Tough Draw Tuesday: Tough Draw Athlete Mason Moody Leads the PRCA Bull Riding Standings

Just a few months after competing at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Mason Moody has started the 2026 season exactly where every bull rider hopes to be. Moody is sitting right on top of the PRCA World Standings.

Though still very early in the season, the 22-year-old South Dakota cowboy has built that lead through a series of strong rides and big checks across the early winter stops.

Moody is one of 23 athletes represented by Tough Draw Sports, the athlete representation arm of Tough Draw. Through every vertical of Tough Draw, the brand stays committed to honoring Western culture and elevating the athletes who define it. Tough Draw Sports represents high-performing athletes across the industry who compete with grit and tenacity. Those qualities have been on full display through the opening stretch of the 2026 season for Moody.

Mason’s most recent big win was a 90-point ride aboard Big Rafter Rodeo’s Sorry Sam in Kissimmee, Florida. That ride added to an already impressive start to the season. Earlier this winter, Moody claimed the title at the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi, where an 88.5-point ride secured the win. He also came out on top at the Bismarck Rodeo in North Dakota, continuing to stack results across the winter rodeos.

His biggest payday of the year came at Fort Worth’s Bulls Night Out, where Moody finished second in the final round. Only two riders were able to cover their bulls that night, with Moody finishing just behind fellow Tough Draw Sports athlete Colton Byram. That ride alone earned him nearly $25,000, giving the young cowboy a significant boost early in the standings.

He also added money at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. Together, these results have pushed Moody into the No. 1 spot in the PRCA bull riding standings, putting the South Dakota cowboy in early control of the 2026 race.

For Tough Draw Sports, the story of rodeo and the athletes they represent isn’t just about the final result at the end of the year, but the path it takes to get there. This is something Moody’s season so far reflects very well.

Moody’s impressive start to 2026 comes just months after one of the biggest milestones of his career. In 2025, he qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, finishing the season 11th in the world standings with $246,493 in total earnings.

Once in Las Vegas, Moody showed he belonged right there with the best of the best. Over the ten rounds of competition, he covered four bulls and placed in three rounds, earning more than $90,000 during the finals alone. For a rider making his first appearance on rodeo’s biggest stage, he definitely proved he belonged.

The journey to that milestone had been a steady climb. In 2023, he finished the year 35th in the world standings. That result helped open the door to more opportunities in 2024, where he got close to the Top 15 but ultimately finished just outside at 23rd.

Then in 2025, he cracked the Top 15 and made his first trip to Las Vegas. Now, only a few months later, he has carried that momentum into the new season with a gold buckle on his mind.

Moody is one of the many talented athletes represented by Tough Draw Sports. For Mason, his success in bull riding starts with a simple mindset—that every time he nods his head, the expectation is to win.

Cowboys chasing a world title understand that the race for the gold buckle doesn’t begin in December after getting to Vegas. It begins months earlier, across rodeos throughout the season, where consistency builds a foundation. Those behind-the-scenes moments are just as important—something that Tough Draw values deeply. Every athlete has a story worth telling, one that goes far beyond the bucking chutes and gold buckles.

Moody has spoken about the importance of staying hot all year long if he wants to be in contention for the world title when the 2026 NFR arrives. That approach has been put into action. If this young South Dakota cowboy can do just that throughout the season, he may find himself returning to the Thomas & Mack this December with something even bigger on the line.

That’s exactly the kind of story Tough Draw Tuesday is meant to highlight. This one just might be worth following all the way to Las Vegas.

Tough Draw is a Western storytelling and athlete advocacy platform operating across live competition, sports representation, media, and production. Founded in 2014, the brand was built on a commitment to honor Western culture while elevating the athletes who define it.

Today, Tough Draw operates through multiple verticals, including Tough Draw Tour, a premium bull riding–only league; Tough Draw Sports, an athlete representation agency; Tough Draw Talks, a Western-focused podcast; and Tough Draw Film, a production company rooted in documentary storytelling.

Guided by athlete-first values and long-term relationship building, Tough Draw blends sports professionalism with authentic storytelling to expand opportunity within the Western industry.