Intensity peaks in Round 6 at the 2025 NFR with key wins, costly mistakes, and controversy.
Round 6 of the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo delivered exactly what fans hoped for at the halfway mark The world title races are tightening by the minute. Nearly every event saw major moves, and with only four rounds remaining, nothing looks close to being settled.
In the bareback riding, Kade Sonnier broke through for his first NFR round win, marking 88 points on Land Of Fancy from Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics. The Louisiana cowboy has been steadily climbing and now finds himself fourth in both the average and the world standings.
Close behind were Cooper Cooke with 87.75 and Wacey Schalla with 87.25. Although world standings leader Rocker Steiner didn’t cash a check tonight, he stayed in the average with an 80.25, protecting a massive lead that still keeps him heavily favored for his first gold buckle.
After a no-time the night before, 2019 World Champion Steer Wrestler Ty Erickson came back, winning Round 6 with a 3.5 second run to reinsert himself back into the gold buckle conversation.
Stetson Jorgensen, battling a severely injured knee, wasn’t far behind with a gritty 3.8. While Erickson worked his way back into contention, average leader Tucker Allen continued to do exactly what wins world titles, staying consistent. His 5.0-second run kept him on top of the average and second in the world standings as the race continued to shift.
Will Lummus, still No. 1 in the standings, hurt his position with a broken barrier last night and is going to need big rounds in the final three performances.
The team roping was the fastest the Thomas & Mack has seen yet in 2025. With a broken round 6 record, Tanner Tomlinson and Travis Graves stole the show. Their 3.4 was the fastest time of the entire finals so far.
Clint Summers and Jade Corkill followed in second with a 3.5, while Riley and Brady Minor, along with Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres, stopped the clock at 3.6. Summers and Corkill, the only team with six clean runs, now lead the average, but the world standings remain split, and it is very possible the heading and heeling gold buckles could be won by cowboys not roping together.
In the saddle bronc riding, the Wright family continued its Round 6 magic. This time, it was Statler Wright who delivered, spurring Wayne Vold Rodeo’s Renegade for 90 points. This is the same horse and the same score that his brother Stetson won with in Round 1. Statler now sits third in the average and seventh in the world.
In second place was Kade Bruno with 89 and then Ben Andersen and Ryder Wright with matching 88.25s. The biggest talk of the event remained the controversial missed-out call on Stetson Wright, which removed the all-around superstar from the average lead and reshaped the bronc riding race completely.
Zeke Thurston now leads the average, while Ryder continues to hold the world standings lead despite falling out of the average race.
Tie-down stayed exciting as Joel Harris tied Shad Mayfield’s arena-fastest run of the week, stopping the clock at 6.8. Zack Jongbloed followed at 7.0, and Kincade Henry at 7.1. Shad Mayfield and Riley Webb tied with 7.5-second runs.
Riley remains ahead in the average, while Shad keeps the edge in the world standings. At this point, it is shaping into one of the sport’s most exciting two-man duels. If Riley stays as consistent as he has been, he will be looking at his third consecutive gold buckle.
The barrel racing was fast once again. Kassie Mowry and Cornbread ran a 13.42 grabbing Kassie’s second go-round win of the week on her second horse. This win kept her in the lead in the world standings and pushed her ahead to number 1 in the average as well.
NFR rookie Halyn Lide rode Pancakes to second place. The round was so tough that a 13.62 was only good enough for the last hole in the money. Heartbreak struck when Tricia Aldridge and Adios Pantalones tipped the first barrel, knocking them out of the average. With three rounds to go, it is clear that Mowry is making herself very difficult to catch.
The bull riding wrapped up Round 6 with fire, courtesy of Stetson Wright. After the controversial no-score in the bronc riding, Stetson returned in a big way winning the bull riding with 88.5 points on Amasestays.Com Insurrection. This marked his third bull riding round win of the finals.
Ky Hamilton continues to lead the average and is the only cowboy to ride five of six bulls. Stetson sits second in the average and is applying heavy pressure in both the bull riding and the all-around race. Wacey Schalla, who came into the finals as Stetson’s closest all-around and bull riding competition, bucked off again, widening Stetson’s advantage.
Round 7 tonight begins the sprint to the finish. The standings now matter more than ever, and the next few rounds will decide who takes home the gold buckles. The storylines are only getting better as we go.