Tucker Allen knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in. He also knows how it feels to be carefully watching the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association World Standings to ensure he’s still inside the top 15.
But to be comfortably sitting in the No. 1 spot, more than $40,000 ahead of the next closest steer wrestler, that is a feeling he’s still trying to navigate.
“I haven’t really thought into it pretty much. I don’t dwell on it really,” Allen said. “In my eyes, I’ve just been thinking, ‘Yeah, I’m in first or whatever, but there’s still a lot more rodeos to go.’ It hasn’t changed my mindset much. I feel like it probably could, but I’m not letting it.”
In 2023, Allen finished No. 20 to end the regular season, putting him five spots away from earning his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. That result provided a lot of fuel for him last season as the Ventura, Calif., cowboy wouldn’t be denied.
Thanks to a strong showing at 2024 NFR, he climbed into 11th in the final World Standings with more than $185,000 in prize money for the year, $91,682 of which came from his time at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Breaking through with that first trip to Las Vegas last December was a significant confidence boost, one Allen has certainly carried over into 2025. He finished second in the average at the California Circuit Finals Rodeo and picked up six round checks in San Antonio.
Then came RodeoHouston.
Last February, Allen had to settle for a runner-up finish in the championship shootout. While it was a $20,000 payday that was crucial to his overall success for the year, it also left him a little frustrated. This time around, he would not be denied, as his time of 4.2 seconds in the shootout was a full second ahead of Holden Myers to win the title.
“I’m not going to lie, I was not happy with second at all,” Allen said with a laugh about last year. “Second is cool and the money was great. It was great to win that much for taking second. On the outside it didn’t show, but on the inside it was eating me up to be that close to first and not win it. This year was pretty cool to finally get the win.”
The $65,000 from that round is a big reason Allen finds himself atop the heap by such a sizable margin. He’s done his best to keep adding to his ledger, including a recent win at the Valley Center Stampede Rodeo in California to wrap up May.
With nearly $107,000 accumulated so far, Allen already has a new career-high in regular-season earnings with the summer run still approaching. It’s certainly a different position than he’s been in before. The goal – be in this spot when NFR wraps up in December.
“I’ve been getting results from the work I’ve put in. And I’ve been working at it hard since I was 15. It’s kind of at the point now where you kind of know how to win,” Allen said. “The past few years, it’s been kind of clicking and now the results are starting to show so that’s pretty cool.”
Photo courtesy of Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin