Ty Erickson’s Consistency Sends Him Into Gold Buckle Contention

Ty Erickson entered the 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo sitting 14th in the PRCA Steer Wrestling World Standings. Three rounds later, the 10-time NFR qualifier has turned the entire race upside down. 

In round 3, Erickson put down a nearly flawless 3.5-second run. This is the fastest of the NFR so far, to win the round and pocket nearly $40,000. With seven rounds left to go, he has launched himself to second in the world standings and is sitting first in the average race. 

Will Lummus, who is still holding the number one spot in the world, has had two unfortunate no times. This leaves the door wide open for Erickson and the rest of the field too. 

This NFR is shaping up to be one of the most impressive finals performances of Erickson’s career. He started hot in Round 1 with a tie for second, backed it up with another second-place finish in Round 2, and now owns the fastest run of the week and a round win. After Round 3, Erickson is 11.6 seconds on three head and has already earned nearly $90,000 in Las Vegas so far.

The 2019 world champion, who barely slipped into the finals, is suddenly the man to beat. 

Erickson is somewhat having a comeback season if we look back to his 2024 season. In April of last year, he suffered a serious injury after a wreck in Clovis, breaking part of his leg and messing up his ankle pretty badly. He made a quicker recovery than expected. 

When he came back, he won the 2024 Calgary Stampede, qualified for the NFR, and finished the year 14th. He repeated that exact placement entering Las Vegas again this year. This time, something is different about him though. Erickson has momentum, confidence, and arguably the hottest start in the entire bulldogging field.

This year, Ty had a good season. After qualifying for the NFR, he made a trip to Chase Field at the Hondo Rodeo as well. He came out the champion there, building huge momentum into the finals. That big win could not have come at a more perfect time because when Erickson is rolling, he’s as dangerous as anyone in the business.

A massive part of Erickson’s success is the horse he rides. Finding Menon, aka Crush was the 2024 PRCA Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year by AQHA. He and his wife Cierra Erickson own the gelding. 

Cierra has told the story of Crush coming to fame many times. She bought him as a prospect and he just didn’t love the barrel pen and wasn’t exceptional in the rope horse world either. The steer wrestling though, was his deal. He loved it and was good at it. 

Crush has since turned into one of the best bulldogging horses in the sport. Crush breaks flat, runs hard, and gives Ty every chance to win. He is explosive, honest, and reliable as they come. 

The horsepower is a major reason Erickson is having the week of his life in Las Vegas. He also gives a ton of credit to his amazing Hazer Matt Reeves. Reeves himself is an eight time NFR qualifier and knows how to win in the Thomas and Mack. Together this team is crushing it. 

After his big round win in round 3, he talked with Katy Lucas in the post-win interview. He said, "He (Crush) is working so phenomenal for me this week, giving me good throws and I am getting great starts." 

Erickson continued with a smile, "It's been going my way. You know, Matt Reeves has been doing a great job for me hazing. Like I said, Crush has been doing a good job. Drawing good steers, making good runs. We are just having a lot of fun, going to try and keep it going." 

Erickson knows what it feels like to carry the pressure of a world title chase. Before finally claiming his long awaited gold buckle in 2019, he entered the NFR as the regular season leader three times in four years, only to fall heartbreakingly short each time.

This year, he entered as the underdog and now he’s the threat. After a dominating first three rounds, Erickson has put himself firmly back in world champion conversation. With seven rounds remaining, anything can still happen. 

This showing is quite impressive for a cowboy who has battled injuries, disappointment, near-misses, and the uphill climb of starting the finals in the bottom of the standings, but not surprising if you have ever watched Ty do his thing. 

Ty is proving he is very worthy of another world title, and it is shaping up to be an exciting race til the tenth round.

1. Ty Erickson, 3.5 seconds, $36,668
2. (tie) Bridger Anderson and Stetson Jorgensen, 3.9, $25,431 each
4. J.D. Struxness, 4.2, $15,377
5. Kyle Irwin, 4.3, $9,463
6. (tie) Tucker Allen and Tyler Waguespack, 4.4, $2,957 each
8. (tie) Chance Howard and Rowdy Parrott, 4.5 each
10. Scott Guenthner, 4.7
11. Dakota Eldridge, 5.3
12. Justin Shaffer, 5.9
13. Gavin Soileau, 19.8
14. Jesse Brown and Will Lummus, NT

1. Ty Erickson, 11.6 seconds on three head
2. Tyler Waguespack, 12.5
3. J.D. Struxness, 12.8
 4. Tucker Allen, 13.9
5. Scott Guenthner, 14.0
6. Chance Howard, 14.2
7. Rowdy Parrott, 15.0
8. Dakota Eldridge, 15.8
9. Kyle Irwin, 18.0
10. Stetson Jorgensen, 18.3
11. Gavin Soileau, 48.3
12. Bridger Anderson, 7.9 on two head
3. Jesse Brown, 9.1
14. Justin Shaffer, 11.3
15. Will Lummus, 4.0 on one head

1. Will Lummus, $223,745
2. Ty Erickson, $203,687
3. Tucker Allen, $200,493
4. Tyler Waguespack, $193,138
5. J.D. Struxness, $186,129
6. Jesse Brown, $182,802
7. Stetson Jorgensen, $171,460
8. Justin Shaffer, $165,773
9. Bridger Anderson, $163,388
10. Rowdy Parrott, $160,877
11. Kyle Irwin, $154,763
12. Dakota Eldridge, $137,873
13. Scott Guenthner, $132,070
14. Chance Howard, $118,298
15. Gavin Soileau, $115,899.