfinal winners who did not compete on Friday and begins at 12:45 p.m. when the rest of the field for Championship Sunday will be decided. The end of competition and the crowning of the champion in Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding also happens on Saturday in Frontier Park.

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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 25, 2025)- The following are unofficial results from the Semi Finals (seventh performance) at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Friday, July 25. Payoff subject to change.

Bareback Riding: 1, Wacey Schalla, Arapaho, Okla., 90 points on Penthouse Pro Rodeo’s Brazos, $3,518. 2, Jess Pope, Waverly, Kan., 88.5, $2,665. 3, (tie) Mason Stuller, Veneta, Ore.; Sam Petersen, Helena, Mont.; and Garrett Shadbolt, Merriman, Neb.; 87, $1,279 each. 6, Kade Sonnier, Carencro, La., 86.5, $533.

Tie Down Roping: 1, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 10.7 seconds, $5,200. 2, Shad Mayfield, Clovis, N.M., 11.7, $4,300. 3, John Douch, Huntsville, Texas, 12.4, $3,400. 4, Cole Clemons, Okeechobee, Fla., 12.6, $2,500. 5, Tom Simpson, Malad, Idaho, 12.7, $1,600. 6, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 15.0, $900.

Breakaway Roping: 1, Jordan Hollabaugh, Pueblo, Colo., 4.9 seconds, $6,510. 2, Hannah Giger, Wilburton, Okla., 5.1, $4,932. 3, Jacee Currin, Heppner, Ore., 5.2, $3,551. 4, Bailey Bates, Tohatchi, N.M., 5.5, $2,367. 5, Rylee George, Oakdale, Calif., 5.6, $1,381. 6, Shawnee Sherwood, Coolidge, Ariz., 6.0, $986.

 Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, Canada, 87.5 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ Kay’s Big Boy, $3,416. 2, Kade Bruno, Challis, Idaho, 86.5, $2,588. 3, Chase Brooks, Deer Lodge, Mont., 84.5, $1,242. 5, Weston Patterson, Waverly, Kan., 83.4, $725. 6, Q McWhorter, Petrolia, Calif., and Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, Canada, 82, $259 each.

Team Roping: 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas, 9.3 seconds, $5,200 each. 2, (tie) Devon Johnson, Red Oak, Texas, and Zane Pratt, Congress, Ariz.; and Blaine Turner, Batesville, Ark., and Ethan Cory, Hico, Texas, 9.8, $3,850 each. 4, Justin Young, Phoenix, Ariz., and Talon Salazar, Gill, Colo., 10.2, $2,500 each. 5, Nelson Wyatt, Clanton, Ala., and Jonathan Torres, Ocala, Fla., 10.3, $1,500 each. 6, Kash Bonnett, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada, and Logan Cullen, Courtenay, B.C., Canada, 10.4, $900.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Justin Shaffer, Hallsville, Texas, 5.9, $4,060. 2, Mason Couch, Bronaugh, Mo., 6.6, $3,360. 3, Tyke Kipp, Lordsburg, N.M., 7.5, $2,660. 4, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 7.7, $1,960. 5, Paul Melvin, Paradise, Texas, 7.8, $1,260. 6, Talon Roseland, Marshalltown, Iowa, 8.0, $700.

Barrel Racing: 1, Emily Beisel, Weatherford, Okla., 17.27 seconds, $5,410. 2, Bryanna Haluptzok, Ardmore, Okla., 17.32, $4,477. 3, Summer Kosel, Glenham, S.D., 17.33, $3,544. 4, Carlee Otero, Perrin, Texas, 17.35, $2,611. 5, Sue Smith, Blackfoot, Idaho, 17.43, $1,679. 6, Hailey Kinsel, Cotulla, Texas, 17.44, $933.

Bull Riding: 1, Hayden Welsh, Gillette, Wyo., 90.5 points on Korkow Rodeos’ Salinas, $3,441. 2, Colton Fritzlan, Rifle, Colo., 88.5, $2,607. 3, Hayes Weight, Goshen, Utah, 87, $1,877. 4, (tie) Jestyn Woodward, Custer, S.D., and Dakota Warnken, Wakarusa, Ind., 84, $991 each. 6, Andy Guzman, Oakdale, Calif., 83, $521.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding (first round winners): 1, Jasper Frost, Browns Valley, Calif, 83 points on Smith Pro Rodeos A30, $1,242. 2, Izaah Bartels, New Underwood, S.D., 81, $941. 3, Logan Nunn, Lovell, Wyo., 79.5, $677. 4, (tie) Rope Roghair, Isabel, S.D., and Josue Molina, Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, 79, $359 each. 5, Mitchell Story, Bayfield, Colo., 77.5, $188. (second round leaders) 1, Molina, 80 points on Fettig Pro Rodeo’s 158. 2, Tayson Jones, Howes, S.D., 79. 3, Tag Moses, Keenesburg, Colo., 76.5. 4, Eastan West, New Underwood, S.D., 76. 5, Devin Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 75. 6, Nunn, 74. (overall leaders) 1, Molina, 159. 2, (tie) Nunn and Moses, 153.5 each. 4, Regan Lyons, Snyder, Texas, 150.5, 5, Easton West, New Underwood, S.D., 149. 6, Roghair, 146.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Young Gunz, $600. 2, Gotta Go, $450. 3, Buntin Pump, $300. 4, Turquoise Rose, $150.