2025 NHSFR Results: High school rodeo stars shine in Rock Springs
The 2025 National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) wrapped up in Rock Springs.
Held July 13-19 at the Sweetwater Events Complex, the national competition drew talent from five different countries to the Cowboy State for a week of high-level competition from the next generation of rodeo stars.
Cowboys and cowgirls representing the state of Wyoming took top honors in the face of fierce competition, and Team Wyoming rounded out the week sitting 11th overall.
Local talent was on display in the four-legged athletes as well, with the majority of bucking stock provided by Summit Pro Rodeo of Laramie in addition to several Wyoming-based subcontractors.
Wyoming winners
Hadley Thompson of Yoder etched her name in the NHSFR history books this year with championship finishes in the breakaway roping and goat tying. Thompson collected an impressive 1,520 points throughout the week across four events – barrels, breakaway, team roping and goat tying – to secure the All-Around Cowgirl title.
These honors come less than a month after Hadley’s sister Haiden Thompson earned the All-Around Cowgirl title at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper.
In an interview with WyoPreps, Hadley credits her wins in the goat tying and breakaway roping to her horse “CD Smokin’ Miss Kitty” – a six-year-old registered Quarter Horse mare she calls Salty.
“Salty, she’s one of a kind,” Thompson says. “I couldn’t do it without her. We got her when she was a yearling, and I did everything with her from the first ride to now. She’s been such a huge blessing to me.”
Together, Thompson and Salty clocked fast times of 2.95, 2.24 and 2.05 seconds in the breakaway and 6.54, 7.17 and 6.31 seconds in the goat tying. Both championship runs were the fastest times of the entire rodeo.
Salty finished the American Quarter Horse Association Girls Horse of the Year contest in first place with 1,350 points – a more than 500-point lead over the second-place finisher.
“My horse worked great, I did my job, and it all worked out in my favor,” Thompson continues. “It feels great to know all of my hard work has paid off. I couldn’t do it without my sponsors, my family and my parents.”
Other Wyoming athletes left their mark in Rock Springs as well.
Taylor Hernandez of Kemmerer was named first runner up in the Queen Contest and Emeree Tavegie of Newcastle finished sixth in the pole bending. Brenson Bartlett of Cheyenne had a good week in the bull riding, finishing fourth with an aggregate score of 208 points.
Rough stock and steer wrestling
In the bareback riding, Braylon Johnson of Team Arizona took first with an aggregate score of 236 on three horses. Brody Dent of Team Oregon came in second with 234.5 points, followed by Daxtyn Feild of Team Utah in third with 234 points.
In the saddle bronc riding, Team Idaho’s Trey McFarlane reigned supreme with an aggregate score of 229 points. Bryett Larson of Team Utah finished second with 217.5 points, followed by Sutton Avedisian of Team Florida in third with 215 points.
The bull riding crowned Team Louisiana’s Ty LaVergne as champion with an aggregate score of 253 points. Team Idaho Cowboy Wyatt Bowman finished second with 229.5 points, followed by Carter Shaw of Team Louisiana in third with 228 points.
In the steer wrestling, Riley Currin of Team California took first with a total time of 17.25 seconds on three head. Dally Trussel of Team Oklahoma came in second place, followed by Ace Austin of Team Utah in third with times of 18.69 and 21.77 seconds, respectively.
Team roping and tie-down roping
Team Kansas partners Dexton Hoelting and Jhett Vander Hamm took first place in the team roping with a total combined time of 21.2 seconds. They were followed by Hayden Hutchison and Trey Bohmback of Team North Dakota in second place with 21.48 seconds and Team Utah duo Koda Peterson and Heath Hammerstrom in third with 23.97 seconds.
Team Texas took all three top slots in the tie-down roping. Brodey Clemons finished first with 26.05 seconds on three calves, followed by Kyan Wilhite and Kolton Grimsley in second and third with aggregate times of 27.5 seconds and 28.99 seconds, respectively.
Barrel racing and breakaway roping
The battle for the top spot in the barrel racing was closely contested.
Team Louisiana Cowgirl Rylee Jo Maryman reigned supreme with an aggregate time of 51.79 seconds on three runs.
Team Mississippi’s Raegan Chance secured second with a time of 51.80 seconds, followed closely by Sam Mai of Team Idaho in third with 51.81 seconds.
Team Wyoming’s Hadley Thompson came out on top in the breakaway roping with a total combined time of 7.24 seconds.
Second place was split between Dally Exposito of Team Florida and Jessica Caspers of Team South Dakota whose aggregate times each amounted to 8.97 seconds.
Goat tying and pole bending
Thompson snagged another personal buckle and added some more points to Team Wyoming’s tally with a first-place finish in the goat tying, clinching the championship title with 20.02 seconds on three head.
Nebraska cowgirl Sophie Hruby, who rodeos for Team South Dakota, took second place with an aggregate time of 21.5 seconds. Team Iowa’s Augusta Warren came in third with 21.81 seconds.
The pole bending competition crowned Gracie Snyder of Team Oklahoma as champion with 59.12 seconds on three runs. Zoey Wagoner of Team North Dakota landed second with runs amounting to 59.50 seconds. Team Nebraska Cowgirl Maci Herrington rounded out the top three with a total combined time of 60.34 seconds.
In the reined cow horse average, Talen Barry of Team Kansas finished first with a total combined score of 877 points. Calli Olson of Team Nebraska took second with a score of 873.5 points, followed by Team Colorado’s Landri Lisac with 872 points to finish third.
Makenzie Cowan of Team Oklahoma took home the girls cutting championship title with a score of 672. She was followed by Preslie Green of Team Texas in second with 670.5 points and Ashtyn Brown of Team Tennessee in third with 664 points.
The boys cutting champion was Team Tennessee’s Cody Gann with a score of 676. Tate LeBlanc of Team Texas finished second with 646 points, followed by Landon Beason of Team Mississippi in third with 644 points.
All-Around and team standings
In the overall team standings, Texas reigned supreme with 9,982 points. Utah and Idaho followed in second and third places with 9,878 and 7,889 points, respectively. Wyoming finished 11th overall with 3,750 points.
The champion girls’ team was Oklahoma with 4,355 points, followed by Texas with 3,985 points and Utah with 3,823 points. Wyoming ladies landed sixth with 2,860 points.
The champion boys’ team was Utah with 6,055 points, followed by Texas with 5,997 points and Idaho with 5,675 points. Team Wyoming placed 25th in the boys’ standings with 1,060 total points.
The All-Around Rookie Cowboy was Cooper Martin of Team North Dakota with 280 points, and the All-Around Rookie Cowgirl was Channing Robinson of Team New Mexico with 510 points.
The All-Around Cowboy was Cort Jones of Team Iowa with 1,020 points. The All-Around Cowgirl was Hadley Thompson, representing Team Wyoming, with an impressive 1,520 points.
Full results from the 2025 NHSFR are available at nhsra.com. The 2026 NHSFR is set to rotate from Rock Springs to Lincoln, Neb. next summer.
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
