Zeke Thurston Wins Xtreme Bronc Finals In Route to 12th NFR

Saddle bronc rider Zeke Thurston already has plenty of firsts and championship titles attached to his name. Thurston is known as one of the greats. He just added another big accolade to his career in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The Alberta saddle bronc rider won the Xtreme Broncs Finals for the first time, putting together 178 points on two head to edge six time NFR qualifier Chase Brooks by just a half point in the average. Most importantly, the championship came with a massive payday that could have a major impact on Thurston's race for another gold buckle this year. 

Thurston entered the finals sitting No. 8 in the PRCA World Standings. He left Rapid City sitting No. 5 with roughly $35,000 added to his season earnings from the event.

Thurston tied for the win in the first round with an 88 point ride aboard Five Star Rodeo's Jessica Rabbit, earning about $9,500. He then came back in the short round and put 90 points on Burch Rodeo's Calico Color for another roughly $7,200.

Those two rides gave him 178 points on two head and the average championship, worth another $18,000.

That is the kind of weekend that can change a world standings race completely. This is one of the biggest wins of the year. For Zeke, this was a very important win. 

Thurston has won four PRCA World Championships and qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo 11 consecutive times. He has spent years at the top of saddle bronc riding, but the Xtreme Broncs Finals championship had somehow never been part of his résumé.

Thurston was already having a successful 2026 season before arriving in Rapid City. He had stayed inside the top 15 throughout the year and was positioning himself for another run at the NFR and another world championship.

The Xtreme Broncs Finals changed the numbers in a hurry.

The roughly $35,000 he collected from the event greatly helped his cause boosting him in the world standings. This put him in an even stronger position heading toward the final stretch of the season. He has now crossed the $200,000 mark on the 2026 season with a month of rodeos remaining.  

He has been in this position enough times to know that one rodeo can change everything. The difference between winning a world championship and watching someone else take the gold buckle can come down to a few thousand dollars, one good bronc or one small mistake.

It has come down to the wire time and time again for Thurston, and he has been on both sides of it. Arguably, his biggest competition is the boys in blue, the Wright brothers. Right now, Rusty, Ryder, and Stetson Wright fill the top 3 positions in the world. Montana man Sage Newman sits 4th, right above Thurston. 

It goes without saying that this World Championship will likely come down to the 10th round in Vegas again this year. We have seen Thurston dominate in the Thomas and Mack for over a decade. He has three average titles at the NFR, and is known to be extremely tough to beat on 10 head. 

Stay tuned as we follow the best of the best in rodeo through the final stretch of the 2026 season.