The 2025 Calgary Stampede Rodeo season closed with momentum, hardware and headline moments. Success at Stampede Park carried through the year, from July in Calgary to the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) in Edmonton and on to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas that wrapped up this past weekend. Athletes who thrived on Stampede stock in July found the same horsepower waiting when final championships were on the line.
Fourteen Stampede horses earned selection to the 2025 NFR, delivering high-mark rides, round wins and world titles across ten nights. Their impact peaked on the final evening.
In Round 10, Rocker Steiner secured his first career bareback riding world championship title with a 90.5-point ride aboard the Stampede’s Disco Party — the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s (PRCA) 2025 Reserve Bareback Horse of the Year. The ride sealed the gold buckle, a new single-season earnings record of $507,532.59 and a historic three-generation achievement for the Steiner family.
“There are no words to describe how one feels after so many years of working for it, dreaming about it, losing it, coming back again, losing it two more times, and finally coming back and sealing the deal and with my whole family here,” Steiner said in an interview with the PRCA. “Getting to see my granddad and my grandmother hugging in the stands above the chutes, it’s everything.”
The final round delivered more Stampede stock at the top of the leaderboard. Ryder Wright posted an 89.75-point ride on the Stampede’s Dandy Delight, tying for first place in Round 10 saddle bronc and closing the NFR on a high note.
Earlier in the finals, eight-time world champion Stetson Wright claimed the Round 4 saddle bronc win with an 88-point ride on the Stampede’s Freedom Xpress, adding to a week defined by consistent elite performances on Stampede horses.
That success mirrored what unfolded earlier in the season. Thirty-eight Stampede horses were selected for the 2025 CFR in Edmonton, where Crocket earned the CFR’s 2025 Saddle Bronc Horse of the Year title.
The connection between Calgary, the CFR and the NFR remains central to the Stampede’s approach, according to Navada Phipps, Western Events Specialist at the Calgary Stampede.
“We invest heavily in creating the best possible environment for athletes,” says Phipps. “That means strong stock, safe ground and meaningful opportunities to compete. When riders build confidence here in July and carry it through the season, the results speak for themselves.”
Beyond performance, the Stampede earned major recognition in 2025. The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association awarded the 2025 Canadian Stock Contractor of the Year to the Stampede, while the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association named the Stampede its Mega Rodeo of the Year following the successful introduction of Ladies Breakaway Roping as a new daily event with equal prize money.
With the completion of the NFR, attention turns back to GMC Stadium, where many of the Stampede’s top animal athletes return to compete on home dirt. The 2026 Calgary Stampede Rodeo promises another season of high-stakes performances, elite athletes and the kind of moments fans remember long after the final ride. Tickets for the 2026 Calgary Stampede Rodeo and Evening Show, running July 3 to 12, are on sale now.
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