College National Finals Rodeo opens the chutes Sunday at Ford Wyoming Center (2024)

The cowboys (and cowgirls) are (almost) back in town.

The College National Finals Rodeo begins its week-long run at the Ford Wyoming Center on Sunday, with nearly 400 contestants scheduled to compete in the week-long rodeo. Cowboys and cowgirls from 33 states, as well as from Canada and Australia, are scheduled to compete.

Action begins with “Bulls, Broncs and Breakaway” on Sunday, followed by slack in all nine events — saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, team roping, barrel racing, breakaway roping and goat tying — on Monday and Tuesday. The first of four nightly performances begins June 11, with the championship go-round, which features the top 12 contestants in each event after three ropes or rides, on June 15.

The top two men’s and women’s teams from each of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s 11 regions qualify for the CNFR, as do the top three individuals in each event from each region.

The hometown Casper College Thunderbirds finished third in the Central Rocky Mountain Region behind the University of Wyoming and Gillette College, but still have six red-vested cowboys competing. Talon Elshere, James Perrin and Eastan West are in saddle bronc; Chase Siemens in bareback; and Roan Weil and Rowdy Weil in team roping.

UW has nine qualifiers, six of which will be on the Cowboys’ points-scoring team.

Bodie Mattson will compete in tie-down and team roping, along with steer wrestlers Kaden Berger, Cam Jensen and David Gallagher; team ropers Weston Mills, Rio Nutter and Quincy Reynolds; bareback bronc rider Colton Farrow; and bull rider Emmit Ross.

CRMR all-around champion Thayne Elshere will compete in saddle bronc and bull riding for Gillette College. Other Pronghorns set to rope or ride are team ropers Coy Johnson, Trevor Sorge and Tel Sorenson; tie-down roper Ty Moser; and bareback bronc rider Cooper Filipek.

Yoder’s Haiden Thompson, last year’s college finals all-around champion, is competing in three events — barrel racing, goat tying and team roping — for CRMR women’s team winner Gillette College. Breakaway roper Staheli Adams and barrel racer Ashlynn Goven round out the Pronghorns lineup.

The UW Cowgirls have breakaway ropers Landry Haugen, Olivia Lay and Jordyn McNamee; barrel racer Kenna McNeill; and goat tyer Riata Day.

In addition to Thompson, other returning champs looking to defend their titles are Clarendon College bareback rider Weston Timberman; Southwest Texas Junior College team ropers Logan Moore and Slade Wood; and University of West Alabama barrel racer Taycie Matthews, who finished 12th at the National Finals Rodeo in December.

The list of returning CNFR champions also includes Missouri Valley College’s Ty Pope (2022 bareback), Montana State’s Tayla Moeykens (2021 barrels) and Idaho State’s Zoie Bedke (2021 breakaway).

Kennedy Buckner of Blue Mountain Community College will undoubtedly be the busiest competitor in the arena as she qualified in four events: breakaway roping, barrel racing, goat tying and team roping.

This year’s rodeo features a handful of cowboys who will continue to chase their NFR dreams after the college finals.

Clarendon College (men) and West Alabama (women) are the defending team champions.